Piotr Janowski
Encyclopedia
Piotr Janowski was a Polish violin
ist, first Polish winner of the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition
.
Janowski was born in Grudziądz
, Poland
. In 1967, at the age of 16, he won the V International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition
in Poznań
, Poland. He graduated with distinction from The Higher State School of Music
in Warsaw
where he completed the five year course in one academic year in the class of Irena Dubiska (1969-1970).
He continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music
in Philadelphia with Ivan Galamian
and later at the Juilliard School of Music
in New York
as pupil of Galamian
and Zino Francescatti
. In 1974, invited by Henryk Szeryng
and Zino Francescatti
, Janowski studied at the Summer Masterclass in Montreux
(Switzerland
). Between 1975 and 1977 he was a private scholar of Jascha Heifetz
at the University of Southern California
in Los Angeles
.
He was a citizen of Poland
and the United States of America
, he also was an honorary citizen of Arkansas
, USA
and the city of Cognac
, France
.
He died in London
, United Kingdom
, and is buried at Powązki
cemetery in Warsaw
.
, Philadelphia Orchestra
, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra
, Oslo Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
. He cooperated with Leonard Bernstein
, Leonard Slatkin
, Eugene Ormandy
, Erich Leinsdorf
, Stanisław Wisłocki, Andrzej Markowski, Bogusław Madey, Karol Stryja
, William Smith and Walter Hendel.
He was accompanied by Mieczysław Horszowski, Arthur Balsam
, Peter Serkin
, Franco Agostini, Wolfgang Plagge, Jerzy Lefeld
, Maciej Paderewski, Jerzy Marchwiński, Zofia Vogtman, Paul Berkowitz, Cynthia Raim, Roman Markowicz, Steven Meyer, Golda Tetz and also his wife, Joanna Maklakiewicz.
Since 1976 Janowski was a member of the New Arts Trio. He took part in numerous music festivals (Marlboro
, VT
, Chautauqua, NY, Dimitrios
and Warsaw Autumn
). He was lecturer at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
in Milwaukee, Eastman School of Music
in Rochester, state New York and Barratt-Due Institutt in Oslo, Norway. He led masterclasses in Conservatorio di Bologna, Thessaloniki Conservatory, Ohio State University
, Columbus, Evenstone, The Oberlin College
and Northwestern University
.
The violin he played was a 1722 Guarneri del Gesu
.
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist, first Polish winner of the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition
Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition
The international Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition is a competition for violinists up to age 30 that takes place every five years in Poznań, Poland, in honor of the virtuoso and composer Henryk Wieniawski. The first competition took place in 1935 in Warsaw, 100 years after the birth of its...
.
Janowski was born in Grudziądz
Grudziadz
Grudziądz is a city in northern Poland on the Vistula River, with 96 042 inhabitants . Situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship , the city was previously in the Toruń Voivodeship .- History :-Early history:...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In 1967, at the age of 16, he won the V International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition
Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition
The international Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition is a competition for violinists up to age 30 that takes place every five years in Poznań, Poland, in honor of the virtuoso and composer Henryk Wieniawski. The first competition took place in 1935 in Warsaw, 100 years after the birth of its...
in Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Poland. He graduated with distinction from The Higher State School of Music
Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy
The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw is located at ulica Okólnik 2 in central Warsaw, Poland...
in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
where he completed the five year course in one academic year in the class of Irena Dubiska (1969-1970).
He continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
in Philadelphia with Ivan Galamian
Ivan Galamian
Ivan Alexander Galamian was an influential Armenian violin teacher of the twentieth century.He was born in Tabriz, Iran, but his family soon emigrated to Moscow, Russia. Galamian studied violin at the School of the Philharmonic Society there with Konstantin Mostras until his graduation in 1919...
and later at the Juilliard School of Music
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
as pupil of Galamian
Ivan Galamian
Ivan Alexander Galamian was an influential Armenian violin teacher of the twentieth century.He was born in Tabriz, Iran, but his family soon emigrated to Moscow, Russia. Galamian studied violin at the School of the Philharmonic Society there with Konstantin Mostras until his graduation in 1919...
and Zino Francescatti
Zino Francescatti
René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti was a French virtuoso violinist.Zino Francescatti was born in Marseilles, to a musical family. Both parents were violinists. His father, who also played the cello, had studied with Camillo Sivori. Zino studied violin from age three and was quickly recognized as a...
. In 1974, invited by Henryk Szeryng
Henryk Szeryng
Henryk Szeryng was a Polish violinist.-Early years:He was born in Żelazowa Wola, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy family....
and Zino Francescatti
Zino Francescatti
René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti was a French virtuoso violinist.Zino Francescatti was born in Marseilles, to a musical family. Both parents were violinists. His father, who also played the cello, had studied with Camillo Sivori. Zino studied violin from age three and was quickly recognized as a...
