Biography
Nikolaus Gerszewski * 1964, lives and works in Hamburg. 1985–91 studies visual arts, at HfbK Hamburg and at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, with Gotthard Graubner and A.R. Penck. In the 90s lives in Budapest, works as an art critic and translator of hungarian poetry; plays various musical instruments (guitar, piano, trumpet, violin) as an improvisor, conducts a freejazz orchestra; as a droughtsman and painter investigates in informal and geometric abstraction, and draws up theories on nonrepresentational art. Since 2003 takes up autodidactical studies in modern composition. 2005 performs indeterminantly notated music (by Cardew, Cage, Wolff) with the ensemble serve music; starts writing music, mainly for piano. Since 2005 organizes concerts of current music, happens to be one of the major organizers of Blurred Edges, festival of current music in Hamburg, has worked with: Keith Rowe, John Tilbury, János Négyesy, Christian Wolff, Peter Ablinger, Sven Åke Johansson, Eugene Chadbourne, Alvin Curran, Gustavo Aguilar, Christoph Herndler, et.al.. Since 2007 experiments with indeterminate notation (setting limits for improvising musicians): in prose, diagrams and patterns, developing his own musical idiom: Ordinary Music. Since 2008 several premieres of Ordinary Music, in Europe and the USA. 2009 during a 3 months stay in Calcutta, “Ordinary Music Vol.19“ (for three tabla players and conductor) originates, with and advice by Tanmoy Bose. 2010 starts the concert series “to&fro”, connecting the cities of Hamburg and Berlin.
