Management
The Polish Wieniawski Philharmonic Orchestra

Wojciech Rodek
General Manager and Principal Conductor
The General Manager and Principal Conductor of the Polish Wieniawski Philharmonic Orchestra in Lublin was born in 1977 in Brzeg, Poland, the hometown of a famous conductor, Kurt Masur. Wojciech Rodek is one of the most prominent conductors of his generation. Following the traditions of Silesian musical culture cultivated in Wrocław, Otto Klemperer’s birthplace, he continues the best traditions of the Polish school of conducting. Remaining under the influence of the German performing tradition, during his studies in Moscow he encountered the greatest geniuses of the Russian art of conducting: Mark Ermler, Evgeny Svetlanov, Yuri Simonov. He was an assistant to great masters such as Kurt Masur, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Antoni Wit, Pinchas Steinberg, Marc Minkowski, Charles Dutoit. Since 2005, he has been affiliated with the Polish Wieniawski Philharmonic Orchestra as a conductor and Music Director. The orchestra and the conductor establish a special bond which is unique on a European scale, involving mutual trust in intense development of a symphonic ensemble and nurturing the best sound features of the Central European style. Maestro Rodek was the Music Director of the Gliwice Music Theatre, Music Director of the Lower Silesian Philharmonic and Music Director of the Grand Opera Theatre in Łódź. He studied the piano from the age of eight in Namysłów and Wrocław. From 1998 to 2003, he studied conducting with professor Marek Pijarowski at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław; he also learnt Russian in the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute in Moscow and at the University of Wrocław. In 2005, he won a competition for the post of assistant to Maestro Antoni Wit at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, where he worked from 2005 to 2007. Currently, he teaches conducting at the Academy of Music in Wrocław. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and he is the winner of the 2nd prize at the 3rd National Witold Lutosławski Competition for Young Conductors (2002). In 2011, he was awarded the Polish Theatrical Music Award in the Best Conductor category. In 2015, he was awarded the Medal of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for “Merit to Culture-Gloria Artis”. He conducted many symphonic ensembles, including the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sinfonia Varsovia, Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, the Cracow Philharmonic, the Wrocław Philharmonic, the Polish Baltic Sea Philharmonic, the Ankara Presidential Symphony Orchestra, the Antalya State Symphony Orchestra, the Izmir State Symphony, European Johann Strauss Orchestra, the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Camerata Bucharest, the Ostrava Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra. He performed with outstanding soloists, including Rafał Blechacz, Idil Biret, Gülsin Onay, Ingolf Wunder, Paweł Wakarecy, Lukas Geniušas, Alexandre Dubach, Alexander Markov, Konstanty A. Kulka, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Agata Szymczewska, Piotr Pławner, Johannes Moser, Gautier Capuçon. Wojciech Rodek prepared premieres for the Theatre Montansier in Versailles, the Wratislavia Cantans festival, The Grand Theatre-National Opera in Warsaw, the Grand Opera Theatre in Łódź, the Wrocław Opera. He has performed in the most prestigious concert halls across Europe and China, including Dresden, Hamburg, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Zürich, Beijing, Shanghai. He took part in the most important classical music festivals. Mr. Rodek’s recordings primarily include forgotten Polish music, contemporary works, as well as film productions, among others with music by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek /”City Island”, “Get Low”/. Wojciech Rodek’s conducting art is characterized by uncommon spontaneity. Described as “the god of rhythm”, he has the ability to lead great musical forms with an extraordinary understanding of structures and details. Mr. Rodek believes in the necessity to introduce young people into the world of music. On his initiative, the Youth Orchestra of the Wieniawski Philharmonic was established, which brings together the most talented young musicians from across eastern Poland.
