Born in
Vienna, the son of
Alfred Planyavsky, he attended the Schotten
gymnasium. At the Vienna Academy of Music, he studied organ, composition and improvisation with
Anton Heiller, piano with
Hilde Seidlhofer, and conducting with
Hans Gillesberger. He graduated with diplomas in organ and church music in 1966. Subsequently, he worked for a year in an
organ workshop (intonation and assembly), and in 1968 he was organist in the Upper Austrian . , where Planyavsky was director of music from 1983 until 1990 From 1969 to 2004, Planyavsky was organist at Vienna's cathedral
Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral), and in the years 1983 to 1990 was
Dommusikdirektor, director of music with overall responsibility for the church music at the cathedral. In 1980 he was appointed professor of organ, improvisation and liturgical organ playing at the Vienna Academy of Music. From 1996 to 2002 he headed the department of church music. Concert tours and master classes took Planyavsky to many European countries, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Korea, Canada and the United States. In his
master classes he has focused on
Anton Heiller,
Johannes Brahms,
Felix Mendelssohn and Baroque music, with an emphasis on improvisation and liturgical organ playing. He has often served as a juror at competitions. Planyavsky recorded numerous LPs and CDs, such as recordings of all the organ works of
Johannes Brahms and
Felix Mendelssohn. As a conductor Planyavsky has emerged not only with the great works of sacred music, but also the neglected sector of
organ concertos, conducting concertos by
Alfredo Casella,
Aaron Copland,
Howard Hanson,
Jean Langlais,
Ottorino Respighi, and
Leo Sowerby. Planyavsky composed for organ, choral and orchestral music. His
motet for
SSATB choir
a cappella,
Der 269. Psalm (Psalm 269), combines text from Psalms 148 and 121. One of his specialties is
parody. His
cantata Der zufriedengestellte Autobus (The contented bus) by
P.P. Bach, a parody of a
Bach cantata, was given more than 40 times. The cantata "Cactus tragicus", alluding to the title of Bach's
Actus tragicus, premiered on 19 February 2004 in
Klagenfurt. As J.P. Haydn he composed the
Ankunftssymphonie in 1987, as W. A. Plagiavsky Mozart
Vier Stücke für die Trompetenuhr (Four pieces for the trumpet clock) in 1989. As an organ expert, Planyavsky was instrumental in organ-building projects, notably the construction of the new
Rieger organ in the Great Hall of the
Wiener Musikverein, which he planned in collaboration with
Ludger Lohmann,
Martin Haselböck,
Gillian Weir, and
Olivier Latry. == Awards ==