Jan Lisiecki (; born March 23, 1995) is a Canadian classical pianist. He performs internationally with orchestras and conductors. He has been a recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon since the age of 15., Calgary Herald, September 30, 2010 At age 18, Lisiecki was the recipient of Gramophone’s Young Artist Award and the Leonard Bernstein Award.
Early life and education Lisiecki was born in Calgary, Canada, into a Polish family. He began piano lessons at the age of five and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine. Ottawa Citizen, September 27, 2006 At thirteen, Lisiecki was invited to the 2008 edition of the "Chopin and his Europe" festival in Warsaw, Poland, to perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 21 with Sinfonia Varsovia and Howard Shelley. Instantly hailed as the sensation of the festival, he returned in 2009 to perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 11 in the same constellation. Culture.pl, September 2, 2013
He was brought to international attention the following year when the Fryderyk Chopin Institute released the two performances, marking Lisiecki's album debut. Classical Music Sentinel, January 18, 2020 The recording was awarded the Diapason d’Or Découverte, Jan Lisiecki website June 10, 2013 and met with enthusiastic international reviews, with BBC Music Magazine praising the "sensitively distilled" insights of his Chopin interpretations, and "mature musicality" of his playing, and noting that "even in a crowded CD catalogue, this refreshingly unhyped debut release is one to celebrate". BBC Music Magazine review Following the Chopin release, Deutsche Grammophon signed an exclusive contract with Lisiecki that same year, when he was 15 years old. Deutsche Grammophon announcement
As part of the Canada Day celebrations in 2010, Lisiecki performed for Queen Elizabeth II and an audience of 100,000 people on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Star Phoenix March 4, 2016
Lisiecki was accelerated four grades upon the school board's recommendation and graduated in January 2011 from Western Canada High School in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Last.fm January 18, 2020 He completed his undergraduate studies in Toronto at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music, where he was admitted on a full scholarship. The Royal Conservatory of Music January 18, 2020
Recordings and critical reception
Lisiecki's first recording for Deutsche Grammophon, released in April 2012, features Mozart's Piano Concertos K 466, No. 20, in D minor and K 467, No. 21, in C Major with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Christian Zacharias Deutsche Grammophon, June 10, 2013, New York Times, March 29, 2013 and was nominated for 2013 Juno Award in the category Classical Album of the Year. It was followed in spring 2013 by Chopin's Études Op. 10 and 25, Deutsche Grammophon, June 10, 2013 Musical Toronto, April 23, 2013 which Gramophone Magazine described as "played as pure music, given as naturally as breathing". Gramophone Magazine, October 2013
In March 2013, Lisiecki substituted at short notice for Martha Argerich, performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58 in Bologna with the Orchestra Mozart under Claudio Abbado., Slipped Disc March 14, 2013 He concluded the season with a performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto Op. 54 at the BBC Proms in Royal Albert Hall with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Antonio Pappano. The Proms, July 2013
The following year, Lisiecki made his debuts as soloist with world-class orchestras such as the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala in Milan, OperaClick, January 2014 Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, Annual Report 2013/14 NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, NHK Symphony Orchestra, October 2014 and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and performed three Mozart concertos in a week with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Philadelphia Orchestra, April 2014 The same season saw him perform recital debuts at Wigmore Hall, Rome's Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and in San Francisco. Seen and Heard International, September 2013
In January 2016, Lisiecki played his debut in the Stern auditorium of New York's famed Carnegie Hall at the age of 20, with what the New York Times called an "uncommonly sensitive performance". New York Times, January 15, 2016 The same month, Deutsche Grammophon released Lisiecki's recording of Schumann's works for piano and orchestra with Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Antonio Pappano. Deutsche Grammophon catalogue ClassicFM wrote, "he may be young but Jan Lisiecki plays Schumann like a legend". Musical America, January 2017 Shortly after, he made subscription series debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra, Ideastream, April 2016 Boston, Boston Symphony Orchestra, April 2018 Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, April 2018 and San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, April 2018 London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, December 2016 Vienna Symphony Vienna Symphony, January 2017 and Staatskapelle Dresden. Staatskapelle Dresden pdf programme, July 2018
Chopin's rarely performed works for piano and orchestra, recorded with NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester and Krzysztof Urbański and released in March 2017, Deutsche Grammophon catalogue was awarded both the Echo Klassik Echo Klassik press release, July 27, 2017 and the Juno Award,"Junos 2018: the complete list of winners". CBC News, March 25, 2018 respectively Germany's and Canada's most significant recognitions in the music industry.
In August 2018, Lisiecki led the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra from the piano in a performance of Mendelssohn's Piano Concertos No. 1, Op. 25 and No. 2, Op. 40 at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, ten years after his first performance and recording at the "Chopin and his Europe" festival. Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, August 2018 The live recording was released by Deutsche Grammophon in February 2019 and nominated for an OPUS Klassik, Opus Klassik social media, July 2019 the successor award for the discontinued Echo Klassik, Billboard, April 2018 and Orpheus and Lisiecki toured the concertos extensively throughout Europe and North America, Dorn Music, April 2019 appearing in Carnegie Hall and Elbphilharmonie.
