Anna Kijanowska, an internationally acclaimed pianist and a music lecturer at the College, will play a solo recital on April 27 in Ewell Recital Hall, according to a recent College press release. The concert will feature well-known and rare compositions by Polish composers. It begins at 7 p.m., and it is free and open to the public.
The program includes Preludes Op. 1 and Piano Mazurkas Op. 50 and 62 by Szymanowski, Sonata No. 3 Op. 58 by Chopin, Second Piano Sonata by Bacewicz and “Drive Blues” by Kulenty.
The event is supported by the Reves Center for International Studies.
“This recital will undoubtedly contribute to the spirit of diverse, international education embraced by the College,” Kijanowska said in the press release. “As a presentation of Eastern European art music that includes not only well-established works, but also those by women and other less recognized composers, it provides a unique perspective on the art music tradition outside of Western Europe.”
Kijanowska has been praised by numerous publication critics including Bernard Holland of The New York Times who called her “an excellent young Polish pianist” and Phil Muse of Classik Reviews who said “Kijanowska’s performances are a revelation.”
Kijanowska has also received acclaim internationally - Indian PRWire named her “one of the world’s greatest pianists” after a collaborative performance entitled “East Meets West” in New Delhi, India, where she performed with Indian musicians.
This performance will be a preview of her scheduled June 8 appearance as part of the Washington, D.C. National Gallery music series; the series is a weekly event, hosted every Sunday. Past performers include members of the New York Chamber Soloists, the Vilnius String Quartet and the Orchestra of New Spain, which all performed earlier this year.
Kijanowska will be performing the same pieces at Forte’s Salon in New Haven on May 1 and the Polish Society at Harvard University on May 2.
She began playing the piano in Poland at age seven and gave her first recital at age eight. According to her official biography, Kijanowska entered the Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice in 1992, where she studied with Professor Jozef Stompel.
She received a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the Music Academy in Wroclaw, then attended Boise State University on a scholarship to study with Dr. Madeleine Forte. She also holds a Doctorate and Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. She debuted in New York in 1998 with a live radio broadcast on WNYC.
Before coming to the College, she served as a faculty member at the Bronx Conservancy of Music, the Queens Music School in New York, the Levin School of Music in Washington, D.C. and the Las Vegas Music Festival in Nevada.
This show is not Kijanowska’s only upcoming on-campus performance. She will be featured on piano on April 20 for Perry Fustero’s Senior Electronic Composition Recital, which takes place at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Fustaro will also be playing solo jazz piano.
Kijanowska’s students will be performing “An Evening of Avant-garde Music” on April 24 at 6:15 p.m. in Ewell Recital Hall.
For more information on Kijanowska, visit www.AnnaKijanowska.com.