User:MarcinMarkowicz
Marcin Markowicz (born 19 March 1979 in Olsztyn, Poland) is a Polish violinist, pedagogue, composer and cultural animator.
Since 2019, he has served as concertmaster of the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw. From 2006 to 2019, he was concertmaster of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. He is the founder and second violinist of the Lutosławski Quartet. Since 2005, he has been the artistic director of the Ensemble Festival in Radziejowice and the Princess Daisy Festival in Wałbrzych. From 2015 to 2019, he was the founder and artistic director of the NFM Orchestral Academy.
Education
[edit]Markowicz grew up in Kraków, where he began violin studies at the Paderewski State Primary Music School. He continued his education at the Chopin State Secondary Music School. In 1998, he began studies at the Musikhochschule Lübeck under Christiane Edinger. From 2000 to 2005, he studied at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw under Krzysztof Jakowicz and Roman Lasocki. At the same time, he studied under Professor Roman Totenberg at the Longy School of Music in Boston. He also participated in numerous masterclasses led by, among others, Ida Haendel, Sherban Lupu, Grigory Zhislin, and members of the Juilliard Quartet, Cleveland Quartet, Silesian Quartet, and Szymanowski Quartet.
Artistic Career
[edit]Violinist
[edit]As a soloist, he has collaborated with the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, Baltic Philharmonic, Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra, Polish Radio Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Zielona Góra Philharmonic, and Sudecka Philharmonic. He has performed under the direction of conductors such as Jacek Kaspszyk, Gilbert Varga, Nicolae Moldoveanu, Giancarlo Guerrero, Bassem Akiki, Michał Klauza, George Tchitchinadze, Tomáš Hanus, Benjamin Shwartz, and Agnieszka Duczmal.
As a soloist and chamber musician, he has appeared at festivals including the Hong Kong Festival of Performing Arts, Tongyeong International Music Festival (South Korea), St. Barts Music Festival, Warsaw Autumn, Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Witold Lutosławski "Chain" Festival, Wratislavia Cantans, Musica Polonica Nova, Musica Electronica Nova, Klara Festival (Brussels), MusMA Festival, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival (Maine, USA), Hyde Park Jazz Festival (Chicago), Vancouver Jazz Festival, Jazztopad Festival (Wrocław and New York), and Punkt Festival (Kristiansand).
From 2005 to 2006, he was a member of the Amadé Kammerphilharmonie in Aachen. From 2006 to 2019, he served as concertmaster of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. In 2006, he also became the second violinist of the Lutosławski Quartet, which he co-founded. In 2015, he established the NFM Orchestral Academy, where he served as artistic director and lecturer until 2019. In 2019, he became concertmaster of the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw and joined the Jazz Band Młynarski-Masecki.
As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with Garrick Ohlsson, Piotr Anderszewski, Kevin Kenner, José Gallardo, Bruno Canino, Paul Gulda, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Jakub Jakowicz, Agata Szymczewska, Bartłomiej Nizioł, Szymon Krzeszowiec, Mats Lidström, Tomoko Akasaka, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Andrzej Bauer, Tomasz Strahl, Alexander Gebert, Michel Lethiec, Uri Caine, Mark Feldman, Marcin Masecki, Benoît Delbecque, Arve Henriksen, and Kris Davis.
He has performed throughout most of Europe, the Americas, and Asia in venues such as Lincoln Center (New York), Konzerthaus Berlin, Auditorio Nacional and Palacio Real (Madrid), Boulez Saal (Berlin), BOZAR (Brussels), Kioi Hall (Tokyo), Forbidden City Concert Hall (Beijing), Solti Hall (Budapest), Megaron (Athens and Thessaloniki), Cité de la Musique (Paris), Nezahualcóyotl Concert Hall (Mexico City), Arvo Pärt Center (Estonia), National Philharmonic (Warsaw), Studio S1 of Polish Radio, NOSPR Concert Hall (Katowice), and the National Forum of Music (Wrocław).
He has recorded for Naxos, CD Accord, DUX, NFM, Odradek, and Polish Radio.
Two works have been dedicated to him: Loophole for violin and orchestra by Jan Duszyński (2014), and Violin Concerto by Paweł Mykietyn (2019).
He is a brand ambassador for Jargar Strings.
Pedagogue
[edit]Since 2018, Markowicz has been a faculty member at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. He previously taught at the Academy of Music in Katowice (2009–2010 and 2013–2014). He has given violin and chamber music masterclasses in Poland, Italy, Greece, Singapore, Turkey, and South Korea. He is a longtime faculty member at the Zakopane Art Academy and a juror at the National Grażyna Bacewicz Violin Competition in Wrocław.
Composer
[edit]In 1999, he received a distinction at the Panufnik Composition Competition in Kraków. His compositions have been performed at festivals and concert halls across Europe (e.g., Konzerthaus Berlin, BOZAR Brussels, NFM Wrocław, NOSPR Katowice, Studio S1 Warsaw), as well as in Asia (Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore), the United States (including Lincoln Center and Kneisel Hall), and Brazil.
His works have been commissioned by Wratislavia Cantans, National Forum of Music, the Silesian Quartet, the Lutosławski Quartet, Agata Szymczewska, Janusz Wawrowski, and Jakub Jakowicz.
Performers of his works include Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Sol Gabetta, Agata Szymczewska, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Jakub Jakowicz, Alexander Gebert, the Szymanowski Quartett, Silesian Quartet, Lutosławski Quartet, Polish Cello Quartet, Wrocław Philharmonic, Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio, Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie, Baltic Philharmonic, and Zielona Góra Philharmonic.
He has also composed music for theatre productions, including Legendy Warszawskie (dir. Wojciech Malajkat, Teatr Capitol, Warsaw), Pojedynek na Bajki (dir. Karolina Labahua, Teatr Klasyki Polskiej, 2025), and Da capo al fine (dir. Cezary Kosiński, Princess Daisy Festival, 2025).
His film music credits include 13 August '44 (dir. Małgorzata Brama), Wrzątek (dir. A. Casianov), The Hero (dir. Milena Dutkiewicz), and Zakalec (dir. Katarzyna Markowicz).
Awards
[edit]In 2014, he received the "Wena" Award from the Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship for outstanding cultural achievements. In 2019, he was awarded the Wrocław Music Award. In 2023, he received a Fryderyk Award as a member of the Lutosławski Quartet.