Piotr Borkowski (born in 1963 in Warsaw) - conductor, a pupil of Prof. Boguslaw Madey, a graduate of the Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw (presently the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music) with distinction for conducting the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra in diploma concert (1989), followed by assistantship in the Department of Conducting at his Alma Mater and doctorate (Ph.D. in Conducting, 1998). In 2015 he was granted the title of Doctor Hab. of Musical Arts (post-doctoral degree) by the National Committee for Grades and Titles of the Republic of Poland.
Earlier, Piotr Borkowski made his debut as a conductor at Warsaw Autumn Festival, in 1986, and at that time his professional career began. A few years later (1993) he studied conducting with Hans Graf in Vienna under a Meisterkurse für Musik scholarship. In 1995 his studies with Myung-Whun Chung and Ilija Musin at Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena fruited with a Diploma di Merito.
In 1992 he took part in the International Conducting Competition in Besançon (France). In February 1995 he participated in the competition for the position of assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he qualified for the finals and conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In August 1995 he was awarded the Diploma di Merito at the International Conducting Competition Antonio Pedrotti in Trento (Italy).
Regularly conducts many most recognized orchestras in the country and abroad, among others National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw, philharmonic orchestras in Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Jelenia Góra, Kalisz, Kielce, Koszalin, Łódź, Olsztyn, Poznań, Opole, Rzeszów, Szczecin, Wałbrzych, Zielona Góra, as well as with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Symphoniker, Kammersolisten der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Košice Janacek Philharmonic, United Chamber Orchestra, Sofia Symphony Orchestra, Trento Sinfonietta, Dnepropetrovsk State Philharmonic, Krasnoyarsk Chamber Orchestra, Kazakh State Philharmonic of Almaty, Orquesta do Theatro São Pedro (São Paulo), Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Guanajuato and Symphony Orchestra of India. He performed in the USA, France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Slovakia, China, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Mexico, India, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
He has participated in numerous festivals, a. o. International Festival of Contemporary Music "Warsaw Autumn" (conductor's debut in 1986), ISCM World Music Days in Warsaw (1992), The Laboratory of Contemporary Music, Kyungbuk Contemporary Music Festival in Daegu, Korean Orchestras Festival in Seoul, Kwangju International Contemporary Music Festival, International Chamber Music Festival and PAN International Contemporary Music Festival in Seoul, Tongyoung International Festival "Isang Yun", Busan Maru International Music Festival, Oldenburg Promenade Festival and Markgräfler Musikherbst in Germany. He has to his credit many premiere performances of works by Polish and Korean composers, including the Polish premiere of the oratorio "The Return of a Prodigal Son" by F. Nowowiejski.
As an opera conductor, he has conducted numerous performances of Mozart's operas ("Don Giovanni", "Magic Flute", "Cosi fan tutte", "Marriage of Figaro"), P. Mascagni ("Cavalleria Rusticana"), G. Donizetti ("Lucia di Lammermoor"), as well as Asian premieres of Z. Rudzinski – "Mannequins", Sukhi Kang – "Ein fest fűr Boris" and S. Rachmaninov – "Aleko".
Recorded for Polish Radio, Katowice (National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra), and commercial outfits at home (e.g. Gorzow Philharmonic, Olsztyn Philharmonic, Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic, Beethoven Academy Orchestra, Polish Radio Orchestra Warsaw) and abroad (Korean Chamber Orchestra, University of Suwon Symphony Orchestra, Daegu-Hyosung Catholic University Symphony Orchestra).
He recorded for Polskie Nagrania, SPV GmbH, Scarbo, DUX, Polonia Records, Acte Préalable, Musica Sacra Edition, Global Sound Media, Centaur Records and NAXOS. Repeatedly nominated for the Phonographic Academy Award "Fryderyk", including twice – in 2006, 2008 and 2024 – awarded with a statuette in the categories "Album of the Year – Contemporary Music", "Most Outstanding Recordings of Polish Music", and "Album of the Year - Orchestral Music". The album recorded with the winner of the H. Wieniawski International Violin Competition – Soyoung Yoon, and published by DUX, was nominated for the prestigious International Classical Music Award 2013.
