36 Notable Alumni of the Academy of Music of Krakow

Krzysztof Penderecki

Born in: Poland
Years: 1933-2020 (aged 87)
Enrolled in the Academy of Music of Krakow: Studied in 1954-1958
Occupations: composerconductorpedagoguemusic teacherviolinist
Biography: Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, Symphony No. 3, his St Luke Passion, Polish Requiem, Anaklasis and Utrenja. His oeuvre includes four operas, eight symphonies and other orchestral pieces, a variety of instrumental concertos, choral settings of mainly religious texts, as well as chamber and instrumental works.

Wojciech Kilar

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1932-2013 (aged 81)
Occupations: pianistcomposerfilm score composer
Biography: Wojciech Kilar was a Polish classical and film music composer. One of his greatest successes came with his score to Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992, which received the ASCAP Award and the nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Music. In 2003, he won the César Award for Best Film Music written for The Pianist, for which he also received a BAFTA nomination.

Abel Korzeniowski

Born in: Poland
Years: 1972-.. (age 52)
Occupations: film score composercomposer
Biography: Abel Korzeniowski is a Polish composer of film and theatre scores.

Tomasz Stańko

Born in: Poland
Years: 1942-2018 (aged 76)
Occupations: recording artistcomposertrumpeterfilm score composer
Biography: Tomasz Ludwik Stańko was a Polish trumpeter and composer. Stańko was associated with free jazz and the avant-garde.

Wacław Kiełtyka

Born in: Poland
Years: 1981-.. (age 43)
Occupations: pianistmusician
Biography: Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka is a Polish musician, best known as the guitarist of the death metal band Decapitated. In addition to Decapitated, Wacław has been the guitarist of Lux Occulta since 1998, as well as a former member of the Kraków group Sceptic. He also worked with the death metal band Vader. He is a graduate of musical school in the first and second degree, and attended the Academy of Music in Kraków as an accordionist.

Andrzej Lampert

Born in: Poland
Years: 1981-.. (age 43)
Occupations: opera singer
Biography: Andrzej Lampert is a Polish singer, opera singer (tenor), composer, lyricist, arranger and music co-producer for his band PIN.

Zbigniew Fil

Born in: Poland
Years: 1977-.. (age 47)
Occupations: singer
Biography: Zbigniew Fil is a Polish singer and multi-instrumentalist.

Stanisław Skrowaczewski

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1923-2017 (aged 94)
Occupations: conductorcomposer
Biography: Stanislaw Pawel Stefan Jan Sebastian Skrowaczewski was a Polish-American classical conductor and composer.

Adam Harasiewicz

Born in: Poland
Years: 1932-.. (age 92)
Occupations: pianistcomposer
Biography: Adam Harasiewicz is a Polish classical concert pianist.

Halina Czerny-Stefańska

Born in: Poland
Years: 1922-2001 (aged 79)
Occupations: music teacherpianistcomposer
Biography: Halina Czerny-Stefańska was a Polish pianist.

Bogusław Schaeffer

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1929-2019 (aged 90)
Occupations: music criticmusicianscreenwritermusic teachercomposer
Biography: Bogusław Julian Schaeffer was a Polish composer, musicologist, and graphic artist, a member of the avantgarde "Cracow Group" of Polish composers alongside Krzysztof Penderecki and others.

Zygmunt Konieczny

Born in: Poland
Years: 1937-.. (age 87)
Enrolled in the Academy of Music of Krakow: Studied in 1956-1962
Occupations: composer
Biography: Zygmunt Konieczny is a Polish composer of theatre and film music.

Anna Kerth

Born in: Poland
Years: 1980-.. (age 44)
Occupations: actorfilm actoraudiobook narrator
Biography: Anna Kerth is a Polish actress who starred in BBC Scotland's soap opera River City as Lena Krausky in 2006/2007. In Poland she is mostly known for being part of the main cast in the popular soap opera Na Wspólnej.

Krzysztof Meyer

Born in: Poland
Years: 1943-.. (age 81)
Occupations: pianistuniversity teachermusic teachercomposermusicologist
Biography: Krzysztof Meyer is a Polish composer, pianist, and music scholar, formerly dean of the Department of Music Theory (1972–1975) at the State College of Music (now Academy of Music in Kraków), and president of the Union of Polish Composers (1985–1989). Meyer was professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne from 1987 to 2008, before his retirement.

Witold Rowicki

Born in: Russia
Years: 1914-1989 (aged 75)
Occupations: conductormusic teacher
Biography: Witold Rowicki was a Polish conductor. He held principal conducting positions with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Witold Lutoslawski's Concerto for Orchestra was dedicated to him.

Marzena Diakun

Born in: Poland
Years: 1981-.. (age 43)
Occupations: conductor
Biography: Marzena Diakun is a Polish conductor.

