Since his early success at the renowned Karajan competition, award winning conductor Jacek Kaspszyk has conducted many of the major orchestras in Europe and Asia, including the Bayerische Rundfunk, RSO Berlin, Orchestre Nationale de France, Wiener Symphoniker, Oslo, Stockholm, Rotterdam and Prague Philharmonics as well as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with whom he toured Australia. Until recently he was Music Director, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; he was also a former Principal Conductor and Music Advisor of the Nord Nederlands Orkest as well as leading the Polish National Opera for many years during one of the most successful periods in their history. Jacek Kaspszyk recently received the prestigious Elgar Medal in recognition of his many fine performances of Elgar's works, joining distinguished colleagues like Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andrew Litton and Leonard Slatkin

At the start of season 13.14 Jacek Kaspszyk will take up the position of Artistic Director with the Warsaw Philharmonic, In addition to this, he has been the Artistic Director of the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic since 2006 and until recently was also Music Director of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.  Recent symphonic engagements range from his return to Vienna Symphony Orchestra at the Bregenz Festival 2012, concerts with Sinfonia Varsovia at La Roque D’Antheron and Lugano Festival with Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana.  He enjoyed a return to the USA with his own orchestra, NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic and pianist Garrick Ohlsson, recently completing a successful coast to coast tour.  They presented programmes including works by Szymanowski, Dvorak, Brahms and Chopin, with Bernstein’s Candide Overture proving equally popular with audiences. Jacek Kaspszyk’s conducts regularly in the Far East, opening the  2011/2012 season with the China Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras as well as making his debut with the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra and pianist Stephen Kovacevich. 

This season he returns to the Malaysian Philharmonic following his successful debut and makes his debut with the KBS symphony in 2013.. Other season highlights include Opera North for concerts in the UK, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic, Lugano Festival and an extensive tour of the UK with National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Recent Opera highlights included performances of Szymanowski's King Roger for Polish National Opera.  This new production directed by David Pountney was televised as part of the high-profile I, Culture programme to celebrate the opening of the Polish Presidency of the European Union.   Among other special events were concerts with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the Chopin Festival in Warsaw.

M. Kaspszyk continues his long association with Sinfonia Varsovia in Warsaw with whom he appears regularly at the La Folle Journée festivals in France and Japan and 'Chopin and his Europe' Festival in Warsaw amongst others.

Jacek Kaspszyk has conducted orchestras in the USA (Cincinnati Symphony, San Diego Symphony), Canada (Calgary Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony), Japan (Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic) as well as the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

His debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra was followed by concerts with the London Symphony, London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras.  Other engagements included performances with the Halle, Royal Scottish National, BBC Scottish and BBC National Orchestra of Wales with whom he made his BBC Proms debut.  He also became Principal Conductor of Capital Radio's Wren Orchestra.

Highly regarded in the field of opera, Jacek Kaspszyk was General Director of the Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera -  from 2002.   Under Kaspszyk's tenure the company enjoyed not only huge success at home, but also won international recognition with acclaimed performances at such venues as the Beijing Festival (2001), the Bolshoi in Moscow (2002), Sadler's Wells Theatre in London (2004), Hong Kong Arts Festival (2005) and Perolada Festival in Spain (2006), as well as during three highly successful tours of Japan (2001, 2003, 2005).   He has conducted productions at many renowned opera houses among others: Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf, Opera Comique in Paris, Opera de Lyon, Opera de Bordeaux, Stockolm Opera, English National Opera, Opera North Leeds, Zurich Opera, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville.  In 1998 he was appointed Artistic and Music Director, and Between 2006 - 2008 he worked regularly with the Lithuanian National Opera in Vilnius whose acclaimed productions of R. Strauss's Salome and Wagner's Die Walkure he conducted in Vilnius as well as at festivals in Ljubljana and Ravenna (2007), and during a well received residency at the Israeli Opera Tel Aviv - Yafo (2008).

Jacek Kaspszyk is widely represented on CD, including an award-winning recording of Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino with the Polish Chamber Opera and the Edison Prize-awarded recording of Baird’s Concerto Lugubre with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as several acclaimed recordings for Collins Classics with all four London orchestras, including Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition, Mahler’s Symphony No 1, and R. Strauss’s Also Spracht Zarathustra (London Symphony), Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2 and Verdi’s Opera Overtures (Philharmonia), works by J. Strauss and Schubert’s Symphonies No 5 & 8 (LPO) and Puccini’s Interludes (Royal Philharmonic).

His recording of Lutoslawski’s Symphonies No 2 & 4 with the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic received the 2011 Fryderyk award for the category: Album of the Year, Symphonic and Concert Music. The album has been described as “An important and magnificent release that gives us the best sound the composer has ever had”.  Kaspszyk and pianist Marta Argerich feature together on a 2010 EMI Classics Chopin CD.  He enjoys a regular collaboration with Martha Argerich, conducting at the annual Progetto Martha Argerich Festival in Lugano.  He recently recorded Beethoven piano concerti with pianist Ingrid Jacoby. The first disc of the series ws released in November 2012. 

Recordings with the Polish National Opera include Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor (EMI Classics) awarded with a Platinum Disc, Penderecki’s Ubu Rex (CD Accord) and Szymanowski’s King Roger (CD Accord), which was nominated for ‘Record of the Year’ by BBC Music Magazine and highly praised by Gramophone magazine whose critic wrote of Kaspszyk “in all, even the tiniest details, he managed to achieve absolutely everything”.

Jacek Kaspszyk studied conducting, theory and composition at the Warsaw Academy of Music, graduating in 1975, and that same year made his conducting debut at the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera. In 1976, he was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf, and in 1977 was a prize winner at the prestigious Karajan Competition, making his Berlin and New York debuts the following year.

May 2013