Kosciuszko Foundation
2021 Chopin Piano Academy Faculty

Krzysztof Jabłoński
Poland/Canada

Krzysztof Jablonski is Laureate of the F. Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1985 as well as numerous top prizes at international piano competitions in Milan, Palm Beach, Monza, Dublin, New York, Calgary as well as Gold Medal at the A. Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv.

For more than 30 years Jablonski is active performing solo, chamber music as well as with orchestras on stages in Europe, Americas, Asia and Israel in prestigious concert halls, including appearances on the Master Concert Series at Berliner Philharmonie. A frequent guest of many orchestras, performed under the baton of V. Gergiev, A. Boreyko, K. Penderecki, J. Semkow, J. Maksymiuk, F. Brueggen, W. Bothe, Y. Tezuka, T. Shimono, A. Wit, J. Krenz and with prominent ensembles such as Orchestra of the 18th Century, Berner Symphonie-Orchester, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Duesseldorfer Symphoniker, Hamburger Symphoniker, Jenaer Philharmonie, Festival Orchestra of the Grand Teton Music Festival, Helsinki Philharmonic, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, Kirishima Festival Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. As chamber music recitalist he recently performed with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Arto Noras, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Teng Li - to name just a few. He is a member of "Warsaw Piano Quintet" which was first founded by W. Szpilman in 1962.

Jablonski’s somewhat romantic nature was shaping his music taste and interests over the years. Beside most popular works Jablonski has in his repertoire, he also plays some less known compositions such as Concertos by F. Riess, H. Litolff, E. Dohnanyi. He was invited to perform for ballet, opera and theatre spectacles as well as for spectacular, multi-discipline projects with multimedia presentations and lights such as Scriabin's "Prometheus" with Duesseldorfer Symphoniker, Ballet “Fortepianissimo” choreographed by Lorca Massine at the National Opera in Warsaw, original piano version of the Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande. He was invited to perform during the opening of the Wiener Opernball in Vienna together with the Vienna State Opera Ballet choreographed by Giorgio Madia. Jablonski also played for the crowd of thousands with Grant Park Orchestra and K. Urbanski at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in Chicago.

In February of 2013, Jablonski performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto with Maestro Valery Gergiev and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra during fundraising event “Clean Baltic Sea Concert” in Helsinki. This performance was streamed live over the Internet as well as recorded by Finnish Radio and TV.

2013 has brought Jablonski also to Japan where he performed Beethoven's Concerto with Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra following his successful appearances with Kirishima Festival Orchestra in 2012. In 2014 he played during Kirishima Festival again and in 2015, celebrating 30 years of his artistic career, performed Chopin's Concerto No. 1 with Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra - the same Piano Concerto he played during Finals of the F. Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1985, where his international career began. Also in 2015, he performed Chopin's E minor Concerto once more with Warsaw Philharmonic under the button of Maestro Jacek Kaspszyk. Jablonski concluded anniversary year performing Saint-Saëns' 2nd Piano Concerto in G minor with Warsaw Philharmonic under the direction of Patrick Fournillier in February of 2016.

He has made live recordings for radio and television in many countries as well as numerous CDs in Germany, Japan, and Poland. He was recently invited by the F. Chopin National Institute to record complete works by Chopin both on modern and historical pianos. Two first CDs (Etudes) were released in 2016 and 2017, and more will come soon. Jablonski himself says it is his once in a lifetime project, but he hopes to be able to complete this work in 3-4 years.

Studied with Janina Butor and Prof. Andrzej Jasinski. Worked during master classes with R. Kerer and N. Magaloff. Graduated with honors in 1987 from the Academy of Music in Katowice, where he later earned his Doctorate in 1996. He was a Professor at The F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw from 2004 to 2017. He is currently a piano faculty at the Mount Royal University - The Conservatory in Calgary and at the University of Calgary and faculty member of the Morningside Music Bridge Program. He was also Professor of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lethbridge during 2016-2017. In addition to academic responsibilities, he presents master classes, lectures and is a jury member at international piano competitions including Chopin Piano Competitions in Warsaw, Toronto/Mississauga (Chair of the Jury), Miami, Tokyo and Foshan in China.

Alexander Kobrin
Russia/USA

In the 2019-2020 season Mr. Kobrin will be making his Carnegie Hall debut as well as concluding his Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas project for WETA radio in Washington DC. His new Schubert and Hindemith CDs were released in 2019 on Centaur and Quartz labels.

