Magdalena Baczewska

Recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Polish Minister of Culture, and laureate of the Award for Outstanding Polish Citizen Abroad, pianist and harpsichordist Magdalena Baczewska (pronounced BaCHEVska) has been praised for her “world-class playing” by the American Record Guide. Combining profound musicianship, passion for educating and a gift of public speaking, Baczewska is increasingly known for her innovative recital programming ideas and making her audiences think. “Baczewska enlightens…” wrote Greg Stepanich in the Palm Beach ArtsPaper after her 2009 Miami appearance. Magdalena treats each performance as a gift of knowledge and perspective. She has been described as “imaginative and instructive, a player of taste, purity of tone, and clarity of line.” The same author further noted her “admirable sensitivity, impressive technique and ability to muster plenty of interpretive fire…” Her performances, hailed as “eloquent and technically flawless” (The Washington Post), have been broadcast on radio stations across America, including WQXR, NPR, Voice of America, and on European Radio and Television.

CARNEGIE HALL DEBUT
Magdalena gave a sold out Carnegie Hall debut recital at the Weill Recital Hall as the laureate of the Dorothy McKenzie Recognition Award. Roman Markowicz of The Weekend (New York, 2004) marveled at her “superb technical skills and unpretentious, yet greatly sophisticated musical vision of each composition,” praising her “high musicianship and refined musical taste” and summing up the performance as “highly sophisticated and truly admirable.”

COMPETITIONS
As a laureate of international piano competitions (including the International Chopin Competition at the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York International Bach Competition in Gorzow Wielkopolski, International Paderewski Competition in Wodzislaw Zdroj, International Chopin Piano Competition in Szafarnia, and the Mieczyslaw Munz Competition in New York), she has appeared worldwide as a solo artist and in orchestral performances. Magdalena is also a first-prize winner of the European American Music Alliance program in Paris, France, in both piano and harmony. She was also awarded Prix du piano at the École Américaine in Fountainebleau, France.

RECORDINGS
Magdalena has released four albums to date. Her first album, “A Tribute to Glenn Gould” (2008), contains J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations and R. Strauss’ Sonata op. 5, the first and last piano works ever recorded by Gould. James Harrington of the American Record Guide (September 2009) called it “an uncommonly good recording,” and Jed Distler of the Gramophone (July 2010) described the Variations as “beautiful and intimately scaled.” MUSIC FOR HEALING “Music for Dreams” albums were released in collaboration with BlueSleep®, a medical team specialized in research and treatment of sleep disorders. Hugely successful among doctors, patients, and music lovers, “Music for Dreams” albums have become bestsellers, with more than 20,000 copies sold. Magdalena continues to create music for health and wellness as Artistic Director at BlueSleep® Music (www.bluesleepmusic.com).

HARPSICHORD
Magdalena’s fascination with early music and performance practice led her to a study of the harpsichord and exploration of a wide range of early (pre-Baroque) keyboard repertoire. She has received instruction from Arthur Haas, Jacques Ogg, Pierre Hantaï, Bruno Procopio, and Gwendolyn Toth. She made her solo harpsichord debut playing the works of Polish keyboard music from the time of Copernicus (1543) to Kosciuszko (1777). Magdalena debuted on the harpsichord with the orchestra, playing Bach’s Triple Concerto BWV 1044 with the West Chester Baroque and the faculty members of the West Chester University. She is currently preparing for a concert of early Italian music with the members of Dorian Baroque.

EDUCATION
Magdalena holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music (under Constance Keene), and a Bachelor and Master’s Degree from the Mannes College of Music, New School University (under Jerome Rose). She graduated three times summa cum laude, honored not only for her achievements in music, but also for academic excellence. Her doctoral dissertation, In Search for Bach's Cantabile: The Role and Aspects of Oratory and Singing in Keyboard Interpretation, was published by LAP Lambert Academic Publishing (2009) and is available on Amazon.

MASTER CLASSES
As a student, Magdalena has participated in master classes with such renowned pianists as Richard Goode, Andre Watts, Murray Perrahia, Vladimir Feltsman, Byron Janis, Philippe Bianconi, Philippe Entremont, Arnaldo Cohen, Bryce Morrison, Jean-Yves Thibaudelt, and Jacques Rouvier. She was also the first student to participate in the Remote Lesson project, a master class between New York and Tokyo, using Yamaha Disklavier.

As a pedagogue, Magdalena was invited to return to Yamaha Artist Services in New York to conduct master classes using Yamaha Disklavier and the Remote Lesson technology. Those took place between New York and the Microsoft School of the Future in Philadelphia, as well as Elon University in North Carolina. She has also conducted master classes as a guest artist at the Florida International University, Staten Island Conservatory, and West Chester University. Magdalena uses technology in her private instruction, and her students tune in for piano lessons from such remote locations as Sydney, Australia.

TEACHING
Magdalena is a faculty member at the Mannes College New School for Music in New York City, and the John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University in New Jersey. She had also taught at Columbia University, Manhattan School of Music’s Pre-College Division, and the Concordia Conservatory. She has worked with financially underprivileged children at the De LaSalle Academy in New York. Every summer she joins the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York City. She is also a published music critic, having written for the New York Concert Review. Magdalena was among the jurors of the International Chopin Competition at Columbia University, Olympic Challenge Competition at Carnegie Hall, Mozart Concerto Competition at the Manhattan School of Music’s, and the Youth Concerto Competition at the same school’s Precollege Division.

BACKGROUND
Growing up in a family of musicians, Magdalena started piano instruction at the age of five in her native Poland, and at twelve made her orchestra debut. She resides in New York City.