“A pianist to watch.”
New York Classical Review
“A dashing pianist.”
The Sunday Times
Polish-Canadian pianist Daniel Vnukowski (pronounced Vnoo-koff’-skee) has toured throughout Europe, North America, South America and Asia. He has performed with many orchestras, including the Polish Radio Orchestra, Orchestra Now (TON), Sinfonia Varsovia, Windsor Symphony, Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana, Sinfonia Iuventus, Poznan Philharmonic, Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic with conductors such as Leon Botstein, Ariel Zuckermann, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Alain Trudel, Jacek Kasprzyk and David Amos.
Mr. Vnukowski has also taken part in numerous International Festivals such as Chopin and His Europe in Warsaw, Poland; Festival Dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy and Chopiniana in Buenos Aires, Argentina and lectures at universities and institutes around the world, including University of California San Diego, Queens College CUNY, University of Toronto, University of Windsor and Tsinghua University in Beijing. In 2020, Mr. Vnukowski continues his cross-continental lecture recital series on Holocaust music at universities throughout the world.
With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vnukowski’s virtual live streaming project from home has made waves internationally, and reached over half a million viewers. The livestreams have been endorsed by Fazioli Pianoforte and featured on NPR Radio, Classical FM, Ludwig Van Toronto and BBC Music Magazine playlists.
Since 2019, Mr. Vnukowski has frequently performed the music of Karol Rathaus, a Weimar-era composer whose music came to his attention in 2016 through his work with Exil.Arte, a Vienna-based organization whose mission is to restore ‘degenerate” music. In February 2019, Mr. Vnukowski performed the composer’s Piano Concerto with The Orchestra Now conducted by Leon Botstein, as part of a Rathaus Festival presented by the Copland School of Music at Queens College, where Rathaus was on faculty and made his sold-out Weill Hall recital at Carnegie Hall debut in a program that included the composer’s Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 20.
For these performances, Mr. Vnukowski was called “a formidable pianist” (ConcertoNet) and “a pianist to watch” (New York Classical Review). His latest recording of the solo piano music of Karol Rathaus presented world-premiere recordings and garnered many positive reviews: “Vnukowski plays with sympathetic understanding” – Limelight Magazine (July 2019); “Vnukowski communicates the emotions within the music.” – Fanfare Magazine (Issue 43:1 – Sept/Oct 2019); “played to the hilt” – American Record Guide (July/August). This album was also featured in many interviews during a cross-country radio tour on various U.S. radio stations such as NPR, TPR, WBAA, and WOSU. Mr. Vnukowski will also be featured in a documentary on Karol Rathaus produced by Lev Deych & Michael Haas.
Mr. Vnukowski has performed a cross-country, community outreach tour throughout Canada from Fort Nelson, B.C. to Corner Brook, NL. These tours began in early 2019, with a visit to Canada’s Western provinces, organized by “Piano Six Artists” and ended later that year with a tour of Canada’s Atlantic provinces – Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, organized by Debut Atlantic. In November 2019, Mr. Vnukowski also performed in the first-ever fundraiser for the Africville Museum in Halifax, NS., featuring the music of Black composers such as Florence B. Price, Zenobia P. Perry, Art Tatum and Duke Ellington.
For more information, please visit danperforms.com