In 2005, Mr. Kobrin was awarded the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal at the Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, TX. His numerous successes in competitions also include top prizes at the Busoni International Piano Competition (First Prize), Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (Top Prize), Scottish International Piano Competition in Glasgow (First Prize)

Mr. Kobrin has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Verdi, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Moscow Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Berliner Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony, Birmingham Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with renowned conductors as Mikhail Pletnev, Mikhail Jurovsky,Sir Mark Elder, Vassiliy Sinaisky, James Conlon, Claus Peter Flor, Alexander Lazarev, Vassiliy Petrenko, Yuri Bashmet and many others.

He has appeared in recital at major halls worldwide, including the Avery Fisher Hall in New York, the Kennedy Centre in Washington, Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Louvre Auditorium,Salle Gaveau and Salle Cortot in Paris, Munich Herkulesaal and Berliner Filarmonia Hall in Germany, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, Sheung Wan Civic Centre in Hong Kong, as well as Sala Verdi in Milan and many others. Other performances have included appearances at La Roque d’Antheron, the Ravinia Festival,Ruhr Klavier Festival, the Beethoven, Busoni,Chautauqua and International Keyboard festival in NYC. Annual concert tours include performances and masterclasses in major conservatories in Asia, Europe and USA.

Before joining Eastman School of Music Alexander Kobrin was on the faculty of Gnessins State Academy of Music in Moscow, Schwob School of Music in Columbus, GA and in New York University. Mr. Kobrin regularly serves in the jury of international piano competitions, including Busoni, Hamamatsu, Rosalyn Tureck, Neuhaus and others.

Mr. Kobrin has released recordings on the Harmonia Mundi, Quartz, and Centaur labels, covering a wide swath of the piano literature to crictical acclaim including “critic’s choice” awards in Gramophone and Fanfare magazines.

Mr. Kobrin was born in 1980 in Moscow, Russia. He is a graduate of Gnessins Special Music School and Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory of professors Tatiana Zelikman and Lev Naumov studios.

Piotr Paleczny
Poland

Graduated from Warsaw's Academy of Music under Professor Jan Ekier. Winner of five international piano competitions: Sophia (1968), Munich (1969), Warsaw (1970), Pleven (1971), and Bordeaux (1972). Piotr Paleczny's international career developed pursuant to his success at the 7. Fryderyk Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1970.

Paleczny won the 3rd prize and received the Award of the Fryderyk Chopin Society for the best execution of a Polonaise. The 1970 edition of the competition was the first at which an American, Garrick Ohlsson, took top honors. Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida came second, and among Polish pianists, Janusz Olejniczak also emerged successful finishing in 6th place. Alongside Ohlsson, Paleczny was one of the favorites of the competition and easily advanced through earlier stages on his way to the final. It was with similar confidence and composure that he developed his international career, quickly achieving the status of Poland's most outstanding pianist. His repertoire is expansive, though he is most valued for his interpretations of the works of Chopin and other composers of the Romantic era. Paleczny is widely recognized for his executions of the piano concertos of Polish composers, including both of Chopin's concertos, the Concerto in a-minor op. 17 of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the 4. Sinfonia Concertante op. 60 of Karol Szymanowski, and the Piano Concerto of Witold Lutosławski. He has enjoyed a lively career as a concert pianist on all of the world's continents since his success at the 7. Fryderyk Chopin Competition, appearing as a soloist with renowned orchestras like Warsaw's National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the American Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw, the BBC London Orchestra, the Yomiuri Nippon, the Tonhalle Zurich, the RAI Roma, the Santa Cecilia, the Mexico National, the Buenos Aires National, the Gewandhaus, and the National Orchestra Madrid.

Paleczny has performed in some of the world's most famous concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Royal Festival Hall in London.

The pianist has lead master classes in Bordeaux, Amsterdam, Paris, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Mexico City, Tokyo, Lugano, and Warsaw, and sat on international piano competition juries in Warsaw, Paris, Santander, Tokyo, Hamamatsu, Prague, Taipei, Cleveland, and London.

Since 1993, Piotr Paleczny has been the artistic director of the oldest Polish music festival – the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdroj.

