Composer and sound artist PETER MACHAJDÍK [pronounced 'makh-eye-deek'] grew up in Bratislava, former Czechoslovakia but he has been living in Berlin, Germany for the past 20 years.
He received his first music lessons at the age of six. In the 1980's he was refused admittance into the Music Academy of Bratislava because his concept of music, at that time, was heavily influenced by the Western avant-garde. At 27, Machajdík graduated from the University of Economics in Bratislava.
Peter Machajdík first became internationally recognised after the success of his multi media work Intimate Music featuring one of the most innovative singers and percussionists David Moss at Inventionen 1994 in Berlin. His prolific output has since been performed and broadcast around the world, placing him in the front rank of today’s composers. In 1992 he was invited to live and work in Berlin as a guest of the prestigious DAAD Künstlerprogramm. Machajdík was also the composer in residence at Schloss Wiepersdorf, Germany, at Künstlerhäuser Worpswede, Germany, and at Künstlerhaus Lukas in Ahrenshoop on the German Baltic coast. In 2013, he was the Artist in Residence in Judenburg, Austria.
Machajdík has received numerous commissions and awards from, among others, the Kulturfonds Foundation, Russolo-Pratella Foundation, Slovak Music Fund, Czech Radio, German Accordion Society, Bratislava Music Festival, and International Visegrad Fund.
Since 1985, Machajdík's works have been performed and exhibited at numerous performance spaces, museums, galleries, and festivals, including Inventionen, Berlin; New Work Festival, Calgary; Hörgänge, Vienna; young.euro.classic, Berlin; Nuovi Spazi Musicali, Rome; Melos-Ethos, Bratislava; Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg; 5 Giornate per la Nuova Musica, Milano; Logos Foundation, Ghent; Institut Unzeit, Berlin; De IJsbreker, Amsterdam; Festival de Jazz et Musiques d'Aujourd'hui, Mulhouse; Kunstverein Wien, Vienna; Bremer Kunstfrühling, Bremen; Review of Composers, Belgrade; Audio Art Festival, Cracow, as well as at venues in the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, Uruguay, Ukraine, the Czech and Slovak Republics, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S.A. Some of the venues where his compositions have received their first performances include Deutsche Oper Berlin, Slovak Philharmonic Hall Bratislava, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tenri Cultural Institute New York, Ignacy Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic Hall, Adolphus Busch Hall Cambridge (MA), and Sala Filarmonica in Trento. Performers of Machajdík's music have included artists such as Carson Cooman, Guido Arbonelli, David Moss, Floraleda Sacchi, Jon Anderson, Rocco Anthony Jerry, Boris Lenko, Jozef Lupták, Natalia Pshenichnikova, Mayuko Kida, Sonia Lee, Piet Van Bockstal, conductors Anu Tali, Miran Vaupotic, Peter Breiner, Benjamin Bayl, Florian Ludwig, Marián Lejava, Dominika Kawiorska, Ondřej Kukal, Aleksander Gref and Karol Kevický, the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Košice, ARTE Quartett, Slovak Chamber Orchestra, AccoDuo, Camerata Europea, Veni Ensemble, Zwiebel Quartet, Slovenian Clarinet Quartet, and many others.
Machajdík's interest in other performing arts and in collaborations led him to compose numerous works for film, theatre, modern dance companies and visual artists. He was co-founder of the Transmusic Comp., which has championed mixed-media, free improvisation, electronic music and performance work since 1990s. Transmusic Comp. have performed in the Czech and Slovak Republics, in Austria, Germany, Hungary, and other countries. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Machajdík had smuggled some of his compositions to the famous American minimalist duo George Cup & Steve Elliott, who used his music in their video works.
Peter Machajdík has lectured on new music, led workshops, and curated festivals of contemporary music. His music has been broadcast many times on radio and TV all over the world (WNYC, BBC, RAI, ABC Classic FM, ORF, WPRB, Concertzender, Deutschlandradio, and many others).
In addition to his work as a composer, Peter Machajdík is active as a promoter of new music and sound art. He is the co-director of Velvet Music, an artists' service organization that supports young artists and performers. Since 2012, he has been the curator of the SOUND CITY DAYS festival in Košice, Slovakia, and he is a founding member of Simach Art Foundation that organizes concert series of contemporary music in Europe. He currently initiates the emergence of SOUND ART LAB in Košice.
Machajdík has received numerous commissions and awards from, among others, the Kulturfonds Foundation, Russolo-Pratella Foundation, Slovak Music Fund, Czech Radio, German Accordion Society, Bratislava Music Festival, and International Visegrad Fund.
Since 1985, Machajdík's works have been performed and exhibited at numerous performance spaces, museums, galleries, and festivals, including Inventionen, Berlin; New Work Festival, Calgary; Hörgänge, Vienna; young.euro.classic, Berlin; Nuovi Spazi Musicali, Rome; Melos-Ethos, Bratislava; Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg; 5 Giornate per la Nuova Musica, Milano; Logos Foundation, Ghent; Institut Unzeit, Berlin; De IJsbreker, Amsterdam; Festival de Jazz et Musiques d'Aujourd'hui, Mulhouse; Kunstverein Wien, Vienna; Bremer Kunstfrühling, Bremen; Review of Composers, Belgrade; Audio Art Festival, Cracow, as well as at venues in the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, Uruguay, Ukraine, the Czech and Slovak Republics, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S.A. Some of the venues where his compositions have received their first performances include Deutsche Oper Berlin, Slovak Philharmonic Hall Bratislava, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tenri Cultural Institute New York, Ignacy Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic Hall, Adolphus Busch Hall Cambridge (MA), and Sala Filarmonica in Trento. Performers of Machajdík's music have included artists such as Carson Cooman, Guido Arbonelli, David Moss, Floraleda Sacchi, Jon Anderson, Rocco Anthony Jerry, Boris Lenko, Jozef Lupták, Natalia Pshenichnikova, Mayuko Kida, Sonia Lee, Piet Van Bockstal, conductors Anu Tali, Miran Vaupotic, Peter Breiner, Benjamin Bayl, Florian Ludwig, Marián Lejava, Dominika Kawiorska, Ondřej Kukal, Aleksander Gref and Karol Kevický, the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Košice, ARTE Quartett, Slovak Chamber Orchestra, AccoDuo, Camerata Europea, Veni Ensemble, Zwiebel Quartet, Slovenian Clarinet Quartet, and many others.
Machajdík's interest in other performing arts and in collaborations led him to compose numerous works for film, theatre, modern dance companies and visual artists. He was co-founder of the Transmusic Comp., which has championed mixed-media, free improvisation, electronic music and performance work since 1990s. Transmusic Comp. have performed in the Czech and Slovak Republics, in Austria, Germany, Hungary, and other countries. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Machajdík had smuggled some of his compositions to the famous American minimalist duo George Cup & Steve Elliott, who used his music in their video works.
Peter Machajdík has lectured on new music, led workshops, and curated festivals of contemporary music. His music has been broadcast many times on radio and TV all over the world (WNYC, BBC, RAI, ABC Classic FM, ORF, WPRB, Concertzender, Deutschlandradio, and many others).
In addition to his work as a composer, Peter Machajdík is active as a promoter of new music and sound art. He is the co-director of Velvet Music, an artists' service organization that supports young artists and performers. Since 2012, he has been the curator of the SOUND CITY DAYS festival in Košice, Slovakia, and he is a founding member of Simach Art Foundation that organizes concert series of contemporary music in Europe. He currently initiates the emergence of SOUND ART LAB in Košice.
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