Piotr Orzechowski (Polish pronunciation: ; born 31 December 1990,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

), also known by his stage name Pianohooligan, is a Polish

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 ...

pianist and composer. He is a graduate of the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and a winner of the Montreux Jazz Piano Competition and Jazz Hoeilaart, hailed by the critics as "the most creative and uncompromising young Polish jazz artist."

Biography

He was born in

, Poland. In parallel with his regular classical education, he was multiply awarded at different international jazz competitions such as "Jazz Juniors", "Jazz nad Odrą" or "Krokus Jazz". Since his win at Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition 2011 in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he was awarded the 1st prize, he has been touring all over the world. He performs successfully within the realms of classical and improvised music, often blurring the boundaries between genres. This trait is also manifested on his solo debut album Experiment: Penderecki (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

, 2012), which was an attempt to explore the core of the style developed by the Polish composer by converting Krzysztof Penderecki's orchestral structures into solo piano. This was the first instrumental album from Poland recorded on prestigious London label Decca. Similarly his second solo album, 15 Studies for the Oberek (

, 2014) – a musical analysis of the various elements of the Polish oberek dance – stylistically remains suspended between folk music, contemporary music and jazz. He is the leader of High Definition Quartet. The ensemble's debut Hopasa (

EmArcy Records EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...

, 2013) is comprising the pianist's own compositions, as well as Bucolics (ForTune, 2015), presenting Orzechowski's original arrangements of music by Witold Lutosławski, which soon after its premiere won a place on

Jazz Forum ''Jazz Forum'' is a European jazz magazine based in Warsaw. It was established as a quarterly in 1964 by jazz bassist Jan A. Byrczek, who served as its editor-in-chief. It was the first jazz magazine published behind the Iron Curtain and allowed ...

magazine's prestigious list of the best Polish albums of all time. Apart from his solo activity as a jazz pianist, he also performs with leading Polish orchestras such as the

Sinfonia Varsovia The Sinfonia Varsovia is an orchestra and a musical institution based in Warsaw, Poland. It was founded in 1984 by Yehudi Menuhin, Waldemar Dąbrowski and Franciszek Wybrańczyk, as a successor to the Polish Chamber Orchestra. Since 2003 the orches ...

, the

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR), is one of Poland's radio orchestra and premier musical institutions. It was founded in 1935 in Warsaw. In 1945 the orchestra was re-established in Katowice and since 2006 it has become a "Nati ...

in Katowice, the AUKSO Chamber Orchestra, and the

Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra ( pl, Polska Orkiestra Radiowa) is a Polish radio orchestra founded in 1945 in Warsaw by Stefan Rachoń. Initially, the orchestra made records only for Polish radio and television. In 1970, the orchestra bega ...

. With Marcin Masecki and the

Capella Cracoviensis Capella Cracoviensis is a period instrument ensemble and a chamber choir based in Kraków, Poland. It was formed in 1970 by composer and music conductor Stanisław Gałoński (b. 1936), its first director and general manager. Capella Cracoviensis ...

, he recorded an album entitled Bach Rewrite (

, 2013) featuring J.S. Bach's harpsichord concertos performed on a Rhodes electroacoustic piano. The artist has collaborated with such prominent contemporary music composers as

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

, and Krzysztof Penderecki. He has toured with highly esteemed jazz musicians, including Randy Brecker, Avishai Cohen, Victor Mendoza, and

Michał Urbaniak Michał Urbaniak (born January 22, 1943) is a Polish jazz musician who plays violin, lyricon, and saxophone. His music includes elements of folk music, rhythm and blues, hip hop, and symphonic music. History He was born in Warsaw, Poland. U ...

. He has also contributed to the projects of such great figures in the world of music as Adrian Utley of Portishead,

Carlos Zíngaro Carlos Zíngaro (or Carlos "Zíngaro" Alves, born 15 December 1948 in Lisbon, Portugal) is a Portuguese violinist and electronic musician active in free improvisation. Biography Zingaro studied classical music at the Lisbon Music Conservatory fr ...

Agata Zubel Agata Zubel (born 1978 in Wrocław, Poland) is a Polish composer and singer. Life Zubel is a graduate of Wrocław's Karol Szymanowski High School of Music (percussion and music theory) and the Karol Lipiński University of Music, where she st ...

, Skalpel, William Basinski, Fennesz, and Krzysztof Knittel. In 2017 he has released his third solo piano double-album '24 Preludes & Improvisations' (

). This monumental work, alluding in its form to Johann Sebastian Bach's

24 Preludes and Fugues {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) The prelude and fugue is a musical form generally consisting of two movements in the same key for solo keyboard. In classical music, the combination of prelude and fugue is one with a long hist ...

, by using as examples short musical structures ( Preludes), and equally short but far more complex improvisational creations (

Improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

s), artist intends to expound a new way of understanding the notion of jazz and self-expression in music.

Discography

Piotr Orzechowski, Maki Namekawa i Philip Glass

Solo piano with High Definition Quartet Collaborations

References

External links

*
Pianohooligan
at Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Orzechowski, Piotr 1990 births Living people Musicians from Kraków Polish jazz pianists Alumni of the Academy of Music in Kraków Berklee College of Music alumni 21st-century pianists

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links