Pannon Philharmonic

Pianist, born 10 May 1946 in Rybnik.

Graduated from Warsaw's Academy of Music under Professor Jan Ekier. Winner of five international piano competitions: Sophia (1968), Munich (1969), Warsaw (1970), Pleven (1971), and Bordeaux (1972).

Piotr Paleczny's international career developed pursuant to his success at the 7. Fryderyk Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1970. Paleczny won the 3rd prize and received the Award of the Fryderyk Chopin Society for the best execution of a Polonaise. The 1970 edition of the competition was the first at which an American, Garrick Ohlsson, took top honors. Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida came second, and among Polish pianists, Janusz Olejniczak also emerged successful finishing in 6th place. Alongside Ohlsson, Paleczny was one of the favorites of the competition and easily advanced through earlier stages on his way to the final. It was with similar confidence and composure that he developed his international career, quickly achieving the status of Poland's most outstanding pianist. His repertoire is expansive, though he is most valued for his interpretations of the works of Chopin and other composers of the Romantic era. Paleczny is widely recognized for his executions of the piano concertos of Polish composers, including both of Chopin's concertos, the "Concerto in a-minor op. 17" of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the "4. Sinfonia Concertante op. 60" of Karol Szymanowski, and the "Piano Concerto" of Witold Lutosławski. He has enjoyed a lively career as a concert pianist on all of the world's continents since his success at the 7. Fryderyk Chopin Competition, appearing as a soloist with renowned orchestras like Warsaw's National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the American Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw, the BBC London Orchestra, the Yomiuri Nippon, the Tonhalle Zurich, the RAI Roma, the Santa Cecilia, the Mexico National, the Buenos Aires National, the Gewandhaus, and the National Orchestra Madrid.

Paleczny has performed in some of the world's most famous concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Royal Festival Hall in London.

The pianist has lead master classes in Bordeaux, Amsterdam, Paris, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Mexico City, Tokyo, Lugano, and Warsaw, and sat on international piano competition juries in Warsaw, Paris, Santander, Tokyo, Hamamatsu, Prague, Taipei, Cleveland, and London.

Since 1993, Piotr Paleczny has been the artistic director of the oldest Polish music festival – the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdroj.

Recordings of Piotr Paleczny's performances have appeared on albums published by Polskie Nagrania, EMI, BBC Classic, Pony Canyon, CD Accord, Olympia, Wifon, BeArTon, Sound, Naxos, and DUX. The annual "Musical America" named Paleczny's recording of Ignacy Jan Paderewski's "Piano Concerto" (Sound), for which he was accompanied by the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jerzy Maksymiuk, as the best ever recording of this work. Another of his recordings, Karol Szymanowski's "4. Sinfonia Concertante" (EMI), appeared on the American market to win far-reaching acclaim. The pianist also recorded the complete Ballads, Sonatas, and Concertos of Chopin for BeArTon. These performances will be included in the label's National Edition of the "Complete Works of Fryderyk Chopin".

Piotr Paleczny has an abundant concert repertoire within which the piano concertos of Polish composers constitute a significant position. In addition to the concertos of Chopin, Paderewski, and Szymanowski, Paleczny's repertoire includes the "Piano Concerto" ofWitold Lutosławski, a work that the artist once performed under the direction of the composer himself. The pianist went on to record this same piece for the Naxos label with the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Antoni Wit. His interpretation earned him broad critical and popular acclaim. One of the artist's most recent recordings, an album titled "The Best of Fryderyk Chopin" published by DUX, won him the "Fryderyk 1999" Award of the Polish Phonographic Academy.

In May of 1998, the President of the Republic of Poland granted Piotr Paleczny the academic title of professor. The artist has also received many prestigious Polish and international honors and awards. Paleczny currently heads the piano performance class at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw.

Source: Polish Music Information Center, Polish Composers' Union, January 2002