, Janowski studied at the Summer Masterclass in Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
(Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
). Between 1975 and 1977 he was a private scholar of Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
He was a citizen of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he also was an honorary citizen of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the city of Cognac
Cognac
Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
He died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and is buried at Powązki
Powazki Cemetery
Powązki Cemetery , also known as the Stare Powązki is a historic cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city, and one of the oldest...
cemetery in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
.
Artistic activity
As a soloist Janowski played with the most importand ochestras in the United States and Europe, including New York PhilharmonicNew York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
, Oslo Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra , one of Poland's premier musical institutions, was established in 1901 on the initiative of an assembly of Polish aristocrats and financiers, as well as musicians...
. He cooperated with Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor and composer.-Early life and education:Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His father Felix Slatkin was the violinist, conductor and founder of the Hollywood String Quartet,...
, Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
, Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf was a naturalized American Austrian conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality...
, Stanisław Wisłocki, Andrzej Markowski, Bogusław Madey, Karol Stryja
Karol Stryja
Karol Stryja was a Polish conductor and teacher.Stryja, son of a tailor, was born in Cieszyn and finished elementary school, gymnasium and teachers' seminary there. Since 1934 he worked as a teacher and simultaneously studied at the University of Music in Katowice...
, William Smith and Walter Hendel.
He was accompanied by Mieczysław Horszowski, Arthur Balsam
Arthur Balsam
Artur Balsam was a Polish-born American classical pianist and pedagogue.-Biography:...
, Peter Serkin
Peter Serkin
-Biography:He was born in New York City and is the son of pianist Rudolf Serkin, and grandson of the influential violinist Adolf Busch, whose daughter Irene had married Rudolf Serkin...
, Franco Agostini, Wolfgang Plagge, Jerzy Lefeld
Jerzy Lefeld
Jerzy Lefeld was a Polish composer, pianist and a music teacher.Lefeld was born and died in Warsaw. From 1917 until World War II he taught piano at the Warsaw Conservatory. He became its professor in 1933...
, Maciej Paderewski, Jerzy Marchwiński, Zofia Vogtman, Paul Berkowitz, Cynthia Raim, Roman Markowicz, Steven Meyer, Golda Tetz and also his wife, Joanna Maklakiewicz.
Since 1976 Janowski was a member of the New Arts Trio. He took part in numerous music festivals (Marlboro
Marlboro Music School and Festival
The Marlboro Music School and Festival is a retreat for advanced classical training and musicianship held for seven weeks each summer in Marlboro, Vermont...
, VT
Vermont Mozart Festival
The Vermont Mozart Festival was a series of indoor and outdoor concerts presented annually at sites throughout the state of Vermont. The inaugural Festival of 1974 was conceived as a celebration of both the natural beauty of the state and the genius of the Festival's namesake, composer Wolfgang...
, Chautauqua, NY, Dimitrios
Festivals of Thessaloniki
The Festivals of Thessaloniki are a group of festivals held throughout the year in Thessaloniki, Greece.-International Trade Fair:The Thessaloniki International Trade Fair has a venerable modern history dating to 1926...
and Warsaw Autumn
Warsaw Autumn
Warsaw Autumn is the largest international Polish festival of contemporary music. Indeed, for many years, it was the only festival of its type in Central and Eastern Europe. It was founded in 1956 by two composers, Tadeusz Baird and Kazimierz Serocki, and officially established by the Head Board...
). He was lecturer at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
Wisconsin Conservatory of Music
The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music is an independent music school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The conservatory teaches many types of music, including classical, jazz, rock, folk, and blues...
in Milwaukee, Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
in Rochester, state New York and Barratt-Due Institutt in Oslo, Norway. He led masterclasses in Conservatorio di Bologna, Thessaloniki Conservatory, Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, Columbus, Evenstone, The Oberlin College
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the school's alumni...
and Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
The violin he played was a 1722 Guarneri del Gesu
Giuseppe Guarneri
Bartolomeo Giuseppe Antonio Guarneri, del Gesù was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri house of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his instruments, and he has been called the finest violin maker of the Amati line...
.
Prizes
- First Prize at Fifth International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition, Poznań, Poland, 1967
- First Prize at Philadelphia Orchestra Competition, Filadelfia, USA, 1972
- First Prize at G. B. Dealey Competition, Dallas, USA, 1974
- First Prize (together with New Arts Trio, consisted: Rebecca PenneysRebecca PenneysRebecca Penneys is an American-born pianist of Russian-Jewish decent. Penneys is considered a world-class recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral soloist, educator, and adjudicator. In 1965, she was the youngest contestant to have ever entered the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw,...
