Jan Lisiecki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jan Lisiecki
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Lisiecki in 2010
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jan Miłosz Lisiecki |
| Born | March 23, 1995 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Classics |
Jan Lisiecki (/ˈjɑːn lɪˈʃɛtski/; born March 23, 1995) is a Canadian-born classical pianist of Polish ancestry. Lisiecki performs over a hundred concerts annually and has worked closely with the world's leading orchestras and conductors, in a career at the top of the international concert scene spanning over a decade. He has been a recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon since the age of fifteen.
Early life and education
Lisiecki was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; began piano lessons at the age of five; and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine. 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.
He was brought to international attention the following year when the Fryderyk Chopin Institute released the two performances, marking Lisiecki's album debut. The recording was awarded the Diapason d’Or Découverte 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". Following the Chopin release, Deutsche Grammophon signed an exclusive contract with Lisiecki that same year, when he was 15 years old.
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.
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. 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.
Media
Radio and television networks worldwide frequently broadcast Lisiecki's performances, and he has been subject to extensive global media coverage, having been featured repeatedly on national television throughout Europe and North America.
In 2009, he was the subject of the 2009 CBC National News documentary by Joe Schlesinger, The Reluctant Prodigy. 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.
Activism and philanthropy
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. He was appointed UNICEF Ambassador to Canada in 2012, having been a National Youth Representative since 2008.
Discography
| Title | Album details | Peak positions |
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| US Classical |
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| Chopin: Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 |
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| Mozart: Piano Concertos K 466, No. 20, in D minor and K 467, No. 21, in C Major |
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| Chopin: Études |
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| Schumann: Piano Concerto and Concert Pieces Op. 92 & 134 |
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19 |
| Chopin: Works for Piano and Orchestra |
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13 |
| Mendelssohn |
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| Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos |
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| Beethoven: Lieder · Songs |
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| Chopin: Complete Nocturnes |
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Awards
- 2008 Grand Award, Canadian Music Competition
- 2008 Grand Award, Canadian Music Festival (youngest in history)
- 2009 Grand Prize, OSM Standard Life Competition (youngest in history)
- 2010 Diapason d'Or Découverte Award
- 2010 Gold Award, Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry
- 2010 Révelation Radio-Canada Music
- 2011 Young Artist of Public Francophone Radios
- 2012 UNICEF Ambassador to Canada
- 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)
- 2013 Gramophone Young Artist of the Year, Gramophone Magazine (youngest in history)
- 2013 Leonard Bernstein Award, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
- 2013 Canadian Chopin Society, Artist Recognition Award
- 2014 Juno Nominee, Classical Album of the Year: Solo or Chamber Ensemble (Chopin: Études)
- 2017 Echo Klassik, Concerto Recording of the Year (19th Century) (Chopin: Works for Piano and Orchestra)
- 2017 Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice (Chopin: Works for Piano and Orchestra)
- 2017 Juno Nominee, Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment (Schumann: Piano Concerto and Concert Pieces Op. 92 & 134)
- 2018 Juno Award, Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment (Chopin: Works for Piano and Orchestra)
- 2019 Gramophone Magazine, Editor's Choice (Mendelssohn)
- 2019 Opus Klassik Nominee, Concerto Recording of the Year (Mendelssohn)
- 2020 Juno Nominee, Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment (Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos)
- 2020 Diapason d'Or (Beethoven: Lieder · Songs)
- 2020 Opus Klassik Nominee, Instrumentalist of the Year, Concerto Recording of the Year, Audiovisual Music Production of the Year (Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos and Beethoven: Lieder · Songs)
See also
In Spanish: Jan Lisiecki para niños
