Piotr Orzechowski facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Piotr Orzechowski
Pianohooligan |
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Piotr Orzechowski, New Delhi, India 2014
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Piotr Orzechowski |
| Also known as | Pianohooligan |
| Born | 31 December 1990 Kraków, Poland |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Labels | Universal Music Poland, Decca Classics |
Piotr Orzechowski (born December 31, 1990, in Kraków, Poland) is a talented Polish jazz pianist and composer. He is also known by his stage name, Pianohooligan. Piotr is famous for winning important music competitions like the Montreux Jazz Piano Competition. Critics have called him a very creative and unique young jazz artist from Poland.
Contents
About Piotr Orzechowski
Piotr Orzechowski was born in Kraków, Poland. While he was learning classical music, he also won many awards at international jazz competitions. Some of these competitions included "Jazz Juniors" and "Jazz nad Odrą."
After winning the first prize at the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition in Switzerland in 2011, he started touring all over the world. He is very good at playing both classical music and improvised music. He often mixes these different styles together in his performances.
Piotr's Music Albums
Piotr's first solo album was called Experiment: Penderecki. It was released in 2012 by Decca/Universal. On this album, he took orchestral music by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki and changed it for a solo piano. This was the first time an instrumental album from Poland was released on the famous London label Decca.
His second solo album, 15 Studies for the Oberek, came out in 2014. This album explored different parts of the Polish oberek dance. It combined folk music, modern music, and jazz styles.
In 2017, he released his third solo piano album, 24 Preludes & Improvisations. This big project was inspired by J.S. Bach's famous 24 Preludes and Fugues. Piotr used short musical pieces (Preludes) and complex improvisations to show new ways of understanding jazz and expressing himself through music.
High Definition Quartet
Piotr Orzechowski also leads a band called High Definition Quartet. Their first album, Hopasa, was released in 2013. It featured Piotr's own songs.
Another album by the quartet, Bucolics, came out in 2015. On this album, they played Piotr's special versions of music by Witold Lutosławski. This album quickly became known as one of the best Polish albums of all time by Jazz Forum magazine.
Collaborations and Performances
Besides playing solo jazz piano, Piotr also performs with major Polish orchestras. These include the Sinfonia Varsovia and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.
He also recorded an album called Bach Rewrite in 2013 with Marcin Masecki and the Capella Cracoviensis. On this album, they played J.S. Bach's harpsichord concertos using a Rhodes electroacoustic piano.
Piotr has worked with famous modern music composers like Philip Glass and Steve Reich. He has also toured with well-known jazz musicians such as Randy Brecker and Avishai Cohen. He has contributed to projects with other great artists like Adrian Utley from Portishead.
Discography
Solo piano
| Year | Album | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Experiment: Penderecki | Decca Classics | – | – |
| 2014 | 15 Studies For The Oberek | Decca Classics | – | – |
| 2017 | 24 Preludes & Improvisations | Decca Classics | – | – |
| 2024 | Critique of Swing in Two Parts | Pianohooligan | – | – |
with High Definition Quartet
| Year | Album | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Hopasa | EmArcy Records | – | – |
| 2015 | Bukoliki | For Tune | – | – |
| 2019 | Dziady | Polish Music Publishing House | – | – |
Collaborations
| Year | Album | Record label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Bach Rewrite (with Marcin Masecki & Capella Cracoviensis) | Decca Classics | – | – |
| 2014 | Weird Glitches (with Stephen McHale) | Stephen McHale Music | – | – |
| 2014 | Elapse (with Daniel Toledo Trio) | Universidad San Francisco de Quito | – | – |
| 2016 | PIANO.PL (with Dorota Miśkiewicz) | Universal Music Polska | – | – |
| 2016 | H. M. Górecki. Concerto for harpsichord and string orchestra (with Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra) | Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra | – | – |
| 2017 | H. Wars. Symphonic Works (with Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra) | Polish Radio | – | – |
| 2019 | Works for Rhodes Piano & Strings (with Aukso Chamber Orchestra) | Polish Music Publishing House | – | – |
| 2022 | Themes of Dracula (with Kuba Więcek) | Polish Music Publishing House | – | – |
See also
In Spanish: Piotr Orzechowski para niños
- Music of Poland
- List of Poles
