December 12, 2020 9:00 am

Polish-born pianist and harpsichordist Magdalena Baczewska [pronounced ba-CHEV-ska] enjoys a multifaceted career as a concert artist, educator, and speaker. Having made her solo debut with the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra at age 12 in her native Katowice, Baczewska performed internationally with the world’s leading orchestras: Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, China National Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, among others. She has been praised for her “world-class playing” by the American Record Guide, and hailed as “eloquent and technically flawless” by The Washington Post. The first pianist to play J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations twice in one evening–first on the harpsichord, then on piano–since Rosalyn Tureck’s 1977 double-bill Carnegie Hall performance, Baczewska has toured Europe and the U.S with double performances of the Variations, having also recorded them along with Strauss’ Sonata Op. 5 for her critically-acclaimed album A Tribute to Glenn Gould.

Baczewska has enjoyed an extensive collaboration with the Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer Tan Dun, performing his music internationally. Performance highlights include a debut at the Tanglewood Music Festival, soloist appearances with the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, China National Symphony, and a Canadian premiere of Tan Dun’s Piano Concerto with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. At the invitation of the composer, Baczewska also recorded his chamber music and the Sonata for Piano Solo in Shanghai’s famous Water Heavens Hall.

Baczewska is Professor of Music and Director of the Music Performance Program at Columbia University. She also serves as Artistic Director of the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition in New York. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Bogdan Zdrojewski, for promoting Polish culture abroad.

The Palm Beach Arts Paper writes “Baczewska enlightens.” As an avid educator, she has given master classes and lectures around the world: Beijing Central Conservatory, New York University, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, to name a few. As a Yamaha Artist, Baczewska has used the technology pioneered by Yamaha Disklavier, to give remote master classes at the Microsoft School of the Future, Elon University, and Hartt School of Music. In her spare time she volunteers through Selfhelp, Inc., teaching music appreciation online at the Virtual Senior Center. Her musical mission, in addition to sharing the timeless beauty of the music itself, is to educate her audiences in each performance, by giving them tools to enjoy music more profoundly.

As the Creative Director of BlueSleep Music, Baczewska has collaborated with a medical team specialized in research and treatment of sleep disorders. Among her releases are three best-selling albums Music for Dreams, and music for MetroNaps’ EnergyPod®, popularized by Google. Together with composer/DJ Gene Pritsker, she recently released a remix of Music for Dreams – a crossover between classical style and chillhop.

Baczewska holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Mannes College The New School for Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Manhattan School of Music. Her doctoral dissertation, In Search of Bach’s Cantabile: The Role and Aspects of Oratory and Singing in Keyboard Interpretation was published by Lambert Academic Publishing.

For more information and discography, visit MagdalenaNYC.com.