Recordings of Piotr Paleczny's performances have appeared on albums published by Polskie Nagrania, EMI, BBC Classic, Pony Canyon, CD Accord, Olympia, Wifon, BeArTon, Sound, Naxos, and DUX. The annual "Musical America" named Paleczny's recording of Ignacy Jan Paderewski's Piano Concerto(Sound), for which he was accompanied by the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jerzy Maksymiuk, as the best ever recording of this work. Another of his recordings, Karol Szymanowski's 4. Sinfonia Concertante (EMI), appeared on the American market to win far-reaching acclaim. The pianist also recorded the complete Ballads, Sonatas, and Concertos of Chopin for BeArTon. These performances will be included in the label's National Edition of the Complete Works of Fryderyk Chopin.

Piotr Paleczny has an abundant concert repertoire within which the piano concertos of Polish composers constitute a significant position. In addition to the concertos of Chopin, Paderewski, and Szymanowski, Paleczny's repertoire includes the Piano Concerto of Witold Lutosławski, a work that the artist once performed under the direction of the composer himself. The pianist went on to record this same piece for the Naxos label with the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Antoni Wit. His interpretation earned him broad critical and popular acclaim. One of the artist's most recent recordings, an album titled The Best of Fryderyk Chopin published by DUX, won him the "Fryderyk 1999" Award of the Polish Phonographic Academy.

In May of 1998, the President of the Republic of Poland granted Piotr Paleczny the academic title of professor. The artist has also received many prestigious Polish and international honors and awards. Paleczny currently heads the piano performance class at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw.

Ewa Pobłocka
Poland

Ewa Pobłocka is a prize-winner of the 10th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (1980), where she also won the Polish Radio prize for the best performance of mazurkas. She studied at Gdańsk Music Academy under Zbigniew Śliwiński and Jerzy Sulikowski, graduating with honours in 1981. She completed post- graduate studies with Conrad Hansen in Hamburg (1982) and benefitted from consultation with Jadwiga Sukiennicka, Rudolf Kerer, Tatiana Nikolaieva and Martha Argerich. She won First Prize in the International Viotti Music Competition in Vercelli (1977) and the gold medal in the International Festival of Young Laureates in Bordeaux (1979).

Ewa Pobłocka has performed throughout Europe and the Americas, as well as in China, Indonesia, the RSA, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Australia, in such venues as the Herkules-Saal in Munich, Musikhalle in Hamburg, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Kyoi Hall in Tokyo, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Barbican Centre and Wigmore Hall in London, Musikverein in Vienna, Lincoln Center in New York, Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto and Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio De Janeiro, among others. She has played as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bayerischers Rundfunkorchester, Sinfonia Varsovia and Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and has repeatedly toured as a Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra soloist under the baton of Kazimierz Kord and Antoni Wit. She is an accomplished chamber musician and has performed with the Silesian Quartet as well as with many singers from Poland and abroad. She has given numerous first performances and made world premiere recordings of works by Polish contemporary composers, including Andrzej Panufnik, Witold Lutosławski (first Polish recording of the Piano Concerto with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the composer's baton), Paweł Szymański and Paweł Mykietyn.

She has worked with European radio stations and recorded more than 50 discs (for Polskie Nagrania, Deutsche Grammophon, CD Accord and Bearton, among others). Many of her recordings have won prizes and critical acclaim, just to mention two Fryderyk statuettes (both in 1998), two Record of the Year titles awarded by the 'Studio' Magazine (in 1996 and 1998), the John Field Medal for the recording of his complete Nocturnes. Her last album with the 1st book of Das Wohltemperierte Klavier by Johann Sebastian Bach (NIFC, 2018) has been awarded as recording of the month by 'Gramophone' Magazine and received special commendation in 'The Record Geijutsu'.

Pobłocka is a distinguished pedagogue. As well as teaching piano at Bydgoszcz Music Academy, she is also a guest teacher at the Geidai University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo and Nagoya. She has given numerous master classes in Canada, The United States, Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia, Korea, China, Ireland, Norway, Poland and Belgium, among others. She has been a jury member of many international piano competitions, as Piano Competition in Pretoria, the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (on modern and period instruments), the Esther Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition or the International Piano Competition in Hamamatsu.

She has a passion for performing on period instruments from the Romantic Era. She frequently records, performs and gives master classes on the pianos such as Erard and Pleyel. She has been a jury member of the 1st International Chopin Piano Competition on Period Instruments which took place in September 2018 in Warsaw.