Short version
With over 240 world premieres to his name, Sebastian Berweck is one of the most sought-after interpreters of experimental contemporary music. He is known for his energetic interpretations of unusual repertoire in- and outside the piano as well as working with electronics. Sebastian Berweck holds a PhD from the University of Huddersfield, is a member of stock11 and Lange//Berweck//Lorenz and lives in Berlin.
Long version
With over 240 premieres to his name, Sebastian Berweck is one of the most sought-after interpreters of experimental contemporary music.
He has appeared at most major festivals for contemporary music such as Wien Modern, Ultraschall Berlin, Maerzmusik Berlin, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Steirischer Herbst, Salzburger Festspiele, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Impulse Theater Festival Mülheim, ISCM World New Music Days, pgnm festival Bremen, Inventionen Berlin, piano+ festival ZKM Karlsruhe, Klangwerkstatt Berlin, Klangwerktage Hamburg, Heidelberger Frühling, Nous Sons Festival Barcelona or the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, where he is teaching electroacoustic performance practice since 2014.
A major part of his work – apart from virtuosity on the keyboard, extended techniques and stages play – is performing with electronics. With the synthesizer trio Lange//Berweck//Lorenz he’s embracing the tradition of live played electronics of the 1970s and 1980s. Lange//Berweck//Lorenz commissions new repertoire as well as re-performs older compositions wich sometimes have not been performed for several decades.
From 2008 to 2012 – and with the support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) – he conducted research at the Centre for Research in New Music (CeReNeM) at the University of Huddersfield. His thesis, titled “It worked yesterday – On (re-) performing electroacoustic music”, deals with the challenges a performer faces when playing electroacoustic music and was published in 2013.
Next to his activities as a performer he writes scientific articles on electronics and reviews of electronic gear for popular magazines. He gives talks and master classes at institutions like Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley and others. Sebastian Berweck is a founding member of stock11 and lives in Berlin.