Elisabeth Hanik, free-lance composer and pianist, was born 1970 in Graz and lives in Gams (County of Styria/Austria). She studied classical piano and later – with Beat Furrer – composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz. The „repertoire“ and it ́s extensions in composition and improvisation is her central focus. Harnik works within an electro-acoustic inspired sound-world, using unique preparations and extended techniques and her compositions are performed regularly at concerts and festivals for contemporary music. Commissions/Performances include: Composers’ Forum Mittersill, Musikprotokoll Graz, Klangspuren Schwaz, Wien Modern, Transart Festival Bozen, Munich Opera Festival, Estonian Harpsichord Society Festival, Soundings Festival London, Moving Sounds Festival NYC, Opera House Graz a.o.As a composer she has worked with many renowned ensembles such as Ensemble Zeitfluss, Ensemble Schallfeld, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble die reihe, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, Ensemble Reconsil, Ensemble Phace, Ensemble Platypus, Trio Amos, Trio Eis, Airborne Extended, RSO Wien, Thürmchen Ensemble Cologne, Ensemble Tonfall Duisburg, Ensemble Crush Duisburg, Fidelio Trio London, Cantus Ensemble Zagreb, Ensemble mise-en New York and various national and international soloists. In addition to her work as composer she appears as improvisator at various national and international festivals such as the V:NM-Festival, the Ulrichsberger Kaleidophon, the Nickelsdorfer Konfrontationen, the Artacts Festival St. Johann, the Music Unlimited Festival Wels, the Comprovise Festival Cologne, the Beethoven Fest Bonn, the A L’ARME! Festival Berlin, the Jazz & More Festival Sibiu, the Audio Art Festival Pula, the Krakow Jazz Autumn Festival, the Alpenglow Festival London, the All Ears Festival Oslo, the Umbrella Music Festival Chicago, the Okka Fest Milwaukee, the Musicacoustica Beijing, the SoundOut Festival Canberra/AUS, the Jazz na Fábrica Festival São Paulo/Brazil a.o. Besides her solo performances she is member of many ensembles for improvised music and has performed with numerous internationally recognised representatives of the contemporary jazz scene in Europe and abroad such as Johannes Bauer, Melvyn Poore, Thomas Lehn, Gianni Mimmo, Joëlle Léandre, Isabelle Duthoit, Emmanuel Cremer, Mikołaj Trzaska, Jaap Blonk, Paal Nilssen-Love, Alison Blunt, Dominic Lash, Taylor Ho-Bynum, Tomas Fujiwara, Fay Victor, Michael Zerang, Dave Rempis, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Ken Vandermark, Tim Daisy, Clayton Thomas a.o. Her work as a pianist and composer is documented on many CDs and she received a great number of rewards and prizes. Most recently she held the Austrian SKE Publicity Award 2017.
