Marek Arnold – Musician

The saxophonist and keyboardist MAREK ARNOLD has been active for years in bands and projects and as a composer and producer, and is a fixture above all in the international prog rock and the German art rock scene.

He was a member of the East German art rock legend STERN COMBO MEISSEN,

and has appeared on joint releases with stars such as: Steve Hackett (Genesis) and Jon Anderson (YES, Jon & Vangelis),

Derek Sherinian (ex-DREAM THEATER), Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation), Adam Holzmann (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson, M. Petrucciani…),

Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings, Transatlantic), Craig Blundell (FROST, Fish…), Laurence Cottle (Clapton, Black Sabbath…),

Marco Minnemann (Satriani, Aristocrats, The Sea Within…), Guthrie Govan (S. Wilson, Aristocrats, Asia…), Michael Sadler (SAGA),

Clive Nolan (Arena, Pendragon), Eric Gillette (Neal Morse Band), Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), Richard Henshall (HAKEN), Francis Dunnery (It Bites),

Jonas Reingold (Karmakanic, The Flower Kings), Andy Tillison (The Tangent), Robert Reed (Magenta, CYAN), Mike Keneally (Zappa Band),

Glynn Morgan (Threshold), Jimmy Keegan (Pattern Seeking Animals, Spock’s Beard), Alex Grünwald (Münchener Freiheit),

and further leading figures from bands such as SHADOW GALLERY, SPOCK’S BEARD, RPWL, KANSAS, CAMEL, SUBSIGNAL, UNITOPIA, THE TANGENT, SOUTHERN EMPIRE, LORD OF THE LOST, PERSONA…

He has played live with artists including:

Chester Thompson (Genesis, Phil Collins), Don Schiff (Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow…), UNITOPIA, Clueso and Dirk Zöllner, and remains a sought-after studio and guest musician for international bands in these genres.

Marek worked on the solo album „Marek Arnolds Artrock Project“ from 2018 together with more than fifty renowned guest musicians from all over the world; the album was released in July 2023 to wide attention and high praise. A year later came the album „The Triple EP Collection“ with all digitally released versions of the singles from the debut album and three entirely new songs, again with illustrious guests. Having since grown into a live band with musicians from his other groups, work on a follow-up album is currently under way.

Live, Marek Arnold is on stage above all together with Manuel Schmid, the current singer of Stern Combo Meißen – with the music of their own albums or with a programme of demanding works by East German bands.

The joint project „Die schönsten Balladen aus dem Land vor unserer Zeit“, together with Dirk Zöllner, Manuel Schmid and André Gensicke, has been playing very successfully since 2024, mainly at East German venues.

In parallel, Marek Arnold has made a name for himself in the international progressive rock scene with his bands and projects „Toxic Smile“, „seven steps to the green door“, „CYRIL“, „FLAMING ROW“, „United Progressive Fraternity“, „DAMANEK“ and others. He appears as a guest musician on countless albums (among them releases by SUBSIGNAL, SOUTHERN EMPIRE, ARGOS, THE SAMURAI OF PROG, KARFAGEN, SARIS, MANNING, SOUL SECRET, WHISPERS OF GRANITE, KARIBOW, LIND, SOULSHINE and many more) and has toured all over Europe with Australian and British musicians.

Live with the Australian band UNITOPIA around Sean Timms, featuring Chester Thompson (Genesis, Phil Collins) and Don Schiff (Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow…), at the Artrock Festival Reichenbach.

From 2010 to 2012 he was a member of STERN-COMBO MEISSEN, and as a result of his compositions for the album „Lebensuhr“ his path crossed that of singer and keyboardist Manuel Schmid, with whom he works today on joint albums, for Stern Meissen and on stage.

Since founding his own studio „B`side-music“, a wide variety of CD productions, recordings, arrangements and commissioned compositions have been created there.

Marek also teaches several instruments at a youth arts school, gives courses and band coaching, and runs its recording studio.

Marek Arnold – the podcast „Das Proggeflüster“

STONE PROG – The Podcast

Since 2024 Marek has been hosting and producing the German-language podcast for the online music magazine „STONEPROG“ under the name „STONEPROG PODCAST – das Proggeflüster mit Marek Arnold“, with illustrious guests from the prog and art rock world, among them names such as