Frąckiewicz, Maciej

Born in Białystok, he studied accordion with Klaudiusz Baran at the Fryderyk Chopin Music University in Warsaw, Iñaki Alberdi at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, Grzegorz Stopa at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, and Mie Miki at the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen. He has also followed masterclasses with Teodoro Anzellotti at Vienna’s MUK, Stefan Hussong and Geir Draugsvoll at the Landesakademie Ottweiler, and Julius Berger at the Salzburg Mozarteum. He has won awards at prestigious accordion competitions in Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Italy, and Spain. He won the Passport Award of the Polityka weekly (2013) and the DAAD Award for the best foreign student at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold (2012) as well as numerous scholarships, including from the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage for outstanding artistic achievements (2007, 2010) and the prestigious Young Poland for an album of Polish contemporary music (in a duo with Magdalena Bojanowicz). The CD, released by Sarton, was nominated for a Fryderyk Award in two categories: Contemporary Music Album of the Year and Best Polish Music Recording. 2014 saw the release of Frąckiewicz’s debut solo CD (on DUX Records) with works by Bach, Gubaidulina, Franck, Tuchowski, and the premiere recording of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Sinfonietta.

An important aspect of Frąckiewicz’s work as an instrumentalist is his close cooperation with composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki (whose composition for accordion he premiered and edited) as well as Zygmunt Krauze, Dariusz Przybylski, Wojciech Blecharz, Jagoda Szmytka, and Piotr Tabakiernik. He has premiered more than 70 compositions, most of which were dedicated to him.

Apart from regularly performing in Europe, Maciej Frąckiewicz has toured Asia and the United States, including as a member of chamber ensembles with guitarist Łukasz Kuropaczewski and cellist Magdalena Bojanowicz (TWOgether Duo). He has served on the juries of accordion competitions in Castelfidardo (Italy), Lisbon, and Harbin.

Maciej Frąckiewicz plays a Pigini Nova accordion.