Born in 1978, Benedikt Wolfgang Schiefer grew up surrounded by his mother’s native Bavarian-style singing and his father’s passion for culture as well as his grandmother’s piano which he still considers as the single object embodying his home. Taught early on in his childhood, but only truthfully introduced to music by his mother’s guitar playing, Benedikt started writing pieces of his own and decided to dedicate his life to music by the age of 14.

He graduated in composition from the Conservatory in Munich and from the Academy of music in Basel.

He received several scholarships, residencies and stipends, wrote pieces for soloists, ensembles, theater, opera and installations and started collaborating with filmmakers in order to compose his first film scores. 

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After having completed his studies, Benedikt wanted to free himself from academic thought and dogmas. At the time, he was around 35 years old and had finally moved to Berlin only to realize that he had dedicated half of his life to arty academia which left him only partly fulfilled. He started writing the music he really loved and accomplished a more personal musical language. Around the same time, he began focusing increasingly on film music, collaborating with award-winning directors who got recognition from international festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Sundance and Karlovy Vary. 

 

During his University years, he began devoting his work to microtonal music using spectral methods. Through the experience of experimenting with specifically created algorithms, Benedikt also operates with computer-generated structures in order to emphasize his affection for a reduced aesthetic. By means of live performances, he expanded his work between „creation and environment“ by acousmatic stage experiences.

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In 2022, he released his debut solo album UNIVERSAL KISS which has become a journey through his musical languages that he has continuously developed and refined over the last years. He has a passion for melody and harmonic progressions that are organized in sequences, almost as an alchemist would treat his substances. His goal is to seduce you with a playful sense of metamorphosis, seeking a contemplative magical journey towards embracing the universe. 

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Benedikt Schiefer is currently living in Berlin. 

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Academic Years

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Benedikt received the city of Munich’s Richard Strauss Stipendium, was invited at the festival of young artists in Bayreuth, composer in residence at the Cité International des Arts in Paris and at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart. He was nominated for the Prix France Musique SACEM de la musique de Film, awarded the Special Prize, Giga-HertzAward from the ZKM Karlsruhe and the german film critics award and was nominated for the Fénix Award. He was guest artist at the IMAtronic festival and his project was chosen at the „Internationale Plattform Neues Musiktheater 2014“.

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In 2003, while still a student, Benedikt wrote his first soundtrack for a feature film and has been collaborating with filmmakers ever since.

Furthermore sound installations belong to Schiefer’s field of work. His „algorithmic composing media installation“ Gesture was shown at the Galerie New Jerseyy in Basel in 2009. In 2010 he was commissioned the musical concept, planning and sound design for the Swiss pavilion at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai. With his work „Brücken/Schlagen„ (music maneuvers) Schiefer connected his ideas of „space as compositional parameters“ and „composition as environment“ in a conceptual composition for 120 Basler drummers and live electronic performance.

His works have been performed amongst others by Ensemble Phoenix Basel, Ensemble Ascolta, Ensemble Wiener Collage, Ensemble Gelberklang, Neue Vocalsolisten, Gavriel Lipkind, Alexander Gilman, Simon Breyer, Stefan Blum, Thomas Hitzlberger, Samuel Stoll at diverse festivals, like Biennale München, IMAtronic Festival, Wien Modern, Weltmusiktage, Akademie Musiktheater heute, Musik der Jahrhunderte, Musikfest Bremen, Ludwigsburger Festival für Neue Musik, ADevantgarde Festival, Festival Europäische Wochen Passau, Italienische Nacht München and in venues, like ZKM, Musikverein Wien, Mousonturm Frankfurt, Theater Basel, deSingel Antwerpen, Kammerspiele Ham-burg, Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Residenztheater München, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Stadttheater Bern, Gare du Nord Basel, Walcheturm Zürich, Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste und Gasteig Munich.