Alicja Smietana (born 9 August 1983 in Krakow,

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 Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist,

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

player, arranger and composer currently based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Education

Coming from a musical family (her father is

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

guitarist

Jarek Śmietana Jarosław "Jarek" Śmietana (29 March 1951 – 2 September 2013]) was a Polish jazz guitarist, composer, and band leader.

) she started playing the

at the age of 5 studying under Leszek Skrobacki and later Bogdan Wozniak. She then moved on to study at the

Academy of Music in Kraków The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie) is a conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the '' alma mater'' of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krz ...

with Mieczysław Szlezer and later joined the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

to study with David Takeno and Ofer Falk. She also studied

with Sven Arne Tepl. In 2009 she joined

Kronberg Academy The Kronberg Academy is an academy of chamber music based in Kronberg, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1993 by Raimund Trenkler, who has served since then as its chairman and artistic director. The academy's initial focus was on the cello and ...

's Young Soloists (Further Masters), where she studied with

Christian Tetzlaff Christian Tetzlaff (born 29 April 1966) is a German violinist. Biography Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg. His parents were amateur musicians and met in a church choir. He began playing the violin and piano at the age of 6, and made his concert debu ...

Career

Winner of numerous competitions and awards she was quickly recognized as one of the most interesting violinists of the young generation. In 2002 she was invited to play with

Kremerata Baltica Kremerata Baltica is a chamber music, chamber orchestra consisting of musicians from Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). It was founded by Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer in 1997. Gidon Kremer is an artistic director of Kremerata Baltic ...

- a chamber orchestra led by

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holoc ...

which gave her opportunity to work closely with worlds finest musicians. Since then she has played with Kremerata Baltica on number of other occasions. As a soloist she made her international debut performing a

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

under direction of

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of th ...

with the

Academy of St Martin in the Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy of ...

. She has performed as a soloist and

chamber musician Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

together with

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

Yuri Bashmet Yuri Abramovich Bashmet (russian: link=no, Юрий Абрамович Башмет; born 24 January 1953) is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist. Biography Yuri Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don in the family of Ab ...

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 ...

, Ivan Monighetti, Boris Pergamenshikov and others. Attending many international masterclasses she received artistic guidance from many musicians including

Hagai Shaham Hagai Shaham ( he, חגי שחם, born July 8, 1966) is an Israeli violin virtuoso. He began studying the violin at the age of six and was the last student of the late Professor Ilona Feher. He is also a violin teacher, a professor

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medicine Lodg ...

, Ana Chumachenco,

Tabea Zimmermann Tabea Zimmermann (born 8 October 1966) is a German violist. Born in Lahr, she began learning to play the viola at the age of three, and commenced piano studies at age five. At the age of 13, she studied viola with Ulrich Koch at the Conservator ...

, Michael Frischenshlager,

Erich Gruenberg Erich Gruenberg (12 October 19247 August 2020) was an Austrian-born British violinist and teacher. Following studies in Israel, he was a principal violinist of major orchestras, including the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the London ...

Zakhar Bron Zakhar Bron (russian: Заха́р Ну́химович Брон ; born 17 December 1947, in Oral, Kazakhstan) is a Russian violinist and violin pedagogue of Jewish, Polish and Romanian descent. His students have included Vadim Repin, Gwendoly ...

, Boris Garlitsky, Zvi Zeitlin and

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...

. In 2008 She was asked by

to help him create, direct and manage his Orchestra of Life. She is also a director of Extra Sounds Ensemble since 2013. She has played

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or musical band, band. Concerts are held in a w ...

and recitals in major venues all over the world including recent appearances at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

and

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

. She is very keen on improvisation and is also performing a lot of experimental music, jazz and contemporary electronic music in venues such as

the 100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

the Vortex ''The Vortex'' is a play in three acts by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The play depicts the sexual vanity of a rich, ageing beauty, her troubled relationship with her adult son, and drug abuse in British society circles after the ...

and

Ronnie Scotts Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...

among others. She has performed with Quincy Jones orchestra and

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

himself and other artists such as Wojciech Karolak, Adam Czerwiński,

Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski Jan "Ptaszyn" Wróblewski (born 27 March 1936) is a Polish jazz musician, composer and arranger. He plays the tenor and baritone saxophones. Wróblewski began his musical career in 1956 at the first Sopot Jazz Festival in Krzysztof Komeda's gro ...

John Etheridge John Michael Glyn Etheridge (born 12 January 1948) is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known f ...

, Krzesimir Dębski,

Gwilym Simcock Gwilym Simcock (born 24 February 1981) is a Welsh pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music, often blurring any distinction between the two musical forms. Simcock was chosen as one of the 1000 Most Influential People in Lo ...

and many others. Alicja is also an arranger and has received multiple awards and grants towards that side of her career. She plays a 1740

Camillo Camilli Camillo Camilli (c. 1704 – 1754) was a notable master luthier of the 18th century. The instruments of Camilli, most of which he made in Mantua, in northern Italy, are prized by string musicians to this day. He was a pupil of Zanotti, but was mai ...

violin and a

Jean Pierre Marie Persois Jean Pierre Marie Persoit ersois'' - (1782/83? in Mirecourt – after 1854) was a great and intriguing French bowmaker or '' Archetier''. One of the first bowmakers to be hired by the young Jean Baptiste Vuillaume. Persoit seems to have wo ...

bow. She is a member of Mensa with IQ 156.

Partial discography

* Alicja Smietana & Aleksandra Łaptaś "Lutosławski & Previn" (2004) JRS * Jarek Smietana "Story of Polish Jazz" (2004) JRS * Jarek Smietana "Autumn Suite" (2006) JRS * Jarek Smietana "Revolution" (2008) KRS * Nigel Kennedy & Orchestra of Life "Four Elements" (2011) (Sony Classical) * Alicja Smietana & Evelyne Berezovsky "Works by Bach, Gould, Previn, Pärt" (2012) Solo Musica * Alicja Smietana & Extra Sounds Ensemble "Friends - Music of Jarek Smietana" (2014) AC Records * Alicja Smietana, Extra Sounds Ensemble and Pekka Kuusisto "Metamorphoses" (2015) Solo Musica * Alicja Smietana & Extra Sounds Ensemble "Friends - Music of Jarek Smietana" (Album by Adam Czerwiński) - VINYL edition (2015) Ac Records * Nigel Kennedy & Orchestra of Life "The New Four Seasons" (2015) Sony Classical * Nigel Kennedy "Kennedy Meets Gershwin" (2018) Warner Music

References

External links

Official Website

Kronberg Academy

Grunau Musik Management

Artists International Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smietana, Alicja 1983 births Living people Polish violinists 21st-century violinists