BIO

Magda Mayas (b. 1979) is a Berlin-based pianist, composer, and performer whose work over the past 25 years has redefined the sonic possibilities of the piano. She has developed a distinctive vocabulary that explores both the interior and exterior of the instrument, employing amplification, preparations, and objects that serve as extensions of the piano itself. Drawing from the traditions of prepared and inside piano techniques, Mayas has crafted a highly personal and innovative approach that expands the language of internal piano making. 

She holds a PhD in Music Performance and Interpretation from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is a professor and researcher at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. 

Mayas performs internationally, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with a wide range of musicians and composers. Her current projects include Spill, a duo with drummer Tony Buck; a duo with saxophonist Christine Abdelnour; Jane in Ether with Biliana Voutchkova and Miako Klein; and Filamental, an ensemble featuring Christine Abdelnour, Anthea Caddy, Angharad Davies, Rhodri Davies, Zeena Parkins, Aimée Theriot-Ramos, Michael Thieke, and Mayas herself. 

She has toured extensively across Europe, the USA, Australia, Mexico, and Lebanon, collaborating with leading figures in contemporary improvisation and experimental music such as Marilyn Mazur, John Butcher, George Lewis, Andy Moor, Nate Wooley, Peter Evans, Eddie Prévost, Phill Niblock, David Sylvian, Zeena Parkins, Fred Frith, Hamid Drake, Joëlle Léandre, Paul Lovens, Ikue Mori, Ken Vandermark, Okkyung Lee, Nicolas Collins, Elliott Sharp, and Maja Ratkje. 

Her work has been featured at major festivals, including Maerz Musik (2012, 2015), Documenta (2012), the Berlin Biennale (2014), and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (2015). She was awarded residencies at Villa Aurora in Los Angeles (2016) and the Montalvo Arts Center in the U.S. (2017 and 2019), and in 2019 she co-curated the Music Unlimited festival in Wels, Austria. 

Mayas is a co-founder of the artist collective smallest functional unit, which publishes experimental music scores through Graphème, and of Khomasi, a Berlin-based curatorial collective that produces Making Waves, a Berlin based series of conversations and screenings around art and politics. 

In addition to her live performance work, she has created radio pieces for ABC Australia and Deutschlandradio Kultur, and has released over 40 CDs to date.