Janusz Olejniczak

Janusz Olejniczak is one of the most outstanding Polish artists. Born in Wroclaw, he took piano lessons with Luiza Walewska, Ryszard Bakst and Zbigniew Drzewiecki. In 1970 he became the youngest prize-winning participant of the Chopin competition. In 1972 he won a prize in the Alfredo Caselli piano competition in Naples. At that time he was already giving concerts at home and abroad, including MIDEM in Cannes. In 1971–73 he studied in Paris with Konstanty Schameling and Witold Malcuzynski.The artist has toured throughout Europe, as well as playing in Japan, Australia and America. He has appeared at such renowned venues as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf, the Teatro Collone in Buenos Aires, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Santhory Hall in Tokyo, or the Lincoln Center in Washington. He has participated in the Montreal Festival, La Chaise Dieu, festivals in Aix-en-Provence, Nohant, Marienbad, Valdemosa, the All Bustan in Beirut, the Warsaw Autumn festival.He has played with orchestras under Witold Rowicki, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Charles Dutoit, Jacek Kaspszyk, Wojciech Michniewski, Kazimierz Kord, Grzegorz Nowak, Jan Krenz and Antoni Wit. He has run master courses in Canada and Japan, as well as conducting classes at the Mozart Academy.

Janusz Olejniczak has recorded extensively for broadcast stations and music companies, both in Poland and abroad (including Polskie Nagrania, Selene, Tonpress, Pony Canyon, Opus 111, CD Accord). His interpretations of Chopin have won numerous coveted awards, e.g. a Palm d’Or (for his Chopin recital), the Fryderyk ’95 Award and the Album of the Year by the magazine Studio (for Chopin concertos with the Sinfonia Varsovia under Grzegorz Nowak).The artist’s repertoire spans Baroque and contemporary music. He likes to perform both solo and in chamber ensembles. Thanks to his fascinating personality and unique interpretative skills he was invited to act in Andrzej Zulawski’s film La note bleu.