Antoni Wit

Antoni Wit – is one of the most excellent Polish conductors of all time. He studied with the best: conducting with Henryk Czyż (diploma with honours in 1967) and composition under the supervision of Krzysztof Penderecki. He also developed his composing skills under the supervision of Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1967-68). Antoni Wit is also a graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at Jagiellonian University.

He began his conducting career in 1967 as an assistant to maestro Witold Rowicki at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw; three years later, he became a conductor of the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra and the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. In 1971 he won the 2nd prize at the International Herbert von Karajan Conductors' Competition in Berlin and became the assistant conductor of the competition's patron at the Berlin Philharmonic.

He has performed on the most prestigious stages in the world, leading the best orchestras in the world; among them, Berliner Philharmoniker, Philharmonia Orchestra London, Staatskapelle Dresden, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra del Teatro Verdi (Triest), RAI (Rome, Milan, Turin), La Fenice Orchestra (Venice), Teatro di Genova, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, RSO Berlin, WDR Köln, SDR Stuttgart, NDR Hamburg, Orchester der Beethovenhalle (Bonn), Dresdner Philharmonie, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Tivolis Symfoniorkester (Copenhagen), BBC Symphony Orchestra London, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Opéra de Marseille , Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Orquestra Ciutat de Barcelona, ​​Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Bamberger Symphonzig or MDRip – Sinfonieorchester Leipzig.

Maestro Wit has also made a record number of recordings (over 200 albums) and is one of the few classical musicians to boast over five million records sold. Nominated for Grammy Award seven times, he won this prestigious award in 2013 for an album for the Naxos label with Krzysztof Penderecki's compositions. His recordings have always been widely echoed in the world of classical music. They have brought him numerous awards, such as Diapason d'Or and Grand Prix du Disque de la Nouvelle Académie (1983), Cannes Classical Award (2002), and Classical Internet Award (2004), Records Academy Award (2005), to name but a few.

In the years 1983-2000, he was the principal conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, which he made one of the leading orchestras in the country. For many years, he was also a recognised educator. His pupils are, among others, Krzysztof Urbański, Michał Dworzyński, Rafał Janiak and Dawid Runtz. Maestro Antoni Wit is also an Honorary Professor of Keimyung University in South Korea.