Tibor Szemzö / Tibor Szemzo

Hungarian electro-acoustic composer Tibor Szemzö was born in Budapest in 1955, beginning his musical studies at the Kodály method school at the age of six. Initally playing the violin, his subsequent discoveries of rock prompted a move to guitar; the influence of John Coltrane and Charles Mingus next inspired Szemzö to form his own jazz trio (later a quartet), and in 1979 he founded the minimalist ensemble Group 180. Embarking on a solo career in 1983, Szemzö began integrating spoken word and visual elements into projects otherwise dominated by flute and live electronics, and in 1987 he issued his first solo recording, Snapshot from the Island. The downfall of Hungary's communist rule allowed him to began collaborating with various artists throughout Europe, and in 1998 Szemzö also formed a new chamber ensemble, the Gordian Knot. Other notable works include Ain't Nothing But a Little Bit of Music for Moving Pictures (the score to a collection of black-and-white home movies compiled by friend Péter Forgács), The Conscience (a trilogy of narrative-based chamber compositions) and Tractatus (a half-hour piece inspired by the Austrian philosopher Wittgenstein).