From 1991 to 1994 he was chief and artistic director, and then, from 1994 to 1997, the artistic director of the State Philharmonic “F. Nowowiejski” in Olsztyn, Poland. In 1994, he was invited as a guest professor of conducting to Keimuyng University in Daegu (South Korea) and was simultaneously guest conductor of the local Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra i.e., at the Festival of Korean Orchestras in Seoul. From that time until the present regularly conducts the major Korean orchestras, and opera companies including KBS Orchestra, Korean Symphony, Bucheon Philharmonic, Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, New Seoul Philharmonic, Suwon Philharmonic, Daegu City Symphony Orchestra, Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra, Jeonju City Symphony Orchestra, Kyungbuk Symphony Orchestra, Busan Sinfonietta, Pohang Philharmonic, Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, Pohang Symphony Orchestra, Chungbuk Philharmonic Orchestra, Cholla Buk Province State Opera Company (“Lucia di Lammermoor” by G. Donizetti) as well as Korean Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble OPUS, and the “Life and Dream” Singers chamber opera group (Asian premieres of the opera "Mannequins" by Z. Rudzinski, "Ein Fest für Boris" by Sukhi Kang and "Aleko" by S. Rachmaninoff). From 1996 to 2001 professor of conducting at the Hyosung Catholic University in Teagu and director of the university orchestra. From 2001 until 2011 he was a professor of conducting and orchestra music director at the University of Suwon in South Korea where he also served twice as a Chair of the Orchestral Department. With The University of Suwon Opera Group, he conducted W. A. Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro", "Don Giovanni", "Cosi fan tutte", "Magic Flute" and „Cavalleria Rusticana” by P. Mascagni.
Toured France with Olsztyn Philharmonic in 1993, South Korea with Chopin Symphony Orchestra (1997), Taiwan (2007) and China (2008, 2009) with the University of Suwon Symphony Orchestra, and Germany (with Podlasie Philharmonic in 2010; with United Chamber Orchestra in 2012, 2013).
In 2006 Piotr Borkowski was appointed the conductor of the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea. In the years 2008-2011, he established and was the chief conductor of the Gyeonggi Festival Orchestra in South Korea.
In 2010, he became artistic director and conductor of the newly formed Gorzow Philharmonic – Centre for Art Education (Poland), where he collaborated with his orchestra until November 2012, enjoying many spectacular artistic successes. To Gorzow music lovers he introduced world-famous artists such as Maxim Vengerov, Ivan Monighetti, Soyoung Yoon, Ilya Rashkovskiy, Agata Szymczewska, Fabio Bidini, Katarina Andreasson, Krzesimir Dębski, Greg Banaszak, Małgorzata Walewska and others.
From June 2013 to May 2015, he ran managerial, artistic, and educational activities by the company he founded – the management – "United Arts Promotion & Development". As part of this activity, he organized a concert tour of the Berlin-based United Chamber Orchestra at the Markgräfler Musikherbst festival in Germany, organized and conducted master classes in Poland and South Korea, he published the book "Marian Borkowski – Jubilee of the 80th Anniversary of His Birth", cooperated with DUX Recording Producers in production of the CD "Piotr Borkowski conducts Marian Borkowski" (DUX 1149), as well as organized and implemented his concert activities in Poland, Russia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, India, and South Korea.
From April 2015 to December 2016, he was conductor-resident of the Symphony Orchestra of India in Mumbai, where he met with music stars such as Zubin Mehta, Pinkas Zukerman, Amanda Forsyth, Jessica Pratt, Marat Bisengaliev, Denis Matsuev, Sumi Hwang and others.
