Wrocław-born Piotr Alexewicz has become one of the most prominent Polish Gen Z pianists. He gained acclaim through his participation in the 18th Chopin Competition and the maturity of his interpretations.
Born on 9 April 2000 in Wrocław, Alexewicz does not hail from a family of professional musicians. It was his grandmother who first introduced him to the piano, teaching him his first notes on the family instrument. However, before the piano truly captured his heart – which, as he admits, happened after he had heard a recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, op. 30 – he had also pursued another passion: singing in the boys’ choir of the National Forum of Music in Wrocław, alongside attending classes at both primary and music school.
At first, the choir meant much more to me. It wasn’t until I was about 12 that I began to take the piano seriously. [...] Singing in the choir marked the beginning of my fascination with music – we performed Mozart’s works, both of Bach’s ‘Passions’ (I was a soloist in the ‘St John Passion’) – and I’m very grateful for that period. It lasted from 2008 until 2019,
he recalled during the Café Muza programme on Polish Radio Two. Vocal music was to become the foundation of his later pianistic craft:
[Singing] is the essence of all music. [...] The imagination developed through singing in a choir, listening to the orchestra, becoming familiar with the repertoire – I believe it’s a must. [...] What else did the choir give me? Above all, the ability to phrase and to shape long musical lines. Singing is the most important learning experience for any instrumentalist.
The rather ‘standard’ beginnings of his music education, as Alexewicz himself described them, left a lasting mark on him – one that is often linked to his widely noted artistic maturity. Strong musical self-awareness is further revealed in his recollection of performing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major (Symphony of a Thousand) under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk:
I felt as though I had suddenly entered an entirely different plane of reality. I remember it to this day, and I think Mahler will forever remain close to my heart, because I try to motivate myself to achieve a similar effect by employing musical means of expression. Which is very difficult, because it requires not only pianistic skill but also the power of communication and good psychological insight – awareness of how the listener perceives music.
He continued his piano studies with Professor Paweł Zawadzki at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, after which he attended the Zurich University of the Arts, studying under Professor Konstantin Scherbakov. Today, alongside his concert activities, he also teaches at his alma mater.
Alexewicz gained acclaim through his successes in numerous competitions. Domestically, these included two first prizes at the National Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition (2017, 2020). These achievements secured him entry to the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where he reached the third stage and received the Professor Zbigniew Drzewiecki Prize. The impact of his performances – and the jury’s decisions – was reflected in the statements accompanying his nomination for the prestigious Polityka Passport Award. Dorota Kozińska praised the young musician
[...] for modern, thoughtful and individual (in the best sense of the word) interpretations of Chopin’s music at this year’s competition. For the increasingly rare understanding that an intelligent interpretation requires in-depth study of context, and that it is born above all in the mind, and not at the fingertips of a virtuoso.
And Marlena Wieczorek asserted:
[...] even if one jury didn’t recognise his talent, it doesn’t mean another won’t.
Although Alexewicz speaks with some reservation about the idea of competition in the arts, he seems equally reluctant to rest on his laurels – in 2025, he will once again take part in the 19th Chopin Competition.
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Piotr Alexewicz, photo: Wojciech Olkuśnik / PAP (Polish Press Agency)
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Throughout his career, he has also enjoyed considerable success abroad. He won the Grand Prix of the 3rd Ville de Gagny International Piano Competition in Paris. He took second prize at the Jeunesses International Music Competition Dinu Lipatti in Bucharest. In 2024, he triumphed at the PianoTexas Piano Academy Concerto Competition, performing Brahms’s Piano Concerto in D minor, op. 15, with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under Miguel Harth-Bedoya. That same year, he was one of three laureates at the prestigious Schenk Competition in Switzerland, where he also won all the special prizes, including the Audience Prize and the Orchestra Prize. He also reached the semifinals of the globally renowned Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas.
His artistic achievements earned him the inaugural ‘Young Ambassador of Poland’ award, presented by the First Lady of the Republic of Poland, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the promotion of Polish culture. In 2021, he also received the Wrocław Art Award.
Alexewicz made his recording debut at the young age of nineteen, collaborating with the Fryderyk Chopin Institute on the album Liszt. Chopin. Ravel. Beethoven, released as part of the Young Talents: Debuts series. Demonstrating both ambition and versatility, his subsequent albums for the Institute focused exclusively on Chopin. In the process of recording all of Chopin’s orchestral works (excluding the concertos), he was accompanied by Sinfonia Varsovia under the baton of Howard Shelley. His most recent release, scheduled for 2025, comprises a cycle of 26 preludes. This is what he said about it in an interview for Polish Radio Two:
My fascination with this cycle coincided with [Grigory] Sokolov’s Salzburg release in Deutsche Grammophon [‘The Salzburg Recital’– editor’s note]. I remember that I had known many great interpretations of Chopin’s preludes, but that particular recording caught my special attention. After hearing the entire cycle, I knew that this was something I wanted to perform in the future.
Alexewicz has performed in renowned venues, including the Berliner Philharmonie and the Salle Cortot. Following his performance at the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój in 2024, Roman Markowicz wrote in Ruch Muzyczny:
If I were to bet on a young talent, I would undoubtedly opt for Piotr Alexewicz.
