Michal Sobkowiak
Born in an artistic family in Poland, Michal Sobkowiak made his TV debut on "Akademia muzyczna" series as the most talented young pianist at the age of ten. He has performed at major concert halls and music festivals across the country and abroad, including the prestigious National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw. After graduated from Chopin Academy of Music (currently known as the Frederyk Chopin University of Music) in 1998, he further pursued his postgraduate study at the Zürich Conservatory. His former teachers include Andrzej Jasiński, Jerzy Marchwiński, Teresa Manasterska and Gabriela Weiss. In 1995, he was a prizewinner at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition (Warsaw). In 1996, he was given a scholarship from the Frederyk Chopin Society (Warsaw). In 1997, he appeared at the Europe Piano Forum (Berlin). Not only as a classical pianist, prof. Sobkowiak is also known as a jazz pianist, composer, and a dedicated teacher. His latest CD "Jazz Loves Chopin", released in 2017, became number one on the Top 100 Album ranking of the e-onkyo music. In 2018, he starred as a pianist in the Japanese movie, "Hitsuji to Hagane no Mori". In 2022, he performed with Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra for a charity concert for Ukraine. In 2024, he performed with his trio band "Trivergents" at Kawasaki Jazz Festival. Currently, he serves as a professor at Fukushima College and as a lecturer at Showa University of Music. He is a jury member at PTNA and the International Chopin Piano Competition in ASIA, as well as the jury chairman of European International Piano Concours in Japan. In 2021, he founded the Japan Jazz Pop Piano Competition and serves as the jury chairman.
Major events
Appearance with "Jeunesses Musicales" symphony orchestra in the "Eurotreff Musik", Germany 1987
Winner of the British Catherine Morgan-Evans foundation patronage for young talents, Switzerland 1993
Participation in the "Kil’s International Piano Festival", Sweden 1994
Honorable mention and award of the Wrocław Press Center in the "Ferenc Liszt Piano Competition", Poland 1995
Qualified to the final round of the Motorola "Music & Song" international contest, Poland 1995
Joint winner of the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe, Poland 1996
Participation in the spectacular "Per Pianoforte" concert for ten grand pianos, Poland 1996
Winner of the Fryderyk Chopin Society scholarship, Poland 1997
Poland’s representative in the "International Week", Israel 1997
Participation in the "European Piano Forum", Germany 1997
Concerts with the "Vilnius Strings& Swiss Chamber Orchestra", Switzerland 1999
Recital at the "Les Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad", Switzerland 2001
Recitals at the Expo, Japan 2005
Recital at the Tokyo Bunkakaikan, Japan 2006
Recital for the Musashino Academy of Music, Bach Hall, Japan 2008
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