In 2018, Lisiecki presented a recital program with works by Chopin, Schumann, Ravel and Rachmaninoff. Toronto Concert Reviews, March 2019 Titled 'Night Music', it was hailed by reviewers as "intoxicating", "divine" and a "metaphysical sound experience". National Arts Centre, October 2019
His sixth album for Deutsche Grammophon saw him leading the Academy of St Martin in the Fields from the piano for all five Beethoven concertos. The September 2019 release was recorded live in three concerts from Konzerthaus Berlin over the course of five days. It was the first release within the label's celebration of the Beethoven Year 2020, and an audiovisual release followed in January 2020. Deutsche Grammophon, October 2019 In March 2020, Deutsche Grammophon released a Beethoven Lieder recording with baritone Matthias Goerne. Deutsche Grammophon, March 2020
The season also saw him perform both a new solo recital programme as well as Lieder recitals with Goerne in Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, January 2020 London, Wigmore Hall, January 2020 Hamburg, Laeiszhalle, January 2020 Munich MünchenMusik, January 2020 and New York City's Lincoln Center, Lincoln Center, January 2020 and a series of Beethoven concerto cycles with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Konzerthaus Dortmund, January 2020 EasyTicket, January 2020
Lisiecki has worked with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestre de Paris, Camerata Salzburg, Munich Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Zürich Chamber Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra, and conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniel Harding, Michael Tilson Thomas, Manfred Honeck, Andris Nelsons, Tugan Sokhiev and Philippe Jordan. Dorn Music, January 2020
Media Radio and television networks worldwide frequently broadcast Lisiecki's performances, BBC Radio 3, October 2015 WRTI, March 2019 MagentaMusik, July 2019 Medici.tv, January 2020 and he has been subject to extensive global media coverage, Maclean's, April 12, 2013 Vogue Italia, October 2013 New York Times, June 2017 CityNews, March 2019 having been featured repeatedly on national television throughout Europe and North America. Heute Journal, May 2013 CBC Radio, June 05, 2019
In 2009, he was the subject of the 2009 CBC National News documentary by Joe Schlesinger, The Reluctant Prodigy. The Reluctant Prodigy, CBC Television, September 09, 2009 In 2019, Lisiecki was featured as a protagonist in SchumannVR, a virtual reality installation about the life of Robert and Clara Schumann, supported by the Tonhalle Düsseldorf. KlassikAkzente Magazine, October 24, 2019
Activism and charitable deeds Lisiecki is involved in charity work, donating time and performances to such organizations as the David Foster Foundation, the Polish Humanitarian Action and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Dallas Symphony Orchestra portfolio He was appointed UNICEF Ambassador to Canada in 2012, having been a National Youth Representative since 2008. Calgary Herald, November 3, 2008
Discography TitleAlbum details Peak positions US Classical Chopin: Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 Participants: Jan Lisiecki, Sinfonia Varsovia, Howard Shelley (conductor) Release: 2010 Fryderyk Chopin Institute June 10, 2013 Gold Award, Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry, Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry June 10, 2013 — Mozart: Piano Concertos K 466, No. 20, in D minor and K 467, No. 21, in C Major Participants: Jan Lisiecki, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Christian Zacharias (conductor) Release: 2012 Deutsche Grammophon June 10, 2013 — Chopin: Études Participants: Jan Lisiecki Release: 2013 Deutsche Grammophon June 10, 2013 Whole Note Magazine, June 2, 2013, The Toronto Star April 22, 2013 — Schumann: Piano Concerto and Concert Pieces Op. 92 & 134 Participants: Jan Lisiecki, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano (conductor) Release: 2016 19 Chopin: Works for Piano and Orchestra Participants: Jan Lisiecki, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Krzysztof Urbański (conductor) Release: 2017 13 Mendelssohn Participants: Jan Lisiecki, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Release: 2019 — Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos Participants: Jan Lisiecki, Academy of St Martin in the Fields Release: 2019 — Beethoven: Lieder · Songs Participants: Jan Lisiecki, Matthias Goerne Release: 2020 — Chopin: Complete Nocturnes Participants: Jan Lisiecki Release: 2021 — Preludes by Chopin, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Messiaen, Górecki Participants: Jan Lisiecki Release: 2025 —
Awards
2008 Grand Award, Canadian Music Competition Canadian Music Competition website, January 18, 2020 2008 Grand Award, Canadian Music Festival (youngest in history)Culture.pl September 2, 2013 2009 Grand Prize, OSM Standard Life Competition (youngest in history), The Globe and Mail, January 13, 2010 2010 Diapason d'Or Découverte Award 2010 Gold Award, Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry 2010 Révelation Radio-Canada Music Radio Canada website, January 18, 2020 2011 Young Artist of Public Francophone Radios Radio France website, January 18, 2020 2012 UNICEF Ambassador to Canada UNICEF portfolio, January 18, 2020 2013 Juno Nominee, Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) With Large Ensemble Accompaniment 2013 Gramophone Magazine, Editor's Choice (Chopin: Études) Gramophone Magazine October 2013 2013 Gramophone Young Artist of the Year, Gramophone Magazine (youngest in history) The Globe and Mail, September 19, 2013 2013 Leonard Bernstein Award, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Culture.pl, September 2, 2013