prof. Jadwiga Kotnowska

An outstanding Polish flutist, she is the first Polish laureate of eight international flute competitions, including the Queen Sofia in Madrid, the Maria Canals in Barcelona, the G. B. Viotti in Vercelli, the V. Bucchi in Rome, and the Bordeaux competition. She also won the competition for the position of first solo flutist in the Royal Flanders Philharmonic Orchestra in Belgium. A graduate of the Academy of Music in Warsaw in the class of Prof. E. Dastych Szwarc, she honed her skills with such masters as A. Nicolet in Switzerland and J. P. Rampal and A. Marion in France.

As a soloist, she has performed in concert halls around the world, including: The Berlin Philharmonic, Schauspielhous Berlin, Lincoln Center in New York, Grieg Hall in Bergen, Tivoli Hall in Copenhagen, Palau de Musica in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid, South Bank Centre/Purcell Room in London, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Salle Moliere in Lyon, the Grand Concert Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, KLCC in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and at festivals including the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (Finland) and Bergen International Festival – Grieg Hall (Norway). In Poland she has performed with all the leading symphony and chamber orchestras, including: She has performed numerous times with the National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, NOSPR, Aukso, and Amadeus, as well as at contemporary music festivals such as the Warsaw Autumn, the Festival of Premieres in Katowice, Musica Electronica Nova in Wrocław, and the K. Penderecki Festival in Kraków. She also inaugurated the Mozart Festival in Warsaw.

The artist inspired composers such as M. Górecki, H. Kulenty, M. Ptaszyńska, J. Maksymiuk, D. Przybylski, M. Małecki, K. Dębski, A. Jagodziński, W. Pawlik, P. Wróbel, R. Kurdybacha, and K. Knittel to compose flute concertos dedicated specifically to her. She has given numerous world and Polish premieres, including being the first Polish performer of concertos by H. M. Górecki and K. Penderecki under the composer's direction.

She has made numerous recordings for radio in Spain, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the USA, as well as albums for the following labels: Polskie Nagrania, MDG, Quantum (Paris), Scotstown Music (Edinburgh), and Tonpress (her album "Antonio Vivaldi – Cztery pory roku" was nominated for the Fryderyk Award). In her projects combining classical music with jazz, she collaborates with outstanding musicians such as A. Jagodziński, K. Herdzin, K. Stankiewicz, J. M. Alban Juarez, and M. Richmond.

She is a professor and teaches flute at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz and the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, and teaches master classes in the USA, Malaysia, Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the Royal College of Music in London, among others.