Background
Szemző was born in Budapest in 1955.
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Tibor Szemzo
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He began his musical studies at the Kodály method school at the age of six and graduated from the Hungarian Academy of Music.
Career
Szemzö formed his own trio (later a quartet), and in 1979 he founded the minimalist ensemble Group 180 (1978–1990). lieutenant was a profoundly influential ensemble, renowned for its performances of Hungarian minimalism. lieutenant also performed works by John Cage and Steve Reich.
Embarking on a solo career in 1983, Szemzö began integrating spoken word and visual elements into projects 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 beyond, and in 1998 Szemzö also formed a new chamber ensemble, the Gordian Knot. In recent years Szemzo"s interest has increasingly turned to film as well.
His award-winning feature A Guest of Life (intermixing documentary footage, animation, and Super 8mm film stock) was shot in Tibet. Snapshot from the Island LP 1987, Civil Defense 1999 Leo Records, England, Civil Defense LR 151 Private Exits LP 1989 HPS Records, Hungary Ain"t Nothing but a Little Bit of Music for Moving Pictures Civil Defense 1992 TomK Records/Bulletin Board System Foundation, Czechoslovakia/Hungary The Conscience/Narrative Champer Pieces Civil Defense 1993 Leo Records Civil Defense LR 185, The Last Hungarian Polyvinyl chloride SP 1994 Futterbasis, Hungary Tractatus Civil Defense 1995 Leo Records, England Civil Defense LR 227 Relative Things Civil Defense 1998 Leo Records Civil Defense LR 250 The Other Shore Civil Defense 1999 Leo Records Civil Defense LR 281 Free Fall Oratorio Civil Defense 2000 Author"s publication FOB 021 Sunset on Left Civil Defense 2000 Bahia Music CDB 071 Invisible Story Civil Defense 2001 Leo Records Civil Defense LR 311 Danube Exodus Civil Defense 2002 Leo Records Civil Defense LR 352 South of Number North Civil Defense 2003 Leo Records Civil Defense LR 361 A Guest of Life Digital Video Disc 2007 Fantasy Film Hungary Festival d"automne à Paris 1981 New Music America "86, Houston Wiener Festwochen "88 Ars Electronica "88 and "89, Linz, Austria Music Now from Hungary "94, Yokohama, Japan Warsaw Autumn Festival "95, Poland Unsung Music "96 and 2000, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London Prague New Music Marathon ’96,’98, 2000 Angelica 2000, Bologna, Italia San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Alternativa 2001, Moscow Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2002 Tribeca Film Festival, New York City 2007 Kolkata International
Film Festival 2007, India Film Festival 2009, Barbican Center, London Budapest Arts Palace 2009, 2013.
