Biography
Michael Wladkowski’s enthusiasm and artistic curiosity have led him to explore a repertoire spanning the works of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy to works by Alkan and Szymanowski and on to works of contemporary composers such as Thon Tat Thiet, Antoine Tisné and Tolia Nikiprowetzky, who have dedicated major works to him.
This constantly expanding artistic horizon leads Wladkowski beyond the convention of classical performances to connect with audiences. His recitals combined with poetry read by members of the Comedie Française or his lecture recitals highlighting differences and similarities between the great classic works and contemporary works reveals his exploration of blurring genre boundaries.
Wladkowski’s pursuit of new challenges has led him to constantly expanding his horizon. Among his many recordings for Solstice, REM and Peyrole are the piano works of Karol Szymanowski, whose favorite pupil Piotr Perkowski, himself Wladkowski’s teacher, often remarked on the uncanny similarity between Wladkowski’s performance and that of the master.
Just as he has continually widened his artistic horizons, Wladkowski has ignored linguistic and cultural barriers. He studied in the United States, Poland and Austria and speaks fluent English, French, German, Polish, Russian, Hebrew and Italian.
In addition to his solo work, Wladkowski is an avid chamber music performer and has collaborated with many outstanding musicians including Laurent Korcia, Mark Varshawsky and the Kocian Quartet.
His performances the world over have been unanimously greeted with enthusiasm as Pierre Petit of “Le Figaro” noted “Wladkowski is remarkable, an authentic musician who posseses an immediate and splendid contact and who is brilliantly communicative”.
Wladkowski’s passion for the younger generation finds an outlet in his piano class at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris where his students include many prize winners of international piano competitions. He is equally in demand for master classes which find him regularly in all the european countries, Israel, U.S.A, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Russia.
