Biography

Gilmore Award-winning pianist Piotr Anderszewski was born in Warsaw in 1969 to Polish-Hungarian parents. His collaborations with orchestra have included appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin Staatskapelle, the orchestras of Chicago, Philadelphia, and London, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He has also given many performances directing from the keyboard, with ensembles such as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

Mr. Anderszewski has been an exclusive artist with Warner Classics/Erato (previously Virgin Classics) since 2000. His first recording for the label was Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, which went on to receive a number of prizes, including a Choc du Monde de la Musique and an ECHO Klassik award. He has also recorded a Grammy-nominated CD of Bach’s Partitas 1, 3, and 6, and a disc of works by Chopin. His affinity with the music of his compatriot Karol Szymanowski is captured in a recording of the composer’s solo piano works, which received the 2006 Classic FM Gramophone Award for Best Instrumental Disc. His recording devoted to solo works by Robert Schumann received an ECHO Klassik award in 2011 and two BBC Music magazine awards in 2012, including Recording of the Year. Mr. Anderszewski’s recording of Bach’s English Suites Nos. 1, 3, and 5, was released in November 2014, and won both the 2015 Gramophone Award and ECHO Klassik award. His most recent recording, devoted to the music of Mozart and Schumann, was released in February 2017.

In the 2017-18 season Mr. Anderszewski appears with the Vienna Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris, among others. In recital he can be heard at Chicago’s Symphony Center, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and at the Barbican Centre in London. In spring 2018 he will resume his play/direct collaboration with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra on a European tour.

Mr. Anderszewski is the subject of two award-winning documentaries by the film maker Bruno Monsaingeon for ARTE. The first of these, Piotr Anderszewski plays the Diabelli Variations (2001) explores his particular relationship with Beethoven’s Opus 120, while the second, Piotr Anderszewski, Unquiet Traveller (2008) captures Mr. Anderszewski’s reflections on music, performance, and his Polish-Hungarian roots. A third film by Monsaingeon, Anderszewski Plays Schumann, was made for Polish television and first broadcast in 2010. He made his SFS debut in 2009.

(October 2017)