Katarzyna Duda - violin
Katarzyna Duda is one of the most outstanding personalities in the Polish music world. Reviewers unanimously characterize her as a star of a new format. They emphasize unity of her musical artistry and great scenic temper as well as virtuosity and great sensitivity of music. All this makes that each performance of Katarzyna Duda is being enthusiastically welcomed by the audience, and she acquires more and more fans.
A prizewinner of the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Sion, Switzerland, (where she also won the "Mozart Prize" for the best interpretation of a violin concerto by Mozart) and the Tadeusz Wroński International Violin Solo Competition in Warsaw. She has given recitals and concerts in Poland, most of European countries and the South and North Americas.
She has appeared in such prestigious auditoria like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, where she inaugurated the Festival “Chopin & Friends”, National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, Rossini Hall in Padova and twice in Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Her debut recital in Amsterdam was performed with Ewa Pobłocka, an outstanding Polish pianist. All her recitals were enthusiastically received by the audience and critics. She has appeared as soloist with leading orchestras such as the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Wratislavia Chamber Orchestra, European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Veracruz, Hradec Kralove Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico, Skopje Philharmonic under excellent conductors such as Dalia Atlas, Lavard Skou Larsen, Enrique Batiz, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Jorge Mester.
She has appeared as a chamber player with K. A. Kulka, Waldemar Malicki, jazz violinists: Michael Urbaniak and Krzesimir Debski.
Her performances have been broadcast by Radio Suisse Romande, Polish Radio and TV, as well as radio and TV stations in Holland, Mexico, France, Germany and Russia.
She has an extensive and diverse repertoire ranging from the Baroque period to present-day composers. Katarzyna studied with Maestro Tibor Varga at the Ecole Supérieure de Musique in Sion, Switzerland, and with Jan Stanienda at the Academy of Music in Warsaw (diploma with distinction). She has won numerous awards at competitions for young violinists in Poland and abroad including a grant from the Interlochen Academy of Arts in the USA. Her performance at the 17th National Week of Musical Talents in Tarnów was acclaimed by the jury, and she was included in a national program for the promotion of young artists. Her debut CD entitled “Le Streghe” featuring virtuoso pieces for violin and piano (with the pianist Waldemar Malicki) won enthusiastic reviews in the media and received a nomination for the FRYDERYK'2000 award of the Polish recording industry as the only disc with solo violin. The success prompted the young artist to record another CD "Le Streghe 2" - with virtuoso violin hits, this time with orchestral accompaniment of the well known chamber orchestra "Wratislavia" under Jan Stanienda. The disc also received a nomination for the FRYDERYK'2001 award. Lately, Katarzyna Duda recorded violin music by the late Polish composer Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz. In 2002 Katarzyna was nominated to a prestigious award "Polityka's Passport" being each year granted by a Polish leading journal "Polityka" to outstanding creators in all kinds of arts. She plays an Italian violin from the 19th century.
