Biography

Bettina Skrzypczak was born in Poznań

Poznan

Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. She studied piano at Bydgoszcz and music at the Academy of Music in Poznan. In 1985 she graduated with a degree in music theory, and in 1988 with a degree in composition, studying with Andrzej Koszewski. From 1984-88 she studied with Witold Lutoslawski

Witold Lutoslawski

Witold Lutosławski was one of the major European composers of the 20th century, and one of the preeminent Polish musicians during his last three decades. During his lifetime, Lutosławski earned many international awards and prizes, including the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest...

, Luigi Nono

Luigi Nono

Luigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...

, Henri Pousseur

Henri Pousseur

Henri Pousseur was a Belgian composer.-Biography:Pousseur studied at the Academies of Music in Liège and in Brussels from 1947 to 1953. He was closely associated with Pierre Froidebise and André Souris...

, and Iannis Xenakis

Iannis Xenakis

Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...

 in composition courses organised in Kazimierz

Kazimierz

Kazimierz is a historical district of Kraków , best known for being home to a Jewish community from the 14th century until the Second World War.-Early history:...

 by the Polish section of the ISCM. In 1988 she studied electronic music with Thomas Kessler

Thomas Kessler

Thomas Kessler is a German footballer who currently plays for Eintracht Frankfurt on loan from 1. FC Köln.-Career:...

 and composition with Rudolf Kelterborn

Rudolf Kelterborn

Rudolf Kelterborn is a Swiss musician and composer.-Life:Kelterborn studied in Basel, Detmold, Salzburg, and Zürich, among other places, with the composers Walther Geiser, Willy Burkhard, Boris Blacher, Günter Bialas, and Wolfgang Fortner...

 in Basle, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. She also studied musicology with Jürg Stenzl and complementary studies in cultural philosophy with Hans Saner in Fribourg

Fribourg

Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...

. In 1990 she studied computer music with Klarenz Barlow in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

. In 1999 she received a doctorate degree from the Academy of Music in Cracow.

In 2002 Skrzypczak took a position as a professor at the Music University Lucerne. She also served as a guest lecturer at schools and universities including the International Courses of New Music in Darmstadt

Darmstadt

Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...

 in 2004, the European Chamber Music Academy, Hannover, and Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

.

Skrzypczak founded and served as artistic director of the Swiss "Ensemble Boswil" promoting young artists with annual workshops in Boswil followed by concert tours. Her works have been performed internationally. She is the author of radio programs and journal articles on contemporary and Polish music. She resides in Riehen

Riehen

Riehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton....

.

Honors and awards

• 1989 Prize, Zagreb
  Zagreb
  Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
  
   Music Biennale's competition for young composers
• 1990 Prize, Tadeusz Baird Competition, Warsaw
  Warsaw
  Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
  
  
• 1992 Honorable mention, "Tribune internationale des compositeurs", Paris
  Paris
  Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
  
  
• 1994 Prize,10th International Competition for Women Composers, Mannheim
  Mannheim
  Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
  
  
• 1996 Cultural Recognition Prize, City of Basle
• 2001 Composition Grant, Canton and City of Lucerne
  Lucerne
  Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
  
  
• 2004 Cultural Prize of the City of Riehen
  Riehen
  Riehen is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Stadt in Switzerland. Together with the city of Basel and Bettingen, Riehen is one of three municipalities in the canton....
  
  
• 2008 Composition Grant, Canton and City of Lucerne

Works

Selected works include:

• ABC (1986) for tape
• Acaso (1994) for choir, clarinet, cello and percussion, Text: Stéphane Mallarmé, Jorge Luis Borges, Nikolaus Kopernikus, Rainer Maria Rilke, trad. (Maori)
• Amoureske (2003) for viola d'amore
• Anomalia Lunae media (2007) for soprano, baritone and instruments, Text: Leonhard Euler, Boethius, Leonardo da Vinci, Jorge Luis Borges
• Arcato (2000) for Viola solo
• Aria (2004) for 2 bass saxophones
• Caleidoscopio (1992) for string ensemble
• Cercar (2001) for prepared guitar solo
• Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1998)
• Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra (1995/96)
• Daphnes Lied (Daphne's Song) (2002) for piano solo
• Fantasie (1997) for oboe solo
• Flash (2007) for percussion solo
• Illuminationen (Illuminations) (2008) for clarinet, cello and piano
• In un soffio (2003) for wind quintet
• Initial (2005) for orchestra
• Landschaft des Augenblicks (1992) Five Songs for mezzo-soprano, viola and piano, Text: Czeslaw Milosz, Kazimiera Illakowiczówna, Leopold Staff, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska
• Lettres (2004) for soprano, clarinet and cello Text: Guillaume de Machaut
• Mazurka (2000) for accordion solo
• Miroirs (2000) for mezzo-soprano and ensemble, Texts: J. L. Borges, Li Tai-bo, Bernart de Ventadorn und Satchal Sarmas
• Mouvement (1999) for flute solo
• Nonet for Wind Instruments and Double Bass (1994)
• Notturno (1992) for flute solo
• Phototaxis (2003) for string orchestra
• Scène (2001) for violin and cello
• String Quartet nr. 2 (1991)
• String Quartet nr. 3 (1993)
• String Quartet nr. 4 (2003)
• Toccata sospesa (1999) for flute und 2 percussionists
• Trio (1990) for 3 percussionists
• Variabile (1991) for orchestra
• Verba (1987) for orchestra
• Vier Figuren (2001) for ensemble (18 players) in 3 groups
• Weissagung (Prophecy) (2003) composed improvisation for the "quartet noir"
• What Is Black, What Is White (1987) for 2 percussionists