From 2012 to present, he is music director of the United Chamber Orchestra, and is the first guest conductor of the Kammersolisten der Deutschen Oper Berlin, with which he performed in the legendary hall of the Berlin Philharmonic, and toured Poland and South Korea. Since November 2014, he has been working closely with Ensemble OPUS in South Korea, and since January 2017 he has been a guest conductor at the Wroclaw Opera (Poland), where he conducted performances of the opera "Cosi fan tutte" by W.A. Mozart, the stage mystery "Phantoms" by St. Moniuszko and musical "Fiddler on the Roof" by J. Bock.
Since September 2018, Piotr Borkowski has been an associate professor at the Academy of Arts in Szczecin, where he teaches conducting classes and runs the post-graduate conducting program for foreign students.
In 1996 he was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland. Since 2011, he has been a member of the International L. van Beethoven Association in Berlin. Since 2021 he is an artistic adviser of the vanB KOREA Artistic Association and artistic director of the Pyeongtaek Chamber Orchestra.
REVIEWS
Press clippings of opinions about Piotr Borkowski's conducting skills.
Głos Pomorza
June 3-4, 1989
"... Piotr Borkowski's interpretation of Beethoven's Eight Symphony had all the hallmarks of a conductor on the threshold of a major career: restraint and expediency of gestures, excellent manual technique, self-discipline, musicality and sensitivity, a thorough knowledge of the score and musical styles. When it comes to young musicians at the very start of an independent career these are extremely rare features. Likewise, such an outstanding interpretation of the Eight Symphony can be heard rarely in the concert halls today."
Gazeta Olsztyńska
February 13, 1991
"... The Friday concert was a success. First and foremost it was the conductor's success. For the young Piotr Borkowski, it was the second opportunity to display his musical skills in the town of Olsztyn. The excellent technique, clear-cut gestures, and interpretative concepts, full of life and yet meticulously thought-out, make us believe that he has won a permanent place in the musical circuit."
Gazeta Pomorska
November 11, 1992
"... On Friday evening a young conductor, the first one known this season by the Bydgoszcz audience, met with loud cheers. A conductor's success generally comes together with musical and personal maturity. Piotr Borkowski is 29-year-old and yet he is the general and artistic director of the Olsztyn Philharmonic. Conducting the Friday concert with Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra he presented himself extremely well both visually - thanks to his elegant figure and unpretentious plasticity of gesture - and musically; the interpretation of each piece of music was clear, confident, and vivid. /.../ Piotr Borkowski has an important virtue: under his leadership, Tchaikovsky sounds like Tchaikovsky and Franck like Franck. He knows to draw out stylistic differences of harmony and expression and to elicit from the orchestra as much latitude as the discipline of performance. Full of temperament, he does not let it carry him away. /.../ Also in Variations the soloist was well supported by the conductor performing the difficult art of conducting the orchestra. /.../ The grateful orchestra sounded clear, tuned, and kept consonant structures even in fortissimos. It was a vivid and mellow concert, clear in forms and at the same time light and unconstrained. The young public attending the event was leaving the concert hall very much animated and satisfied."
Głos Szczeciński
December 16, 1993
“…Piotr Borkowski – a young conductor who is the head of the Olsztyn Philharmonic – conducted the concert calmly, showing considerable musicality in obtaining the right expressive shape of the presented pieces. /…/ The right choice of tempos and dynamics, an interesting way of phrasing, and well-balanced proportions of the instrumental groups created an image of the work that gave a lot of satisfaction.”
Gazeta Wyborcza
May 16, 1995
“... Piotr Borkowski's worldwide success. Piotr Borkowski, artistic director of the Olsztyn Philharmonic, was among the five finalists of the competition for the position of assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, one of the most famous symphony orchestras in the world. Apart from the young Polish conductor, three Americans and one Italian entered the top five. /.../ The competition in Boston took place at the end of February. There were 30 candidates selected in the preliminary selection from several hundred applications from all over the world. The jury included, among others Seiji Ozawa, Leon Fleisher, and Gustav Meier. /…/
Piotr Borkowski is one of the most talented Polish conductors of the young generation. /.../ In 1989 he graduated with honors from the Academy of Music. Fryderyk Chopin in Warsaw in the conducting class of Prof. Boguslaw Madey. His graduation concert with the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw received a standing ovation from the audience.”
