Jacek Kaspszyk Conductor - International Classical Artists

Jacek Kaspszyk
Conductor
"Jacek Kaspszyk led the whole ensemble in a masterly
fashion, intelligently placing the many climaxes, emotions and
passions of the work"
Polish National Opera, King Roger, July 2011
Award winning conductor Jacek Kaspszyk has been the Artistic Director of the NFM Wroclaw
Philharmonic since 2006 and until recently was also Music Director of the Polish National Radio
Symphony Orchestra. In addition to recording awards, he was recently nominated for the prestigious
Elgar Medal, in recognition of his many fine performances of Elgar’s works over the years, joining
distinguished colleagues like Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andrew Litton and Leonard Slatkin.
Recent symphonic engagements range from his return to Vienna Symphony Orchestra at the
Bregenz Festival 2012, concerts with Sinfonia Varsovia at La Roque D’Antheron and Lugano Festival
with Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana. He enjoyed a return to the USA with his own orchestra, NFM
Wroclaw Philharmonic and pianist Garrick Ohlsson, recently completing a successful coast to coast
tour. They presented programmes including works by Szymanowski, Dvorak, Brahms and Chopin,
with Bernstein’s Candide Overture proving equally popular with audiences. Jacek Kaspszyk opened
the 2011/2012 season in the Far East conducting the China Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphony
Orchestras as well as making his debut with the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra with pianist
Stephen Kovacevich.
This season he will return to Malaysian Philharmonic following his successful debut. Other season
highlights include Opera North for concerts in the UK, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, China
Philharmonic, Lugano Festival and an extensive tour of the UK with National Polish Radio Symphony
Orchestra
Recent Opera highlights included performances of Szymanowski's King Roger for Polish National
Opera. This new production directed by David Pountney was televised as part of the high-profile I,
Culture programme to celebrate the opening of the Polish Presidency of the European Union.
Among other special events were concerts with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the
Chopin Festival in Warsaw.
M. Kaspszyk continues his long association with Sinfonia Varsovia in Warsaw with whom he appears
regularly at the La Folle Journée festivals in France and Japan and 'Chopin and his Europe' Festival
in Warsaw amongst others.
Throughout Europe Jacek Kaspszyk has conducted many orchestras including Bayerische Rundfunk,
RSO Berlin, Orchestre National de France, Wiener Symphoniker, Oslo, Stockholm, Rotterdam and
Prague Philharmonics as well as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with whom he toured Australia.
He held the position of Principal Conductor and Music Advisor of the Nord Nederlands Orkest (1991-
1995) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Polish National Philharmonic in Warsaw (1996 - 1998).
Jacek Kaspszyk has conducted orchestras in the USA (Cincinnati Symphony, San Diego Symphony),
Canada (Calgary Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony), Japan (Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Tokyo
Philharmonic) as well as the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
His debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra was followed by concerts with the London Symphony,
London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras. Other engagements included
performances with the Halle, Royal Scottish National, BBC Scottish and BBC National Orchestra of
Wales with whom he made his BBC Proms debut. He also became Principal Conductor of Capital
Radio's Wren Orchestra.
Season 2012/13 - Updated biographies are available at www.icartists.co.uk
Please do not use this biography if it is more than three months old.

Highly regarded in the field of opera, Jacek Kaspszyk was General Director of the Teatr Wielki -
Polish National Opera - from 2002. Under Kaspszyk's tenure the company enjoyed not only huge
success at home, but also won international recognition with acclaimed performances at such venues
as the Beijing Festival (2001), the Bolshoi in Moscow (2002), Sadler's Wells Theatre in London
(2004), Hong Kong Arts Festival (2005) and Perolada Festival in Spain (2006), as well as during three
highly successful tours of Japan (2001, 2003, 2005). He has conducted productions at many
renowned opera houses among others: Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf, Opera Comique in
Paris, Opera de Lyon, Opera de Bordeaux, Stockolm Opera, English National Opera, Opera North
Leeds, Zurich Opera, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville. In 1998
he was appointed Artistic and Music Director, and Between 2006 - 2008 he worked regularly with the
Lithuanian National Opera in Vilnius whose acclaimed productions of R. Strauss's Salome and
Wagner's Die Walkure he conducted in Vilnius as well as at festivals in Ljubljana and Ravenna
(2007), and during a well received residency at the Israeli Opera Tel Aviv - Yafo (2008).
Jacek Kaspszyk is widely represented on CD, including an award-winning recording of Rossini’s Il
Signor Bruschino with the Polish Chamber Opera and the Edison Prize-awarded recording of Baird’s
Concerto Lugubre with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as several acclaimed
recordings for Collins Classics with all four London orchestras, including Mussorgsky’s Pictures from
an Exhibition, Mahler’s Symphony No 1, and R. Strauss’s Also Spracht Zarathustra (LSO),
Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2 and Verdi’s Opera Overtures (Philharmonia), works by J. Strauss
and Schubert’s Symphonies No 5 & 8 (LPO) and Puccini’s Interludes (RPO).
His recording of Lutoslawski’s Symphonies No 2 & 4 with the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic received
the 2011 Fryderyk award for the category: Album of the Year, Symphonic and Concert Music. The
album has been described as “An important and magnificent release that gives us the best sound the
composer has ever had”. Kaspszyk and pianist Marta Argerich feature together on a 2010 EMI
Classics Chopin CD. He enjoys a regular collaboration with Martha Argerich, conducting at the
annual Progetto Martha Argerich Festival in Lugano. He recently recorded Beethoven piano concerti
with pianist Ingrid Jacoby. The disc is due for worldwide release in 2012.
Recordings with the Polish National Opera include Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor (EMI Classics)
awarded with a Platinum Disc, Penderecki’s Ubu Rex (CD Accord) and Szymanowski’s King Roger
(CD Accord), which was nominated for ‘Record of the Year’ by BBC Music Magazine and highly
praised by Gramophone magazine whose critic wrote of Kaspszyk “in all, even the tiniest details, he
managed to achieve absolutely everything”.
Jacek Kaspszyk studied conducting, theory and composition at the Warsaw Academy of Music,
graduating in 1975, and that same year made his conducting debut at the Teatr Wielki – Polish
National Opera. In 1976, he was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Oper am
Rhein in Dusseldorf, and in 1977 was a prize winner at the prestigious Karajan Competition, making
his Berlin and New York debuts the following year.
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