Branimir Krstic is a composer and classical guitarist whose work spans solo, chamber and orchestral music. His recordings bring together his own compositions with Bach, medieval polyphony, Croatian songs and arrangements of the Beatles.
Born in Osijek, Croatia, he studied classical guitar at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, graduating summa cum laude before continuing postgraduate studies in guitar and composition. His teachers and mentors included Eliot Fisk, Ansgar Krause, Charles Ramirez, Mauricio Kagel, Johannes Fritsch and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. He was Mauricio Kagel’s last student.
His compositions have been performed in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Croatia. They include up to B, for wind quintet and string quartet, commissioned by the Hope Scott Trust and premiered in Glasgow in 1999; and Concertino, for piano and orchestra, a semifinalist in the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Composition Competition. Alongside his ensemble and orchestral works, his music for guitar includes the Croatian Songs, Preludes and Fugues, études and variations.
His 2004 album Sgt. Pepper For Classical Guitar presents his arrangements of the Beatles’ album for solo guitar. Fugue Revisited places his own preludes and fugues alongside Bach, while guitARS subtilior explores fourteenth-century music through the guitar. These projects reflect the breadth of his work as a composer, arranger and performer.
Krstic founded the music publishing company Pineapple Music. Based in the Washington, D.C. area, he is also a teacher and an advocate for music education in elementary schools.
