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Krzysztof Meyer was born on 11th August, 1943 in Cracow. From the age of five he learned the piano, and from 1954 -
theory and composition with Stanisław Wiechowicz. After graduating from the Fryderyk Chopin State Secondary School of Music
in Cracow he began to study at the College of Music in Cracow where he obtained two diplomas with distinction: in 1965
in composition, under Krzysztof Penderecki (after Wiechowicz's death), and in 1966 in theory (with Aleksander Frączkiewicz).
In 1964, 1966, and 1968 he studied with Nadia Boulanger in France.
In 1965-67 Meyer appeared as a pianist with the contemporary music group "MW2 Ensemble", giving concerts both at home and in
most European countries. He also played his solo compositions for piano.
From 1966 to 1987 Krzysztof Meyer taught theoretical subjects at the State College of Music (now Academy of Music) in Cracow.
In the years 1972-75 he was the head of the Department of Music Theory. From 1987 he teaches composition in Hochschule für Musik
in Cologne. He also lectured on contemporary music abroad (Soviet Union, East and West Germany, Austria, Brazil).
In the years 1985-1989 he was the President of the Union of Polish Composers.
Krzysztof Meyer is a prize-winner of numeruos awards, such as the First Prize at the competition for young composers in
France (1966), Second Prize at the Young Polish Composers' Competition for Symphony No.1 (1966),
the Aaron Copland Scholarship (1966), Honourable Mention for Symphony No. 2 (1967) and the First Prize for Symphony No. 3
at Fitelberg Competition (1968), Grand Prix at the Prince Pierre de Monaco International Composer's Competition for his opera
Cyberiada (1970), twice Special Mention at Tribune Internationale des Compositeurs UNESCO in Paris for
String Quartet No. 2 and String Quartet No. 3 (1970 and 1976 respectively), twice the Award of the Minister of Culture and Art
(1973, 1975), the First Prize at the Karol Szymanowski Competition in Warsaw for Symphony No. 4 (1974), twice the Medal granted
by the Government of Brazil for String Quartet No. 4 and Concerto retro (1975, 1977 respectively),
the Gotfried-von-Herder-Preis (1984), the annual Award of the Union of Polish Composers (1992), the Alfred Jurzykowski
Award (New York, 1993) and Johann-Stamitz-Preis (Mannheim 1996). He is the member of Freie Akademie der Künste in Mannheim.
A music historian as well as composer, Meyer is the author of the first Polish monograph on the life and work of Dmitri Shostakovich (PWM 1973; new edition and translations: Paris 1994,
Bergisch Gladbach, 1995; Amsterdam, 1996; Madrid, 1997; St. Petersburg, 1998; Warszawa, 1999). He has also written a number of articles,
mainly on contemporary music, published in Melos, Muzyka, Ruch Muzyczny, Das Orchester, Sovetskaya Muzika, and other periodicals.
PUBLISHERS
- Internationale Musikverlage Hans Sikorski, Germany [detailed cataloque of Meyer´s works: www.sikorski.de];
- Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne [www.pwm.com], Poland; represented in the U.S. by Theodore Presser, [www.presser.com];
- Moeck Verlag, Germany;
- Sonoton Musikverlag - Pro Viva, Germany;
- C. F. Peters [www.edition- peters.de];
- Brevis, Poznan (Poland).
MEYER ABOUT HIS MUSIC
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