Michal Sobkowiak 

 

  Born in an artistic family in Poland, Michal Sobkowiak made his TV debut on "Akademia muzyczna" series as the most talented young pianist at the age of ten. He has performed at major concert halls and music festivals across the country and abroad, including the prestigious National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw. After graduated from Chopin Academy of Music (currently known as the Frederyk Chopin University of Music) in 1998, he further pursued his postgraduate study at the Zürich Conservatory. His former teachers include Andrzej Jasiński, Jerzy Marchwiński, Teresa Manasterska  and Gabriela Weiss. In 1995, he was a prizewinner at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition (Poland). In 1996, he was given a scholarship from the Frederyk Chopin Society (Warsaw). In 1997, he appeared at the Europe Piano Forum (Berlin, Germany). Not only as a classical pianist, prof. Sobkowiak is also known as a jazz pianist, composer, and a dedicated teacher. In 2002, he performed at the press room during the 36th Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland). His latest CD "Jazz Loves Chopin", released in 2017, became number one on the Top 100 Album ranking of the e-onkyo music. In 2018 he starred as a pianist in the Japanese movie, "Hitsuji to Hagane no Mori". He has been regularly invited as a jury member at PTNA and the International Chopin Piano Competition in ASIA, as well as the jury chairman of European International Piano Concours in Japan. In 2021, he founded the Japan Jazz Pop Piano Competition. In May, 2022, he performed with Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra for a charity concert for Ukraine. Currently, he serves as a professor at Fukushima College and as a lecturer at Showa University of Music. 

             

   Major events

 

Appearance with "Jeunesses Musicales" symphony orchestra in the "Eurotreff Musik", Aalen / Germany/  1987
Winner of the British Catherine Morgan-Evans foundation patronage for young talents, Grindelwald / Switzerland / 1993
Participation in the "Kil’s International Piano Festival", Sweden 1994
Honorable mention and award of the Wrocław Press Center in the "Ferenc Liszt Piano Competition", Wrocław /Poland/ 1995
Qualified to the final round of the Motorola "Music & Song" international contest, Warsaw 1995
Joint winner of the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe, Warsaw 1996
Participation in the spectacular "Per Pianoforte" concert for ten grand pianos, Warsaw 1996
Winner of the Fryderyk Chopin Society scholarship, Warsaw 1997
Poland’s representative in the "International Week", Jerusalem 1997
Participation in the "European Piano Forum", Berlin 1997
The first of the annual tourness in Japan, 1996
Concerts with the "Vilnius Strings& Swiss Chamber Orchestra", Switzerland 1999
Recital at the "Les Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad", Switzerland 2001
Performance at the Montreux Palace during the 36th edition of the "Montreux Jazz Festival", Switzerland 2002
Recitals at the Expo 2005, Japan
Recital at the Tokyo Bunkakaikan, 2006
Recital for the Musashino Academy of Music, Bach Hall, Tokyo 2008 
 
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