About
Aleksandra Świgut, pianist, a graduate and teacher of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, a second prize-winner and laureate of a numerous special prizes of the 17. International Edward Grieg’s Competition in Bergen (2022): the Orchestra Prize, the Audience Prize and the Steinway Prizewinner Concert Prize.
Aleksandra also performs on historical instruments. She is the prize-winner of the 1st International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments in Warsaw (2018). Her wide experience with historical and modern instruments and different performance practices makes her interpretations unique.
Semi-finalist of the International Artur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv and the participant of the XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. She has won many prizes in piano competitions for young pianists, including in Ettlingen, Enschede and New Orleans and at the Polish Chopin Competition in Warsaw. She has appeared at festivals in Nohant, Paris, Chopin Genève Festival, Cremona Musica, Eufonie Festival of Central-Eastern Europe as well as the Beethoven Easter Festival and ‘Chopin and his Europe’. As a soloist, she has performed with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Aukso Orchestra, Sinfonietta Cracovia, {oh!} Historical Orchestra, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and the numerous Polish philharmonic orchestras of Warszawa, Łódź, Opole, Kraków, Zielona Góra. She collaborated with conductors such as: Lawrence Foster, Alexandar Marcovic, Maxim Pascal, Michał Nesterowicz, Michał Klauza, Johannes Gustavsson, Zoi Tsokanou, Grzegorz Nowak, Aleksander Humala, Bassem Akiki, Jurek Dybał, Marek Wroniszewski, Ruben Silva. She also performs as a chamber musician with her sister – violinist of Royal Stockholm Opera – Agnieszka Świgut.
She has recorded three discs: with the music of Fryderyk Chopin and her own composition, on historical instrument Erard 1858 released by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, „Portraits of Nature” with maestro Michał Klauza and Beethoven Academy Orchestra and with compositions for piano and orchestra of Witold Maliszewski with Przemysław Neumann and Opole Philharmonic Orchestra.
Aleksandra collaborated with Polish Theatre „Wierszalin” by creating music for theatre play „Dancing Conrad” based on Adam Mickiewicz’s poetic drama „Dziady” performed in December 2023 in Tokio. She is a former grant-holder of the Polish National Children’s Fund (2003–2010), which currently supports her pedagogic work. She has received multiple grants from the Polish Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Franciszek Wybrańczyk Foundation and the German Jutting Foundation.
One reason I admire the playing of Aleksandra Świgut is its spontaneity. She often surprises me and makes unpredictable but creative interpretative gestures in her rather theatrical approach to the music.
Michael Moran, International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments