Christian Ludwig Mayer's works include chamber music, orchestral music, stage music and jazz. He grew up in the rural region of southern Bavaria, Germany close to the Alps. Mayer studied jazz piano, classical piano, harpsichord and composition at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich. In 2002 he won the "Gasteig Förderpreis" for outstanding students playing a program featuring his own compositions. Mayer is one of the few pianists in Germany who successfully merges classical and jazz to create a unique and personal "postmodern" style.
Christian Ludwig Mayer's music has been performed by members of e.g., the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, and the German Chamber Philharmonic. For his own "Auwald Consort", he has written ballet- and theater music.
From 2010-2012 he worked as the composer and musical director for two of Germany's biggest theater festivals -- Nibelungenfestspiele Worms and Dresdner Zwingerfestspiele -- with German director Dieter Wedel.
In Jazz he mainly writes music for his own solo recitals or his Auwald Trio -- a classic jazz piano trio, which received a nomination for its debut album "Token Gestures" by the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik" in 2017.
As a jazz pianist, Christian Ludwig Mayer is especially influenced by the style of the great stride piano players of the Swing Era. This he combines with a romantic 19th century approach and contemporary composition and playing techniques. Mayer has performed as a soloist, sideman and bandleader at international jazz festivals in Switzerland, France and Germany. He has also performed music from numerous musical genres all over the world including Ireland, Scotland, Italy, France, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, the U.S., South America and Asia.
Mayer also occasionally performs on other instruments like guitar, trumpet, Raffele (an ancient form of the alpine zither) and frequently on the accordion, on which he has recorded for the internationally well-known label Winter & Winter. In addition, he cherishes the musical traditions of the alpine regions. In this context, he has appeared numerous times as a soloist and accompanist on German TV shows like "Brettlspitzen" or "Ottis Schlachthof". He also writes music in the style of the so-called "new folk music" for these occasions.