Benjamin  Schweitzer was born in Marburg (Germany) in 1973. After studies in composition, music theory and piano at the junior department of the Lubeck Music Academy, he studied composition (with Wilfried Krätzschmar), music theory and orchestra conducting (with Christian Kluttig) at the Dresden Music Academy and with Paavo Heininen at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Finland). Schweitzer’s compositions are regularly being performed and broadcast all around Germany and in many European countries. He received commissions by renowned musicians and music institutions, among them the Siemens Arts Program, the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Munich Biennale.

Schweitzer was also founder and, up to 2005, artistic director of the ensemble courage, a chamber music group specialized on contemporary music that was awarded a Förderpreis der Ernst-von- Siemens-Musikstiftung in 2001.

His acitivities include musicological publications and invitations as lecturer at universities, music academies and chamber music masterclasses like the Jeunesse Moderne Academy. Schweitzer received numerous awards and scholarships, e.g. the Award of the Composers‘ Association of Saxony, Artists Grants of the cultural foundation of the state of Saxony and of the Berlin Senate. He was invited for residencies at Stein am Rhein/Switzerland, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, German Study Centre Venice and Kunstlerhof Schreyahn.

Schweitzer lives as free-lance composer in Berlin, his publisher is Schott Musik (Mainz).

A Minor Blues (Rue du Sentier, 1778) for piano (2005), world premiere

A Minor Blues (Rue du Sentier, 1778) – the title refers to a key that Mozart used only exceptionally, but also to a slight resentment. Mozart‘s Piano Sonata in A Minor, problably written in the street mentioned in the subtitle, serves as background for this short, but somewhat tricky piano piece. Even though there are no direct quotations, an exciting chord from the opening theme, a sequence of minor and major seconds from the Andante influence the musical material on a deeper level.

The pianist may create a mosaic of small patterns circling lightly around a few gestures that are connected to each other. The soft melancholy, however, is been interrupted by short, harsh strokes. Publisher: Schott Musik International