Mendi Mengjiqi

Years: 1958-.. (age 66)
Occupations: musiciancomposer
Biography: Mendi Mengjiqi is a Kosovar composer and the author of the Kosovar national anthem.

Roman Haubenstock-Ramati

Born in: Poland
Years: 1919-1994 (aged 75)
Occupations: designeruniversity teachergraphic artistcomposergraphic designer
Biography: Roman Haubenstock - since 1943 Roman Haubenstock-Ramati was a composer and music editor who worked in Kraków, Tel Aviv and Vienna.

Elżbieta Towarnicka

Born in: Poland
Years: 1950-.. (age 74)
Occupations: actoropera singer
Biography: Elżbieta Towarnicka is a Polish operatic soprano who made an international career based at the Opera Krakowska. She is also known for singing for films, especially with music by Zbigniew Preisner including the theme song of Avalon.

Daniel Stabrawa

Born in: Poland
Years: 1955-.. (age 69)
Occupations: violinistconcertmasterconductor
Biography: Daniel Stabrawa is a Polish violinist and conductor.

Jan Wróblewski

Born in: Poland
Years: 1936-.. (age 88)
Occupations: jazz musicianclarinetistcomposerradio personalityauthor
Biography: Jan "Ptaszyn" Wróblewski is a Polish jazz musician, composer and arranger. He plays the tenor and baritone saxophones.

Regina Smendzianka

Born in: Poland
Years: 1924-2011 (aged 87)
Occupations: music teacherpianistcomposer
Biography: Regina Smendzianka was a Polish pianist.

Jerzy Semkow

Born in: Poland
Years: 1928-2014 (aged 86)
Occupations: conductor
Biography: Jerzy Semkow was a Polish conductor.

Andrzej Dobber

Born in: Poland
Years: 1961-.. (age 63)
Occupations: performing artistopera singer
Biography: Andrzej Dobber is a Polish baritone, honored with the title of Kammersänger by the Senate of the City of Hamburg and awarded the silver medal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis by the Polish Minister of Culture.

Piotr Orzechowski

Born in: Poland
Years: 1990-.. (age 34)
Occupations: pianistjazz musiciancomposer
Biography: Piotr Orzechowski, also known by his stage name Pianohooligan, is a Polish jazz pianist and composer. He is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Valencia and a winner of the Montreux Jazz Piano Competition and Jazz Hoeilaart, hailed by the critics as "the most creative and uncompromising young Polish jazz artist."

Edyta Piasecka

Years: 20th Century
Occupations: opera singer
Biography: Edyta Piasecka is a Polish dramatic coloratura soprano.

Oleksandr Shchetynsky

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1960-.. (age 64)
Occupations: composermusic teacher
Biography: Alexander Shchetynsky is a Ukrainian composer. Born on 22 June 1960 in Kharkiv, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union. His work list includes compositions in various forms ranging from solo instrumental to orchestral, choral pieces and operas.

Jan Emanuel Abras

Born in: Sweden
Years: 1975-.. (age 49)
Occupations: musicologistcomposerconductor
Biography: Juan Manuel Abras Contel is a classical music composer, conductor, musicologist and historian from Sweden. Born in Stockholm to a European family (French, Italian, etc.) that moved around the world, Abras became a cosmopolitan artist and scientist.

Dominik Wania

Born in: Poland
Years: 1981-.. (age 43)
Occupations: pianist
Biography: Dominik Wania is a Polish pianist and composer.

Jan Hoffman

Born in: Poland
Years: 1906-1995 (aged 89)
Occupations: pianistmusic teacher
Biography: Jan Hoffman was a Polish pianist and music educator.

Władysława Markiewiczówna

Born in: Poland
Years: 1900-1982 (aged 82)
Occupations: pianistmusic teacher
Biography: Władysława Markiewiczówna was a Polish pianist and renowned educator.

Anna Brożek

Born in: Poland
Years: 1980-.. (age 44)
Occupations: pianistmusicianuniversity teacherphilosopher
Biography: Anna Magdalena Brożek is a Polish philosopher and musician.

Marek Stachowski

Born in: Poland
Years: 1936-2004 (aged 68)
Occupations: composer
Biography: Marek Stachowski was a Polish composer. He received many awards and won many competitions for composers, including first prize at the K. Szymanowski Competition in 1974.

Ryszard Szeremeta

Born in: Poland
Years: 1952-.. (age 72)
Occupations: composer
Biography: Ryszard Szeremeta is a Polish composer of experimental music, producer of recordings, concerts and performances of electroacoustic music, jazz singer.

Janina Garścia

Born in: Poland
Years: 1920-2004 (aged 84)
Occupations: composer
Biography: Janina Gressel was a Polish composer, pianist, and teacher.

Gabriela Moyseowicz

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1944-.. (age 80)
Occupations: pianistcomposer
Biography: Gabriela Maria Moyseowicz is a Polish composer and pianist.