Tibor Szemző

29. September 2021

Tibor Szemző (born 1955, Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian composer, performer and media artist. Szemző was born in Budapest in 1955. He began his musical studies at the Kodály method school at the age of six and graduated from the Hungarian Academy of Music. Szemzö formed his own trio (later a quartet), and in 1979 he founded the minimalist ensemble Group 180 (1978–1990). It was a profoundly influential ensemble, renowned for its performances of Hungarian minimalism; it 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 begin collaborating with various artists throughout Europe and beyond.