Piotr Kowal – piano

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Piotr Kowal is a pianist, chamber musician, and educator associated with the musical community of Kraków. He graduated from the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków, where he studied under Professor Andrzej Pikul. In 2018 he received the Doctor of Arts degree for a dissertation devoted to the interpretation of Beethoven’s late piano sonatas, including the monumental Sonata in B-flat major Op. 106 “Hammerklavier”. In 2025 he obtained the degree of Doctor of Habilitation.

He has received scholarships from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (Creative Scholarship 2022,2026), the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (“Polish Culture in the World”), and the Rector of the Academy of Music in Kraków. In 2024 he was awarded the Prize of the President of the City of Kraków.

He has performed internationally in Austria, China, Spain, Israel, Germany, the United States, Slovakia, and Italy. In 2025 he undertook a concert tour of the United States, appearing in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Mississippi.

He performs regularly as both a soloist and chamber musician. He has appeared at prestigious festivals such as Wawel at Dusk, Music in Old Kraków, Silence Festival, and Music at the Czartoryski Museum. He has collaborated with ensembles including the Częstochowa Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and the Rishon LeZion Orchestra, performing works such as Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto in E-flat major. Since 2024 he has served as Artistic Director of the Tynieckie Recitale Kameralne Festival.

He is a prizewinner of international piano competitions, including the Tadeusz Żmudziński Piano Competition in Kraków, as well as competitions in Israel, Portugal, Singapore, and Vienna.

Recording projects form an important part of his artistic activity. His discography includes the album “The Late Beethoven”, featuring Beethoven’s late piano sonatas Op. 101, 106, 109, 110 and 111, reflecting his long-standing artistic interest in the composer’s late style. Together with cellist Paweł Czarakcziew he forms the Czarakcziew/Kowal Duo, with whom he recorded the album “Bruzdowicz: Cinematic Inspirations”, presenting chamber works inspired by the film music aesthetics of Joanna Bruzdowicz, as well as “Transatlantic: The Echoes of Polish Exile”, devoted to the music of Polish composers working abroad. The duo received the Silver Diploma of the “Musical Eagles” Awards for the album Bruzdowicz: Works for Piano and Cello and the Bronze Diploma for the album Aurora, featuring music by Jerzy Gablenz.

He further developed his artistic skills at the Musikhochschule Lübeck with Professor Konstanze Eickhorst and during postgraduate studies with Professor Aquiles Delle Vigne. He has also participated in masterclasses with distinguished pedagogues such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Dmitri Bashkirov, Dina Joffe, Emanuel Krasovsky, and Evgeny Koroliov.

Currently, he works as assistant professor at the Piano Department of the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków, and since 2018 he has served as Head of the Piano Section at the Bronisław Rutkowski Primary and Secondary Music School in Kraków.