Maciej Kułakowski

Born in 1996 in Gdańsk, he began playing the cello at the age of six in the class of Professor Jadwiga Ewald.

He is a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and the winner of the First Prize and Special Prize at the 10th Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition in Warsaw. Since 2019, he has been represented by the London-based Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT).

Highlights of this season include concerts at Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Pierre Boulez Saal, Philharmonie Köln, Casals Forum in Kronberg, and Schloss Elmau.

As a soloist, Maciej will perform with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra, Olsztyn Philharmonic Orchestra, Opole Philharmonic Orchestra, Toruń Symphony Orchestra, and the Polish Baltic Philharmonic.

In 2022, Delphian Records released his debut album with French music titled "Beau soir," which received critical acclaim. He then recorded the complete works for solo cello by Krzysztof Penderecki, released in 2023 by DUX.

He has performed in numerous countries across Europe and around the world with such ensembles as the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw, Sinfonietta Cracovia, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, and Calgary Symphony Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, he has taken part in festivals including the Piatigorsky Cello Festival in Los Angeles, Kronberg Festival, Moritzburg Festival, Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, Seiji Ozawa Festival in Japan, Krzysztof Penderecki Festival, Witold Lutosławski Festival, Munich Rising Stars, At the World’s Edge in New Zealand, and Beijing Super Cello Festival.

He has collaborated with artists such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Mischa Maisky, Emanuel Ax, Christoph Eschenbach, Viviane Hagner, Giovanni Sollima, Charles Neidich, Arnold Steinhardt, Lawrence Power, and Kian Soltani, as well as conductors including Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Frank Braley, Stéphane Denève, Marek Moś, and Paweł Przytocki across a wide range of repertoire.

Maciej studied with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the Kronberg Academy and the Hochschule für Musik in Weimar, as well as with Marcin Zdunik at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk.

He plays a Giovanni Battista Ruggeri cello from 1700 and a modern instrument made by Thorsten Theis in 2014.

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Pictured: Maciej Kułakowski, photo: Kaupo Kikkas