Florian Palier

Florian Palier, an Austrian guitarist and composer, discovered his love of music at an early age. His first and long-time teacher was his father, Johann Palier. In June 2015, he graduated with distinction from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he studied in the class of Alvaro Pierri.

As a composer, performer, and improviser, Florian Palier places particular emphasis on bringing together different musical worlds. His greatest influences include Olivier Messiaen, Tōru Takemitsu, and Allan Holdsworth.

As both a soloist and chamber musician, he is regularly invited to perform in concerts around the world. His repertoire spans from Renaissance compositions to contemporary music.

In the field of contemporary music, he has collaborated with ensembles such as the Klangforum Wien and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. New works are regularly dedicated to him, which he premieres. His own compositions, performed and recorded from Japan to the Netherlands, have received outstanding reviews. For example, Dušan Bogdanović wrote about his Sonatina:

"Your Sonatina (...) is very nice; it's new and follows new paths. It’s harmonically and formally sophisticated. Congratulations!"

Palier leads a guitar class at the Gustav Mahler Private University for Music and is a frequent guest lecturer at masterclasses held by renowned music academies and festivals around the world. At the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, he served for many years as the assistant to Alvaro Pierri.

Palier is the winner of numerous national and international competitions, having received more than 20 first prizes. His concert performances, as well as radio and television recordings (including for ORF, BBC, and Classic FM), have taken him throughout Europe, Russia (before 2019), the Middle East, the United States, Japan, and Taiwan.