Gazeta Olsztyńska
March 20, 2006
“... The Olsztyn Philharmonic, recently renamed the Warmińsko-Mazurska Philharmonic, is sixty years old. /…/ The concert that followed the official part was the most important part of the jubilee gala. /…/ The orchestra was conducted, as in the old days, by Mieczysław Nowakowski. After him, Piotr Borkowski took over the baton. And it was with him that the Olsztyn Philharmonic played in great style. The Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture. There wasn't a single cold note in this performance."
Głos Pomorza
November 25-26, 1989
"... Piotr Borkowskis's second appearance in Koszalin in a few months went a long way to confirm the astounding musicality, refinement, and exceptional conducting talent of this year's graduate of the Warsaw Music Academy. /.../ It was a performance clearly in the realm of the true art."
Gazeta Olsztyńska
May 12, 1992
"... The D-minor Symphony by Cesar Franck has electrified the audience. Its mellow, "organ-like" sound, full of dynamic contrasts and nuances had a sense of inevitable unfolding. /.../ It seemed to me that all the atmospheric electricity on that rainy night in May found an outlet for itself on the concert stage. It was a truly unique experience. The concert was Borkowski's success. I do not really know how he achieved it. And I do not want - this time at least - to find it out. I trust in his talent !"
Ruch Muzyczny
June 27, 1993
“… The culmination was undoubtedly the oratorio Return of the Prodigal Son, presented by the Symphony Orchestra of the Olsztyn Philharmonic, the Choir of the High School of Fine Arts from Olsztyn and the soloists: Maria Olkisz (mezzo-soprano), Błażej Grek (tenor) and Ryszard Smęda (bass) conducted by Piotr Borkowski, yet unheard in Poland. Composed in 1901, the work sounded splendid thanks to the excellent acoustics of the minor basilica in Świętalipka, emphasizing all the qualities of the dynamic, well-balanced performance; it was a truly successful artistic creation.”
Gazeta Olsztyńska
December 24, 1993
"... After the symphony concert last Friday, December 17, I was /.../ impressed by the performance of Piotr Borkowski, director of the Olsztyn orchestra. /.../ He is one of the most talented Polish conductors of the younger generation. /.../. I have had many opportunities to admire his sensibility to the color of sound or his rhythmic vigor. /.../. Meanwhile last night /.../ I saw a fully mature musician who is conscious of his own, consistent and well-established artistic way. /.../ As soon as I heard the Suite from "The Swan Lake" I pricked my ears. /.../ Suddenly I realized that the instrumental solo parts and the sound of orchestral sections were refined, rhythms accurate, facture treatment clear, and everything far from the traditional drawn-out manner of Tchaikovsky's work's interpretation."
Gazeta Wyborcza
May 23, 1995
“… And yet the conductor's energy and lively vitality made that / ... / I listened to his concert with curiosity growing minute by minute, which after a break, during Beethoven's First Symphony, turned into admiration. /…/ After the clash of these two extremely different worlds in the first part of the evening, it culminated in the aforementioned Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 Beethoven. /…/ Piotr Borkowski conducted it at a lively, energetic pace, which gave it the features of a sketch, one projection, showing a clear outline of the whole with extremely beautiful architecture, but at the same time full of delightfully perverse, changeable and whimsical dynamic accents and colorful details. /…/ After Friday's concert, I am convinced that it was not Haydn's symphonies that were Prokofiev's model, but Beethoven's First. What I heard under the baton of Piotr Borkowski was a great and thrilling interpretation.”
