Artists

Described as a “visionary and poet of the cello”, Bartosz Koziak has gained the acclaim of music lovers and critics not only for his extraordinary interpretation of works by both classical and contemporary composers but also for his thoughtful and often daring program choices.

As an established performer of contemporary music, Bartosz Koziak was a long time and regular guest participant in Krzysztof Penderecki's concert projects. He participated in the first CD recording of the Concerto grosso conducted by the composer and has performed most of his cello works.

Bartosz Koziak has given first performances of a number of works including the  “DoubleCello Concerto” by Hanna Kulenty, the Cello Concerto by Anna Zawadzka-Gołosz, “Sixth commandment” by Elżbieta Sikora, performed together with “Quando stanno morendo. Diario polacco no.2" by Luigi Nono as part of the Sikora/Nono project with Les Métaboles ensemble and SWR Experimentalstudio

His discography includes recordings of Grażyna Bacewicz's Second Cello Concerto, Krzysztof Meyer's Cello Concerto "Canti Amadei", Bohuslav Martinů’s Cello Concerto No.2 and two CDs with Justyna Danczowska of cello and piano works by Schubert, Schumann, Franck and Shostakovich, and an album of Martinů, Kodály and Ravel, recorded with Anna Maria Staśkiewicz (Sarton). Latest, premiere recording of Feliks Nowowiejski's Cello Concerto (DUX), with Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra under Łukasz Borowicz was prized with the Polish Phonographic Academy Award - Fryderyk. 

He has performed at the Konzerthaus, Berlin, Rudolfinum, Prague, Cité de la Musique, Paris, Teatro Politeama, Palermo, the Khachaturian Concert Hall, Yerevan and  the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.

The orchestras he has played with as a soloist include the  Polish National Philharmonic, NOSPR, Sinfonia Varsovia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Concerto Budapest, the Armenian State Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic, the Radio Orchestras in Warsaw and Budapest, the National Orchestra of Ukraine, and has been conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki, Jan Krenz , Antoni Wit, Gabriel Chmura, Jacek Kaspszyk, András Keller, Volodymyr Sirenko and Sergey Smbatayan.

Bohuslav Martinů - Duo no.1 (Staśkiewicz/Koziak)

He has been invited to leading festivals including Warsaw Autumn, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Yerevan Music Perspectives, Young Euro Classic in Berlin, Musica Polonica Nova, Chopin i Jego Europa, Warsaw and East Meets West, Korea.

Bartosz Koziak won the 3rd Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition in 2001 in Warsaw, the 2nd prize at the Isang Yun Competition in Tongyeong (Korea) and is a laureate of the Mikola Lysenko International Competition in Kiev. He was awarded a Special Prize at the Prague Spring Competition and was winner of the 1st prize at the 11th International Competition of Contemporary Chamber Music in Kraków. He has also received prizes at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and ARD in Munich. In 2003, he received a special award from the Polish Culture Foundation presented by Ewa Podleś.

He graduated with distinction "Magna cum Laude" from the classes of Professor Kazimierz Michalik and Andrzej Bauer at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, Warsaw, and from Philippe Muller’s class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris .

Thanks to Kaja Danczowska, he plays a 19th-century copy of  a J. Guadagnini  instrument which the eminent Polish cellist Dezyderiusz Danczowski used for concerts.

photo Anita Wąsik-Płocińska