Magdalena Lisak

Born in Katowice, the pianist Magdalena Lisak continues her family’s musical traditions. In 1994, she graduated with distinction from the piano class of Professor Andrzej Jasiński at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. One of her most valuable experiences was her study period under Krystian Zimerman at the City of Basel Music Academy in 1996-98 . Winning the 6th Prize in the 13th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1995 paved her the way to such prestigious concert halls as the Hitomi Memorial Hall in Tokyo, the Stadt-Casino in Basel, the Rudolfinum in Prague and Warsaw Philharmonic. She has also taken part in Chopin festivals in Duszniki, Nohant – La Châtre, Mariánské Láznê, Ghent, Geneva and Warsaw (“Chopin and His Europe”).

Her interpretations have been recorded for Deutsche Rundfunk, Radio Suisse Romande, the Polish Radio and Telewizja Polska, as well as on CDs under such labels as DUX and Polskie Radio Katowice. She regularly gives recitals, as well as concerts with orchestra and chamber ensembles in Poland, other European countries, the USA, Canada, Japan, China and Brazil. She has performed as a soloist under such conductors as Kazimierz Kord, Tadeusz Strugała, Tomasz Bugaj, Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, Jerzy Salwarowski, Massimiliano Caldi, Agnieszka Duczmal, Jacques Mercier and Reinbert de Leeuw. She has given premiere performances in a number of festivals: the Silesian Days of Contemporary Music in Katowice, the International Festival “Laboratory of Contemporary Music” in Warsaw and Białystok, and the “Warsaw Autumn”. At the invitation of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw she has performed and recorded the works of Chopin on a historical Erard piano in the CD series “The Real Chopin”. She pursues various artistic projects under the aegis of the Silesian Music Society, of which she is founder and chair. Currently she is Assistant Professor at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.