Maciej Kułakowski

Among Poland's fastest-rising musicians of his generation, cellist Maciej Kułakowski was trained largely in Germany. Since winning first prize at the Lutosławski International Competition in 2015, he has enjoyed an international career. Kułakowski was born in Gdańsk, Poland, on March 12, 1996, into a family of classical and jazz musicians. He took up the cello at six and made rapid progress, studying at the Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk with Marcin Zdunik and three times earning scholarships from Poland's Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. In 2009, Kułakowski entered the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts, studying with Michael Flaksman and graduating in 2012. Kułakowski went on to study with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Weimar. He took master classes with various figures, including Frans Helmerson, Mischa Maisky, and Truls Mørk. Twin breakthroughs propelled Kułakowski to a top-level international career; he took first prize and a special award at the Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition in 2015, following that up with several other prizes, and he was admitted to the Kronberg Academy, once again with Schmidt as his primary teacher. With the Kronberg Academy Soloists, he made his debut in 2020 on an album of Hindemith's music conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. He completed the Kronberg program in 2021. By that time, Kułakowski had already embarked on a flourishing international career. He has appeared as a soloist across a far-flung area, with such groups as the Poznań Philharmonic, the Siberian State Symphony, the Brussels Philharmonic, and the Calgary Philharmonic in Canada. As a recitalist, Kułakowski has been highly visible at festivals, including the Piatigorsky Cello Festival in Los Angeles and Beijing Super Cello Festival. Kułakowski's list of chamber music collaborators includes pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Arnold Steinhardt, and the late Krzysztof Penderecki; the latter's wife Elzbieta invited Kułakowski to record her husband's complete cello music; that album is slated for release on the Dux label. Kułakowski made his solo debut in 2022 on the Delphian label with the recital album Beau Soir.
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