Peter Jablonski (born 1971) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

concert

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

Biography

Peter Jablonski was born in

Lyckeby Lyckeby is a village in Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, in southeastern Sweden, near the mouth of the Lyckeby River. The town was originally known as Lyckå. History The first recorded mention of the town was in 1449, when Claus Niels ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

to a Swedish mother and Polish father. He studied percussion and piano at Malmö Conservatory from 1982 to 1986. He performed as a drummer at the

Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jaz ...

jazz club in New York at the age of nine. He debuted as a pianist in Sweden at the age of 12, with Mozart concerto k 453. In 1989 he moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. There he studied composition, conducting and piano at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in London. He signed to

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

in 1991, with a debut recording of Gershwin's piano concerto in F with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

and

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is a Soviet-born Icelandic pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, ...

, followed by Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Lutoslawski's Paganini Variations, and Shostakovich's concerto no.1 for piano and trumpet, again with the RPO and Ashkenazy - for which he won an Edison award. With Ashkenazy he also recorded Scriabin's "Prometheus" and piano concerto with the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families ...

. He later recorded Tchaikovsky's second and third piano concertos with the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI Classics, EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Rich ...

and

Charles Dutoit Charles Édouard Dutoit is a Swiss conductor. He is the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal Award. Dutoit held previous positions ...

and Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto with

Peter Maag Ernst Peter Johannes Maag (10 May 1919 – 16 April 2001) was a Swiss conductor. Early life Peter Maag was born on 10 May 1919 in St. Gallen, Switzerland and died on 16 April 2001 in Verona, Italy. His father, Otto, was a Lutheran minister, ...

. Other recordings include the complete piano sonatas by Prokofiev, and albums dedicated to Chopin, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Mozart, Stravinsky, Szymanowski and Grieg. He made his debuts at Washington's Kennedy Center in 1992 and at London's

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

in 1993. In 2008 he made his conducting debut with the Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra in Sibelius Symphony nr 1. Washington Post wrote about Jablonski: "It may happen once a season or once in a lifetime. Along comes a talent, not merely your run-of-the-mill virtuoso, but someone, something extraordinary that makes you rethink a piece of music you thought you’ve known forever".https://www.peterjablonski.com In 2020, Jablonski released his debut album for

Ondine Records Ondine is a Finnish classical record label founded in 1985 in Helsinki, Finland. Its catalogue with several award-winning releases includes over 600 titles with major Finnish and international artists. Ondine's roster of artists and ensembles i ...

, Scriabin's complete Mazurkas, to great critical acclaim. In 2021, Jablonski's recording of the works by a Russian composer Alexey Stanchinsky, also for Ondine, has been warmly accepted both by audiences and critics, earning him the Gramophone Editor's Choice in May 2021. It has been listed among the best classical releases of the year by the Gramophone. In 2022, the artist embarked on his project of performing and recording the piano music of Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969), who takes her place among major Polish composers of her generation. 'Jablonski plays Bacewicz' recording was released on Ondine in February 2022, and immediately received the Gramophone Editor's Choice in March 2022, and was later included in the publication's best releases of the year list. Patrick Rucker's review concluded that the release introduced '...Music by important woman composer, played by a pianist in full flower of his mature, imaginative artistry.' 'Jablonski plays Bacewicz' became the BBC Music Magazine Instrumental Choice in March 2022, and Critics' Choice in The Record Geijutsu, Japan, in April 2022. Gramophone listed the recording among its best classical recordings, and best piano recordings of 2022. In December 2022, Jablonski's Bacewicz recording was awarded the French Academy Charles Cros Award. In January 2023, it was nominated for The BBC Music Magazine Awards 2023. Peter Jablonski is an ambassador for DONNE Foundation, a charity dedicated to promoting and supporting the work of women in music. In May 2022, Peter Jablonski became a member of the Swedish Royal Music Academy.

Awards

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...

for recording of the ''Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini'' by Rachmaninov with the

and

* International Swede of the Year 1996 * The 1998

Warsaw Autumn Festival Warsaw Autumn () is the largest international Polish festival of contemporary music. It was established in 1956 by two composers, Tadeusz Baird and Kazimierz Serocki, and officially established by the Head Board of the Polish Composers' Union. I ...

Orpheus Award for his premiere performance of Kilar's Piano Concerto * The

Litteris et Artibus Litteris et Artibus is a Swedish royal medal established in 1853 by Charles XV of Sweden, who was then crown prince. It is awarded to people who have made important contributions to culture, especially music, dramatic art and literature. The ob ...

Medal in June 2005 for his achievement as a pianist. * The French Academy Charles Cros Award for the recording of piano music by

Grażyna Bacewicz Grażyna Bacewicz Biernacka (; 5 February 1909 – 17 January 1969) was a Polish composer and violinist of Lithuanian origin. She is the second Polish female composer to have achieved national and international recognition, the first being Ma ...

, December 2022.
The Swedish Grammy Award
Årets Klassiska 2025, for the recording of Ronald Stevenson's piano works, April 2025.

References

External links

Official WebsitePeter Jablonski Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jablonski, Peter 1971 births Living people Swedish classical pianists Swedish male classical pianists Swedish people of Polish descent Swedish expatriates in the United Kingdom Litteris et Artibus recipients 21st-century Swedish classical pianists 21st-century Swedish male musicians People from Karlskrona Municipality