prof. dr hab. Jan Kalinowski
He studied at the Krzysztof Penderecki Music Academy in Krakow, at the École Normale de Musique in Paris and the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart under the guidance of Professors: Witold Herman, Paul Julien and Peter Buck. He has also taken part in master classes given by David Geringas, Ivan Monighetti and Arto Noras. Jan Kalinowski recorded for radio and television. As a solist he has been performing under the baton of many renowned conductors, such as: Rauf Abdullayev, Łukasz Borowicz, Wojciech Czepiel, Jacek Rafał Delekta, Michał Dworzyński, Jacek Kasprzyk, Adam Klocek, Paweł Kotla, Jurek Dybał, Paweł Kapuła, Paweł Przytocki, Daniel Rajskin, Jacek Rogala, Maciej Tworek and Antoni Wit.
He performed on the most prestigious stages in the world, including Seoul Arts Center in Seoul, Alfred Newman Hall in Los Angeles, Carnegie Hall in New York, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico, Salle Cortot in Paris, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He made a few-weeks-long tours promoting Polish music in such countries and regions, as: Middle East (2006); Caucasus (2013); Georgia (2014); USA and South Korea (2015); Mexico (2015; 2016); Brazil and Argentina (2016; 2017); USA (2017); China (2018).
In 2001 he started working together with pianist Marek Szlezer. Since then, they have been performing in Poland and abroad as Cracow Duo. The ensembles’s albums have received numerous awards and distinctions: Aleksander Tansman – works for cello and piano (DUX, 2009), Fryderyk Chopin – chamber works (DUX, 2010; with the participation of Bartłomiej Nizioł; La Clef de ResMusica award and nomination for the Program 3 PR Polish Music Lovers Awards), Krzysztof Penderecki – chamber works vol. I (DUX, 2014, Gramophone Editor’s Choice award). The musicians took part in the recording of the album real life song by Joanna Freszel (DUX, 2015, Prix de la SACD award). In 2018, the Polish Music Experience album, recorded with the accompaniment of orchestra Sinfonietta Cracovia under the baton of Jurek Dybał was released by Warner Classics. In 2021, on the 20th anniversary of the Cracow Duo, musicians recorded an album entitled Classics & Discoveries (DUX, 2021), composed from the most famous pieces for cello and piano combined with lesser-known extraordinary musical discoveries. They also published Dedications vol. 1-3 series (DUX, 2013, 2023), which is a registration of works written for Cracow Duo by Polish contemporary composers. Recordings of musicians, in addition to favorable reviews have received numerous nominations for the Fryderyk Award (Polish Phonographic Industry Award). In 2024 they received the Golden Diploma in the Chamber Ensemble category and the Bronze Diploma in the Phonograph Record category of the 4th International Competition “Musical Eagles”.
He is fascinated with music written by rarely performed Polish composers. He tirelessly performs works by Fryderyk Chopin, Aleksander Tansman, Karol Szymanowski, Zygmunt Stojowski, Szymon Laks, Ludomir Różycki and Tadeusz Majerski, among others, and a number of contemporary works, written especially for Marek Szlezer and him by many Polish and foreign authors. Krzysztof Meyer (2017), Marta Ptaszyńska (2019) and Piotr Moss (2020) have dedicated their instrumental concerts to them.
In 2014 DUX Recording Producers released a CD with his original project called Polish cello music. Jan Kalinowski also recorded Johann Sebastian Bach’s 5th Suite for the Bach Society and took part in the recording of the album: Krzysztof Penderecki – chamber works vol. II Violoncello Totale (DUX, 2017).
In 2022 he was awarded the title of professor. Since 2024, he has been the Dean of the Instrumental Faculty at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow. For his artistic activity and commitment to promote Polish music, he was awarded the honorary badge Meritorious for Polish Culture by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
Jan Kalinowski has been playing on the cello made by Wojciech Topa since 2012.