Maciej Kułakowski
October 1 - 4, 2024
In 2015 at the age of 19, Maciej won 1st Prize and a special award at the Lutoslawski International Cello Competition. He was a Laureate in the Finals of the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and a prize winner at the 2019 YCAT International Auditions in London. In 2022 he completed his studies at Kronberg Academy with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt.
As a soloist Maciej has appeared with the National Philharmony Warsaw, Baltic Philharmony, Sinfonia Cracovia, Sinfonia Iuventus, Aukso: Chamber Orchestra of Tychy, London Mozart Players, the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Brussels Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony and Calgary Symphony Orchestra, among many others.
Recitals and chamber music have taken him across Europe and further afield, including the Piatigorsky Cello Festival in Los Angeles, Cello Biennale Amsterdam, At the World’s Edge Festival in New Zealand, Seiji Ozawa Festival, Beijing Super Cello Festival, the Penderecki, Lutoslawski, Moritzburg, Kronberg, Krzyzowa Music, Hohenstaufen and Munich Rising Stars Festivals.
In 2022 Delphian Records released his debut album of French music ‘Beau soir’ to critical acclaim. He went on to record Penderecki’s complete solo cello music released in 2023 for DUX.
He has collaborated with Krzysztof Penderecki, Emanuel Ax, Christoph Eschenbach, Charles Neidich, Arnold Steinhardt, Lawrence Power, Giovanni Sollima, Kian Soltani and worked with conductors Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Frank Braley and Stéphane Denève, Marek Moś, Marek Pijarowski in a wide range of repertoire.
Born in Poland, to a family of classical and jazz musicians, Maciej studied at the Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk, Mannheim University and the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar, prior to entering the Kronberg Academy.
Maciej plays a Giovanni Baptista Ruggeri cello made in Cremona, ca.1700 on loan from a Charitable Trust and a Thorsten Theis cello from 2014.
