Jacek Kortus (born in 1988 in Poznań) graduated with distinction from the I. J.
Paderewski Academy of Music in the piano class of Professor Waldemar
Andrzejewski. He currently holds the position of Assistant Professor and Head of the
Piano Department at the same institution. He is a laureate of many national and
international piano competitions, including:
-1st Prize and Grand Prix at the 9th
-International Chopin Piano Competition in Antonin (2005),
-1st Prize at the National
Prof. Ludwik Stefański Piano Competition in Płock (2002),
-2nd Prize (1st not
awarded) at the 1st National Władysław Kędra Piano Competition in Łódź (2002),
-2nd Prize at the National I. J. Paderewski Piano Competition in Piotrków Trybunalski
(2000),
- 2nd Prize at the National Competition in Żagań (2001),
-3rd Prize at the
International Competition in Antonin (2000),
-and 3rd Prize at the International
Competition in Szafarnia (1999).
In 2003, he was a finalist at the Stefan Seiler
International Piano Competition in Kitzingen, and in April 2004, he won a special
prize at the 6th International Competition for Young Pianists “Arthur Rubinstein in
Memoriam” in Bydgoszcz. In October 2005, he was a distinguished finalist at the 15th
International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Jacek Kortus has
performed in leading concert halls in Poland and abroad, including in Germany,
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, San Marino, the United Kingdom, Italy,
Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, the United States,
Mexico, Brazil, Chile, China, Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Palestine, Morocco, Norway, and
Hungary. In 2002, he received a scholarship from the Jolanta and Aleksander
Kwaśniewski Foundation "Support for Young Talents." He was twice awarded the
scholarship of the Minister of Culture (2002, 2005). In 2006, he was honored with the
"Young Art Medal" for outstanding artistic achievements, the Hipolit Cegielski “Young
Positivist” Medal for contributions to social work, and was nominated for the
"Polityka’s Passport" award. In May 2008, his first solo album was released by
"Muza
Polskie Nagrania," and in 2009 it was nominated for the prestigious Fryderyk Award.
In 2011, he received a scholarship from the Minister of Science and Higher Education
for exceptional artistic achievements. In 2015 and 2024, he released an album
featuring songs by Polish composers, recorded with the distinguished Polish tenor,
Professor Tomasz Zagórski. The second edition was released posthumously after
Zagórski’s passing. In 2016 and 2020, he was awarded the Rector's Prize of the
Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań for his contributions to the university. In
2017, he received the honorary distinction "Meritorious for Polish Culture" from the
Minister of Culture. In 2022, he recorded a CD featuring the piano concerto by Feliks
Nowowiejski with the Poznań Philharmonic under the baton of Łukasz Borowicz. The
recording was honored with the Fryderyk Award in 2023. Jacek Kortus is an
Honorary Citizen of the Rokietnica Municipality. In 2023, he was named Personality
of the Year in the culture category for Poznań County in a plebiscite organized by
Głos Wielkopolski. In November 2023, he defended his doctoral dissertation entitled:
“The Symphonization of Sound in the Piano Works of Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz
Liszt, and Igor Stravinsky. Reflections Based on Selected Compositions.”
