Piotr Paleczny

Piotr Paleczny

Polska

One of the most outstanding Polish pianists and professors, laureate of five international piano competitions.

He completed piano studies at the Chopin Music University in Warsaw in the class of Profesor Jan Ekier. The opportunity of having artistic contact with Arthur Rubinstein and Witold Lutosławski also had a huge impact on the final development of his artistic personality.

The success achieved at the 8th Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition opened to Piotr Paleczny doors of many prestigious world concert halls. Receiving, in company of Garrick Ohlsson and Mitsuko Uchida – the Third Prize, the Special Prize for the best performance of a Polonaise and the Witold Małcużyński Prize, launched his career. The career which the artist has been enjoying until now performing concerts on all the continents. He performed as a soloist with such prominent orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, Concertgebouw, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhaus, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, RAI, Santa Cecilia, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Argentina and Orquesta Nacional de España… and many other.

He gave concerts in prestigious concert halls including the Carnegie Hall, the Alice Tully Hall and the UN General Assembly Hall in New York, the Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Berliner Philharmonie, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Festival Hall in London and Festspielhaus in Salzburg. He held master classes in New York, Tokyo, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Fort Worth, Bordeaux, Paris, Seoul, Beijing, Brescia, Madrid, Amsterdam, Hamamatsu, Montevideo, Mexico City.

The artist has gained great recognition as a juror at the prestigious international piano competitions such as those organized in Warsaw (eight last editions of the Chopin Competition), Leeds, Montreal, Moscow (Tchaikovsky Competition in 2002 and in 2019), A. Rubinstein in Tel-Aviv, London, Cleveland, Geneva, Hamamatsu, Toronto, Tokyo, Takamatsu, Seoul, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Santander, Sendai, Taipei, Weimar, Manchester, Shezhen, Los Angeles, Hilton Head…

In July 2007 he led the Jury’s works at the prestigious piano competition in Cleveland, thus was the first and only Pole invited to fulfill a function of Jury chairman at the USA international piano competition.

On 5th November 2001, Piotr Paleczny was invited to be a soloist of the extraordinary Gala Concert to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 1993 he has been Artistic Director of the world’s oldest existing piano festival – the Duszniki International Chopin Piano Festival and since 2004 he has also been the Artistic Director of the International Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz.

In 2015 the National Chopin Institute released a highly awaited CD recorded by Piotr Paleczny which became a huge success among critics and the audience. The artist conducts piano class at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. His students have won dozens of awards at the most important international and national piano competitions. Currently he is also Professor at the Talent Music Academy in Brescia, Italy as well as the member of the executive committee of the International Pianists Association.

The artist is honored with many superior and prestigious distinctions, such as the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Mexican Order of the Aguila Azteca.

In September 2005 Piotr Paleczny was awarded the highest Polish artistic distinction – Gold Medal for “Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis”.

In March 2017 Piotr Paleczny was awarded a prestigious Diploma and Title of Honorary Professor of the Chopin University of Music.

In April 2017 the Board of the Polish Phonographic Academy, in recognition of his artistic achievements, awarded him the most prestigious Golden Fryderyk Award. In 2018 Piotr Paleczny received an extraordinary and unique prize – The C.K. Norwid Award “Lifetime Achievement.”

In 2019 the Government of Japan awarded Piotr Paleczny one of the highest Japanese honors – the Order of the Rising Sun with Golden Rays and Sash.

From 2022 Doctor honoris causa of the Chopin University of Music.