Agnieszka Duczmal (Polish pronunciation: ; born 7 January 1946 in

Krotoszyn Krotoszyn (german: Krotoschin, yi, קראטאשין ''Krotoshin'') is a town in west-central Poland with 30,010 inhabitants . It has been part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; it was within Kalisz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) is a Polish conductor and founder of the Poznań Amadeus Orchestra.

Early life and education

She was born in 1946 in

where she spent the first nine years of her life. She started to play the piano at the age of five. After having heard

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

's ''

Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks ''Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks'' (german: Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, ), Opus number, Op. 28, is a tone poem written in 1894–95 by Richard Strauss. It chronicles the misadventures and pranks of the German peasant folk hero Till Eul ...

'' when she was in second grade of elementary school, she decided she wanted to become a conductor. She started to study conducting at the Academy of Music in Poznań in 1966 under Witold Krzemieński and graduated in 1971. Still as a student, she founded a chamber orchestra in 1968.

Career

Between 1971 and 1972 she was hired as assistant to the conductor at the Poznań Philharmonic. The chamber orchestra conducted by her was taken over by the Polish Radio in 1977, renamed the "Amadeus Chamber Orchestra" in 1988. Since 1972, she worked at the Poznań Grand Theatre where she was involved in staging the Polish premiere of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's opera ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' and

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

''. She was the first woman conductor to perform in

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

. She also conducted at such venues as

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace of Madrid, Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing a ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and Royal Theatre of La Monnaie in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. She appeared as a guest conductor with many philharmonic orchestras. She has been a jury member of many national and international music competitions including the

Eurovision Young Musicians 2012 The Eurovision Young Musicians 2012 was the sixteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at the Rathausplatz in Vienna, Austria on 11 May 2012. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer ...

and the International

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of ...

Violin Competition. The Amadeus Orchestra performed many tours in Poland and abroad. She has collaborated with such renowned soloists as

Martha Argerich Martha Argerich (; Eastern Catalan: �ɾʒəˈɾik born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and education Argerich was born in Buenos Ai ...

Mischa Maisky Mischa Maisky ( lv, Miša Maiskis, he, מישה מייסקי, russian: Миша Майский; born 10 January 1948) is a Soviet-born Israeli cellist. Biography Mischa Maisky was born in 1948 in Riga and is the younger brother of organist, har ...

and

Henryk Szeryng Henryk Szeryng (usually pronounced ''HEN-r-ik SHEH-r-in-g'') (22 September 19183 March 1988) was a Polish violinist. Early years He was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy Jewish family. The surname "Szeryng" is a Polish ...

. Numerous sound recordings have been made for the Polish Radio and for well-known record companies such as ASV Records, Wergo, ADDA, Canyon Classics, AMF, Europa Musica and Vienna Modern Masters. Her programs feature Mozart's works in the foreground. In 1998, she was awarded the Commander's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

. In 2002, she became the recipient of Brazil's highest order of merit – the

Order of the Southern Cross Emperor Pedro I of Brazil founded the National Order of the Southern Cross ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul) as a Brazilian order of chivalry on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil (7 September 1822) ...

. In 2005, she was awarded the Silver

Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

. In 2015, she was granted the title of an Honorary Citizen of the City of

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

. In 2018, she was received the Golden Fryderyk Award.

Personal life

Agnieszka Duczmal is married to the double bass player of the Amadeus Orchestra, Józef Jaroszewski. Her daughter, Anna Jaroszewska-Mróz, also became a conductor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duczmal, Agnieszka 1946 births Living people Polish women conductors (music) 21st-century conductors (music)

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References