Burkhardt Söll was born in 1944 in Marienberg, Germany. He studied music and art in Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Berlin, studying with Boris Blacher and Paul Dessau (composition), Dean Dixon and Bruno Maderna (conducting) as well as Horst Antes and Gerhard Bergmann (art). From 1970 till 1975 he worked as an assistant at the pedagogical college in Berlin, where alongside his work as a painter and composer he was also occupied with the question of aesthetic teaching practices. Since 1977 he has been living in Leiden, Netherlands and teaches at the art college in Utrecht. Alongside his work as a painter he has composed music for various genres: children’s songs, chansons, chamber music, various works for radio and cinema, as well as stage works. As a painter Burkhardt Söll has charted a development from surrealist works to realistic works (illustrations and drawings) and on to abstract work. Here an important role is played by direct experience, but also the examination of the connections between graphic and musical questions of composition.