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Konrad Skolarski

piano

Fot. Anita Wąsik-Płocińska

Polish pianist Konrad Skolarski was born in 1980 in Warsaw in a musical family. He holds a doctoral degree in musical arts and is Assistant Professor at the Chair of Piano, the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. As a concert pianist he is known for his with extraordinary technique and recognizable own style of interpretations, as well as for interesting and sophisticated piano repertoire.

In April 2017 the pianist performed the Polish premiere of Rodion Shchedrin 1^st Piano concerto with National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice under the baton of Alexander Humala. In October 2017 Konrad Skolarski gave recitals and masterclass in Buenos Aires, receiving  enthusiastic reviews. In November 2017 Konrad Skolarski gave a very successful tour in the US, performing recitals in New York and Buffalo, as well as 2^nd Chopin piano concerto with Buffalo Philharmonic under the baton of Maestra JoAnn Falletta. His performance of Chopin 2^nd concerto there was acclaimed “revelation” and “hit” and was included in the promotional CD of Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. The pianist gave also masterclass in Buffalo University, as well as at Nazareth College of Rochester, New York.

He started to learn to play the piano at the age of 4 under Professor Marek Mizera. At the age of 9, he performed Concerto in F Minor by J.S. Bach with the famous orchestra Concerto Avenna. Afterwards, he performed many times as a young virtuoso at the National Philharmonic during Sunday concerts for the youth.

At the age of 13, he became a laureate of the Professor Ludwik Stefański Competition for Young Pianists. He was then noticed by Professor Halina Czerny-Stefańska who gave him the 2^nd award. Between 1995 and 1998, he studied under Janusz Olejniczak. In 1997, he participated in the International Master Course called “The Pianists of Tomorrow” in Hamamatsu, Japan, organized by the Japan Music Foundation and Hiroko Nakamura. He was the only pianist from Europe invited to this competition, and was its youngest participant among 25 pianists from around the world. He developed his skills during private and master classes with such famous musicians as: Alexander Jenner, Sergio Perticarolli, Hiroko Nakamura, Oxana Yablonskaya (Julliard School of Music) and Vladimir Krainev.

From 1998–2005, he studied under the Russian pianist Olga Rusina. In 2001 he won the 1^st award at the 3^rd International P. Tchaikovsky Competition in Spain (Huesca). For this achievement, he was awarded with the Scholarship of the Minister of Culture. Between 2002 and 2005, he studied at the Academy of Music in Wrocław, class of Prof. Olga Rusina, and after that he completed a one-year course in the class of the world-famous pianist and pedagogue, Professor Pavel Gililov. In 2002 he recorded his debut album with pieces by Fryderyk Chopin, Franz Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Sergei Prokofiev. The album was released by the Universal Company in 2005 and had very favorable reviews.

In 2007, Konrad Skolarski graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, class of Professor Alicja Paleta-Bugaj, and in the period of 2007–2010 he was a student at a master class of the mentioned professor Pavel Gililov (postgraduate studies: “Konzertexamen”) with whom he still collaborates.

By working under many Russian pianists and pedagogues, Konrad Skolarski had a chance to familiarize with two centres of the famous Russian piano schools – the “Leningrad” school and the “Moscow” one.

In 2009 Konrad Skolarski participated in a competition in Leeds and was also invited to the most prestigious piano festival called “Klavierfestival Ruhr.” The artist’s concert at the WDR Cologne (2010) was recorded and transmitted live. The artist gave concerts in Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Serbia, Belgium, Switzerland, Great Britain and Japan.

Since 2010 Konrad Skolarski has been a student of legendary Prof. Peter Feuchtwanger in London, who has worked with many distinguished pianists, including Martha Argerich, Nelson Freire or Shura Cherkassky.

In 2010, he obtained a doctoral degree, and since 2011 he has been cooperating with the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw (class of Professor Alicja Paleta-Bugaj).

Konrad Skolarski signed a recording contract with DUX. In 2012, the company released two albums with pieces by Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Prokofiev, and piano miniatures (Bach-Siloti, Brahms, Chopin, Grieg, Medtner, Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky-Pabst, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Saint-Saëns/Godowsky). In 2012 his solo CD with Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Prokofiew was awarded by the international music critics – Diapason “5” Award and nomination for Fryderyk Award.

The recent concert plans of Konrad Skolarski include performances in Warsaw Philharmonic (with Sinfonia Iuventus and Michail Jurowski), at 20. Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, 30. Izmir International Festival, and many others. 

The artist is interested in painting, poetry, psychology and philosophy – especially the idealistic philosophy of the Far East.