eGorzowska.pl
September 24, 2012
“... All music lovers were waiting for Friday (September 21, 2012) evening at the Gorzów Philharmonic. Because two days earlier, you could read on the website that Ludwig van Beethoven's Fourth Symphony and Violin Concerto will be conducted by Mr. Piotr Borkowski! /…/
I don't know what words to use so as not to be accused of exaltation, so maybe just this: It was an excellent performance of the Fourth Symphony. I listened to the sounds, the harmonies, the sound of the individual sections of the orchestra, the consonance - all the subsequent dialogues of the instruments, the content they carry and which I easily understood, felt with my whole being. The fourth "under Borkowski" stayed in me with its colors, humor, and what is indefinite and indescribable, and yet it gives me goosebumps."
Nowiny Jeleniogorskie
February 7, 1990
"... The spontaneous and warm reception at tonight's concert should be surely attributed to Piotr Borkowski, a very young conductor from Warsaw, whom the audience accepted almost without reservations. Small wonder, considering that Borkowski was able to demonstrate the full range of his talent. The fantastic memory, excellent command of the conductor's craft, and manual skills have made his communication with the orchestra readable and highly suggestive."
Gazeta Olsztyńska
July 1, 1992
"... It was a concert in an almost holiday mood, yet it gave much food for thought as to the scope of progress the orchestra has made since the start of the season. Piotr Borkowski deserves words of praise for what he has done for this ensemble ... In Beethoven's Fifth, as if running counter its drama and pathos, he brought out the dance quality of the music. Add to it the conductor's sensitivity to the shadings of dynamics and color, and his meticulous attention to all the sound nuances of almost Romantic nature - as if in a symphonic poem rather than a Beethoven symphony. The result was an astonishingly fresh reading of the piece, full of unique charm. I would have never expected such an interpretation of the Fifth. Bravo !"
Przeglad Powszechny
October 1993
"... The festival was brought to a close with the first Polish performance of Nowowiejski's oratorio "The Return of the Prodigal Son", a work which in 1902 won the then 25-year-old composer the Meyerbeer Award. The Symphony Orchestra of Olsztyn Philharmonic and the combined choruses of the College of Education and the Olsztyn Diocese were conducted by Piotr Borkowski. He handled the vast musical forces excellently, giving due attention to all the planes of the work's rich texture and maintaining a sense of proportion between the expressive and sound qualities of the oratorio. He also drew out the fine musical outlines of the evangelical parable."
Gazeta Warmii i Mazur
September 19, 1994
“… Conductor Piotr Borkowski felt in his element: under his baton, the work sparked, blossomed. Daniel Girard, director of La Chartreuse - Center National des Ecritures du Spectacle near Avignon, present in the room, thanks to whose patronage "The Bird of Ugui" was born, enthusiastically said that it was a better performance than last year's premiere at the Avignon theater festival. The composer and the author of the text were of the same opinion, also present at the concert. And even if we assume an element of courtesy in the opinions expressed by the guests, I think that everyone who was in the room and then participated in a huge standing ovation, /.../ realized that they were witnessing an artistic event of great importance.”
Dziennik Pojezierza
January 21, 1997
“… Friday's symphonic concert was a success for the soloists and bands, but Piotr Borkowski was watching over the whole thing and he also received the largest part of the applause. His conducting technique and the art of interpretation gain importance every year. Piotr Borkowski's gesture now seems closer to what Seiji Ozawa presents, although you can also find more personal features in it. Following the work of the conductor during the Friday concert, one could experience with one's own eyes this coupling of gesture and sound, so characteristic of the greatest masters of the baton."
Badische Zeitung
October 7, 2013
“... The way the orchestra performed the beautiful anthem /.../ was brilliant. A truly masterful interpretation of great orchestral music. Conductor Piotr Borkowski and his team were magic; the audience was impressed and gave the performers a standing ovation.”
RECORDINGS
PRESS KIT
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