Jan Lisiecki - guest artist

Our guest pianist is Jan Lisiecki - Jan will perform an all Chopin recital, which will include the complete Etudes Opus 25.  Days after his performance here, Jan is off to perform the same concert in Tokyo. 

He is a regular on CBC Radio, often seen on the stages of some of the world's great orchestras, and add to that the fact that he and his mother are incredibly delightful, all signs point to a concert Saskatchewan will never forget.

Bio: http://www.janlisiecki.com/

Jan Milosz Lisiecki was born on March 23, 1995 in Calgary, Canada, and has been studying piano since the age of five at the Mount Royal University Conservatory.


At age 14, Jan is already making a name for himself on the Canadian and international stage. He had his orchestral debut at the age of 9, and has since performed more than 40 times with orchestras in Canada and internationally, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, L’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Minnesota Orchestra, Sinfonietta Cracovia, and Sinfonia Varsovia, to name a few. In July 2009 Jan performed Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 in c-minor under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa to a full house and received a spontaneous standing ovation. Most recently, he gave a “dazzling” performance of the Chopin Concerto No. 1 in E minor at the MIDEM Classical Awards Gala in Cannes, France. He is booked to perform with orchestras and solo in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

Jan has played at Carnegie Hall, the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, Kaufman Hall, Salle Cortot and has shared the stage with Yo-Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman, James Ehnes, and Emanuel Ax. He has collaborated with the New Zealand String Quartet, Quatour Ebene, and James Campbell.

Jan has won a host of major Canadian music titles. In November 2009 he was awarded Grand Prize at the OSM Standard Life Competition (the youngest in history). In 2008 he won the Grand Award in both the Canadian Music Competitions (June 2008) and the Canadian Music Festival (August 2008, as the youngest in history). Jan has been very successful in seven international competitions in the USA, Italy, England, and Japan.

Last summer (2008), Jan performed the Chopin F minor Concerto with Sinfonia Varsovia and was named the sensation of the prestigious festival “Chopin and His Europe” in Poland. On August 20, 2009, he returned to Warsaw performing the Chopin E minor Concerto with Howard Shelley conducting, and received glowing reviews and praise from critics. The concert was broadcast live by the Polish Radio 2. Jan’s debut CD, feauturing these two performances, was released at the beginning of 2010 by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute as catalogue No. 1 on the new “White Series”.

On January 1st 2010, at midnight, Jan had the honour to open the Year of Chopin in Żelazowa Wola, Chopin’s birthplace in Poland. This event marked the official beginning of the Chopin 200th Birthday celebrations across the world.

In 2009 Jan performed at six international summer music festivals: Festival of the Sound, Brott Music Festival, Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, Festival d’Auvers sur Oise, Festival de Musique de Menton, and the International Festival “Chopin and His Europe”. He has performed solo recitals in England, Scotland, France, Poland, USA, and Canada.

His performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio in Canada, Polish Radio, French Radio, Luxembourg Radio, Austrian Radio, and German Radio, as well as on French Television 3 and the TV 1 and 2 in Poland. Jan was featured in the CBC “Next!” Series on March 1, 2009, on Sunday Afternoon in Concert as one of the most promising young artists in Canada. Two of his recitals that were recorded by the CBC are available on "Concerts on Demand" website. His performance of the Mozart Concerto No. 22, K. 482 with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra will be featured on the afternoon of February 14, 2010, on Sunday Afternoon in Concert, CBC Radio 2.
Jan performs frequently for various charity organizations, including the David Foster Foundation, the Polish Humanitarian Organization and the Wish Upon a Star Foundation. In June 2008 he was been appointed a National Youth Representative by UNICEF Canada.

He also played for many politicians and government representatives, including a recital at Rideau Hall for Her Excellency, The Governor General of Canada, Michaëlle Jean. In a letter to Jan, Her Excellency wrote:

“You are an inspiration to children and adults across Canada.”

Also a composer, his work has won prizes at the National Finals of the Canada Music Week Writing Competition and in the CBC Mozart Variations Competition. Upon the school board’s recommendation Jan was accelerated four grades and is a student of Western Canada High School.