Peter Planyavsky

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Peter Planyavsky, born 9 May 1947 in Vienna, is an Austrian organist and composer. He studied at the Schotten gymnasium and the Vienna Academy of Music, finishing in 1966, and then spent a year in an organ workshop. He helped with organ-building projects, including the Rieger organ in the Great Hall of the Wiener Musikverein. In 1968 he became organist at Stift Schlägl and in 1969 at Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral, where he later served as Dommusikdirektor from 1983 to 1990. He began teaching at the Vienna Academy of Music in 1980 and led its Department of Church Music from 1996 to 2002. Planyavsky has toured worldwide, given master classes focused on improvisation, Heiller, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Baroque music, and often served as a juror in competitions. He has recorded all organ works by Brahms and Mendelssohn and has conducted both great sacred works and lesser-known organ concertos by Casella, Copland and others. As a composer, he writes sacred music for organ, choir and orchestra and is known for parodies in the styles of Bach, Haydn and Mozart under names like P.P. Bach, J.P. Haydn and W.A.P. Mozart. Notable works include the a cappella motet Der 269. Psalm and the cantata Der zufriedengestellte Autobus; he also wrote pieces such as Ankunftssymphonie (as J.P. Haydn) and Vier Stücke für die Trompetenuhr (as W. A. Plagiavsky Mozart). He played a key role in the construction of the new Rieger organ in the Musikverein’s Great Hall, helping plan the project with other renowned musicians.