Employees

prof. dr hab.

Elżbieta Karaś

piano

Elżbieta Karaś-Krasztel graduated from a secondary music school in Lublin, class of Professor Mieczysław Dawidowicz; she completed studies in piano playing at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, piano class of Professor Regina Smendzianka. After obtaining a diploma she continued education under Victor Merzhanov (Professor of the Moscow Conservatory) and István Lantos (Professor of the Academy of Music in Budapest). She was a multi-winner of the scholarship of the Fryderyk Chopin Society in Warsaw.

She won the 1^st award at the All-Poland Young Musicians’ Festival in Gdańsk.  On her score card she has diplomas and distinctions which she obtained at competitions, e.g. in Athens, Moscow and Warsaw. She has performed concerts in many European countries, and also in Canada and Australia. As a soloist she collaborated  with the Polish Chamber Orchestra and Sinfonia Varsovia. She has made numerous recordings for the radio and television, she also recorded albums with music by W.A. Mozart, F. Chopin and unknown Polish composers (for APERTO and DUX).

The artist is an outstanding interpreter of pieces by Mozart. She enjoyed a great success performing his Piano Concerto in E‑flat Major, KV 482, under the baton of Jerzy Maksymiuk on stage of the Berlin Philharmonic. After she performed Mozart’s pieces with Sinfonia Varsovia, they wrote in Germany: “The greatness of his music cannot be expressed better.…”.

She devotes a lot of attention to Polish music. Apart from a rich Chopin repertoire she plays pieces by I.J. Paderewski, J. Zarębski and A. Malawski.

Elżbieta Karaś-Krasztel collaborates with the ‘Prima Vista’ quartet, performing chamber music, including concertos by J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart and F. Chopin.

For her artistic and teaching activity she received numerous awards, e.g. Individual Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, badge “For Merits to Polish Culture” and medal “For Merits to Culture – Gloria Artis”.

The artist teaches piano class at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and the Arts Academy in Szczecin.

e‑mail: elakaraskrasztel@gmail.com