– piano, Steven Doane - cello) at The Walter W. Naumburg Competition, New York, USA, 1979 - First Prize (together with New Arts Trio, consisted: Rebecca PenneysRebecca PenneysRebecca Penneys is an American-born pianist of Russian-Jewish decent. Penneys is considered a world-class recitalist, chamber musician, orchestral soloist, educator, and adjudicator. In 1965, she was the youngest contestant to have ever entered the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw,...
– piano, Steven Doane - cello) at The Walter W. Naumburg Competition, New York, USA, 1980
World first performances
- 1968, Warsaw, Poland – Marian Sawa Improvisazione for violin solo
- 1969, Warsaw, Poland – Grażyna Bacewicz VII Violin Concerto (Warsaw Autumn, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrzej Markowski - conductor)
- 1976, New York, USA – David Diamond III Violin Concerto (New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein - conductor)
- 1980, Madison, USA – Yehuda Yannay Concertino for Violin and Chamber Orchestra
- 1980, Milwaukee, USA – Burt Levy Chamber Music for Violin Alone
- 1980, New York, USA – Robert Moevs Introduction and Presto for piano trio
- 1982, Rochester, USA – John Harbison Quartet for clarinet, violin, cello and piano
- 1982, New York, USA – Sidney Hodgkison Piano Trio
- 1983, New York USA – John Eaton In Mernoriam Mario Cristini - Trio
- 1991, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil – Emani Aguiar Meloritmas 44
- 1994, Oslo, Norway – Wolfgang Plagge Asteroide Suite for violin and piano
- 1994, Oslo, Norway – Wolfgang Plagge Rhapsody for violin solo
- 1997, Poznań, Poland – Wolfgang Plagge Sonata for violin and piano
- 1998, Oslo, Norway – Wolfgang Plagge Lucky Man House – chamber music with dancers
Recordings
- W. A. Mozart Violin Concerto in D Major KV 218, K. Szymanowski I Violin Concerto op. 35 (Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanisław Wisłocki - conductor), 1969, Muza
- J. Brahms 2 Sonatas for piano and violin in A Major op. 100 and in d minor op. 108 (Maciej Paderewski - piano), 1970, Muza
- G. Bacewicz VII Violin Concerto (Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrzej Markowski - conductor), 1969, Muza
- M. Ravel Piano Trio, G. Fauré Piano Trio (New Arts Trio), 1982, Pantheon
- L. van Beethoven Piano Trio in B-flat Major op. 97 ‘Archduke’ (New Arts Trio), 1983, Chamber Music Society of Rochester
- F. Kreisler, F. Grieg, H. Wieniawski and others, Rose in the snow – Short pieces for violin and piano (Wolfgang Plagge - piano), 1997, Norske Gram
- F. Busoni Sonatas for violin and piano (Franco Agostini - piano), 1998, Phoenix Classics
- A. Hovhaness, C. Saint-Saëns, M. Ravel and others Garden of Adonis – compositions for violin and harp (Małgorzata Milewska-Sundberg - harp), 2000, Porsgrunn Museum
- H. Wieniawski All works (Wolfgang Plagge – piano) – CD nr 1 (2000), CD nr 2 (2005), 2L Records (Aura)
Sources
- Elżbieta Dziębowska, Musical encyclopedia – Encyklopedia muzyczna, vol. 4 ‘HIJ’, Kraków, Poland 1993, PWM.
- Theodore StronginTheodore StronginTheodore Strongin was an American music critic, composer, flautist, and entomologist.-Life and career:Born in New York City, Strongin grew up in Darien, Connecticut. He studied both music and biology at Harvard University and Bard College...
, Janowski is heard in a violin recital, 23 April 1971, The New York Times. - Raymond EricsonRaymond EricsonRaymond Ericson was an American music critic who wrote articles for The New York Times for 30 years.-Life and career:...
, Music: Philharmonic. Bernstein Leads Works by Harris and Copland and Diamond Premiere, 3 April 1976, The New York Times. - Joseph Horowitz, 3 Polish Musicians in Tribute, 20 May 1978, The New York Times.
- Harold C. SchonbergHarold C. SchonbergHarold Charles Schonberg was an American music critic and journalist, most notably for The New York Times. He was the first music critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism...
, Newport Opera to Do 3 Concerts a Day, 5 July 1978, The New York Times - 2 Chamber Groups Win ’80 Naumburg Awards, 9 April 1980, The New York Times.
- Edward Rothstein, Concert: Chautauquans, 17 August 1982, The New York Times.
- John Rockwell, Concert: New Arts Trio at Alice Tully Hall, 23 March 1983, The New York Times.
- Piotr Janowski gives the most exhilarating, refreshing Wieniawski playing I have heard in a long time - I cannot wait for volume 2!, 1 April 2002, The Strad Magazine.
- Anne Midgette, Music Review: A Lithuanian Legend's Century-Old Quartet, or Most of It, 7 January 2003, The New York Times.