Piotr Szumieł, born in Warsaw in 1977, belongs to the group of the most versatile violists of his generation. Already at a young age he was the winner of numerous renowned prizes at international competitions, among them in particular the victory in the Jan Rakowski Viola Competition in Posen (Poland) in 1998, the special prize at the 36th International Instrumental Competition in Markneukirchen in 2001, a 2nd prize at the 9th International Johannes Brahms Competition 2002 in Pörtschach (Austria), and 3rd prize at the International Viola Competition in Vienna in 2004.

 

From 2002 to 2008 he was a member and principal violist of the Dresden Philharmonic and the Dresden Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. He is also a sought-after juror and teacher at master classes. Piotr Szumiel has been doing very intensive pedagogical work for many years - he is a lecturer in viola and chamber music at the Carl-Maria-von-Weber Hochschule für Musik in Dresden (since 2005), in the years 2013-2018 he was a docent at the Karol Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice and from October 2019 at the University of Music and Theater in Rostock, where he has been a professor since April 2020 and also the head of the Strings.

 

Piotr Szumieł has played in the London Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Vienna Musikverein, Megaron in Athens, the Cologne Philharmonic, Citè de la musique Paris, Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels, Konserthuset Stockholm, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Warsaw Philharmonic and much more.

As a chamber musician he has worked with the following artists: Alena Baeva, Martin Fröst, Gabriela Montero, István Várdai, Garrick Ohlsson, Vadym Kholodenko, Valentin Erben, Nils Mönkemeyer, Kevin Kenner, Igor Levit, Per Arne Glorvigen, Jörg Widmann, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Polina Leschenko, Ewa Kupiec.

 

As a soloist, Piotr Szumieł works with conductors such as José Maria Florêncio, Vladimir Kiradjiew, Anu Tali, Gérard Korsten, Hugh Wolf, Teowyn Evans, Ernst Kovacic, Petri Sakri, Baldur Bronnimann and he has performed with numerous orchestras, e.g. the Dresden Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice.

 

Piotr Szumieł studied at the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in his hometown in the viola class of Prof. Stefan Kamasa, where he graduated in 2001 with distinction. He then studied viola with Prof. Wolfgang Klos and chamber music with Prof. Johannes Meissl at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he also completed his studies in 2010 with distinction.

 

In addition to his solo and didactic activities, he devotes himself intensively to the "Apollon Musagète Quartet", founded in 2006. In the now two years of its existence, this ensemble has not only received outstanding recognition from critics, but also from the juries of important music competitions. After winning international music competitions in Vienna and Florence, the quartet quickly established itself as a permanent fixture on the European music scene, at the latest after receiving first prize and almost all special prizes at the 57th ARD International Music Competition.

 

Piotr Szumieł is a laureate of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage grant program "Young Poland" and the "Burletti Buitoni Trust Award" (2014) for outstanding artistic achievements achieved with the "Apollon Musagete Quartet".

 

The artist conducted workshops and master classes in Austria, Germany, Hong Kong and Poland. He took part in the work of the jury at international viola and chamber music competitions in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Katowice and Meissen.