Piotr Kusiewicz

 

Piotr Kusiewicz is one of the most outstanding Polish singers. He started playing the piano, at the age of four, under the guidance of his mother and later studied piano with Prof. Zbigniew Śliwiński and singing with Prof. Jerzy Szymański at the Gdansk Academy of Music, graduating with a magna cum laude degree. He received the first prize, including two distinctions, in the 13th International Antonin Dvořák Vocal Competition in Karlove Vary.

This formidable artist frequently appears in concerts and operas both in Poland and abroad. He has sung at virtually all of the Polish Philharmonic Halls, the Grand Theatre in Warsaw and Łódź, the Opera-Houses of Cracow and Wrocław, the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Philharmonic Orchestras of Berlin, Munich, and Cologne, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Royal Festival Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Musikverein in Vienna, as well as at concert venues in Stockholm, Montreal, Milan, Moscow, Jerusalem, Seoul and Guadeloupe. His repertoire  includes 140 oratorio works and many operas by Handel, Monteverdi, Mozart, Rossini, Rimski-Korsakov and Szymanowski, as well as select song cycles. Piotr Kusiewicz is highly sought after for his interpretations of contemporary music. An important point in his career was a role in Karol Szymanowski's, King Roger under Charles Dutoit in Paris, Montreal, New York (Carnegie Hall) and Tokyo. He is the first Polish singer to have performed Paroles tissées by Witold Lutosławski, which, he also had the distinction of having recorded with NOSPR under the baton of Antoni Wit for the Naxos label. This recording received a prize in the Grammophone publication's category Best Buy. He recorded Utrenja by Krzysztof Penderecki on the same label with Maestro Antoni Wit conducting the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. This was nominated for the prestigious prize of the Grammy Awards 2010 And In Paris, he also received a prestigious prize, Prix de l'Academie du Disque Lyrique (2012), for a recording of Das lied von der Erde by Gustav Mahler, with Jadwiga Rappé and WOSPR under the baton of Michael Zilm.

He has the distinction of having recorded 40 CD's under the labels: Acte Préalable, Koch, Naxos, Erato, Aperto, Polskie Nagrania, Accord, Dux  and CD Accord, including also a few important DVD's (C.Orff - Carmina burana, W.Kilar –  Missa pro pace; and the

W. A.Mozart –  Requiem). Professor Piotr Kusiewicz is the head of the Vocal Department at the Gdańsk Academy of Music (where he teaches singing). He also teaches solo singing at the Academy of Art in Szczecin.

In March 2008, Professor Piotr Kusiewicz was awarded the Holy Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal, established for non clergy and granted by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2016, for his exceptional artistic achievements, he also received the medal Gloria Artis.