Maciej Zoltowski
(b. 1971 in Warsaw)
is well known for his devotion to music of the 20th and 21st
centuries. Being himself a composer, he developed strong links with the
contemporary music scene as well as with the best soloists of our times. His
thorough and diversified knowledge allows him an unprecedented insight into the
music he conducts.
Maestro Zoltowski collaborates with many
Polish symphony orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra of the
Polish Radio (Katowice), the Polish Radio Orchestra (Warsaw), the Polish
Orchestra Jeunesses Musicales, Beethoven Academy Orchestra and Poznan Philharmonic.
International audiences could see Maciej Zoltowski conducting in plenty of
concert halls in Europe, Asia and both Americas. His most recent engagements included:
Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca (Ecuador), Orquesta Sinfónica de Salta (Argentina), Sinfonia Toronto (Canada), Wuhan
Philharmonic Orchestra (China), Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, Symphony
Arlington, Garland Symphony Orchestra (USA), Voronezh Philharmonic Orchestra
(Russia), Shumen State Symphony (Bulgaria), Orchestra Filarmonica Nino Rota
(Italy), Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra da Camera del Trasimeno (Italy),
Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes (Mexico), Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México
, Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de
Guanajuato (Mexico), Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo
León (Mexico), Orquesta Sinfónica de Yucatán (Mexico), Krasnoyarsk Symphony
Orchestra (Russia), Çukurova State Symphony Orchestra
(Turkey), the Pilsen
Philharmonic (Czech Republic), the Wuhan Symphony Orchestra (China), Sinfonia
Finlandia Jyväskylä (Finland), Vogtland Philharmonie (Germany) and Mikkeli City Orchestra (Finland).
Works composed by Maciej Zoltowski have
been performed during numerous festivals, among others: Two Days and Two Nights
in Odessa (Ukraine), festival Europe-Asia in Kazan (Tatarstan-Russia),
Rheinsberger Musiktage zu Pfingsten in Rheinsberg (Germany), Roaring Hooves in
Mongolia, Composium 1999 in Tokyo, Sound Ways in St. Petersburg, Past and
Future in Odessa and World Music Days 2002 in Hong Kong.
Maciej Zoltowski studied violin at the prestigious
F. Chopin and J. Elsner Music Schools in Warsaw. Having earned his diploma in
violin performance with distinction, he continued his studies at the F. Chopin
Academy of Music in Warsaw, where he graduated in 1996 in composition and in
1997 in conducting faculty, obtaining both M.A. diplomas with awards. His
teachers at the academy included Prof. Marian Borkowski and Prof. Ryszard Dudek.
Maciej Zoltowski participated in many
master-courses working under supervision of notable artists like Yuri Simonov, Zoltán
Pesko, Lászlo Tihanyi, and Gianluigi Gelmetti.
For the artistic achievements, he received
twice the Polish Ministry of Culture scholarship and the Tadeusz Baird
scholarship. In 1997, he was awarded with the fellowship of the German Stiftung
Kulturfonds in Künstlerhaus Schloss Wiepersdorf. In 2000, he won the
scholarship for young conductors of the Japanese Music Foundation JESC. He was
the winner of the first composers’ competition held by the Musica Sacra Society in Warsaw. In 1999, he was the finalist of the
Toru Takemitsu Composition Award (Tokyo). In 2002, the President of the
Republic of Poland decorated him with the Silver Order of Merit. In 2017 the
Polish Minister for Culture and National Heritage awarded him the Bronze Medal
“Gloria Artis” for services to culture.
Maciej Zoltowski held posts in many Polish
music institutions: chairperson of the Young Circle in the Polish Composers’
Union, secretary general of the Warsaw Branch of the Polish Composers’ Union,
secretary general and subsequently president of the Jeunesses Musicales Poland,
the Polish section of the Jeunesses Musicales International. Since 2010 he is
President of the ISCM (International Society for Contemporary Music) Polish
Section.
Appointed artistic director and conductor
of the Cyprus State Orchestra in 2002, Maciej Zoltowski has developed the
ensemble to high artistic standards. This has resulted in many international
tours the orchestra did under his direction, visiting London, Copenhagen, Paris
and Athens. In Cyprus alone, he has led over 80 concert, opera and ballet
productions. In 2007-2017 Maciej Zoltowski held the post of the Managing and
Artistic Director of the Radom Chamber Orchestra (ROK) in Poland. In 2020 he has been appointed Music Director of the Catskill Symphony Orchestra (USA).
Maestro Zoltowski’s discography contains
recordings for The Steinway Club Cyprus: Rachmaninov’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2
and 3 with Dimitris Sgouros and world premiere recording of a “Concerto for 10 Pianos
and Orchestra” by Savvas Savva. Other CDs feature the Radom Chamber Orchestra:
“Grazyna Bacewicz – Works for Chamber Orchestra” vol. I and II,
enthusiastically received by the international press: Five Diapasons from the
French magazine “Diapason”, Excepcional by the Spanish “Scherzo”, nomination to
the International Classical Music Awards 2011. His most recent CD “Krzysztof
Penderecki – Works for String Orchestra” has been released by DUX on the
occasion of the composer’s 80th anniversary and included in the
prestigious “Penderecki Special Edition”.