Tomasz Strahl

Tomasz Strahl is recognized as one of Poland’s most outstanding cellists. He graduated in 1989 from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, where he studied with Professor Kazimierz Michalik. As a recipient of a scholarship from the Austrian government, he pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna under Tobias Kühne.

He is a prizewinner of both national and international competitions, including First Prize at the 5th Nicanor Zabaleta International Music Competition in San Sebastian, Spain (1991). In 1994, he was awarded a grant by the Polish-Japanese JESC Foundation.

Throughout his career, he has performed under the baton of distinguished conductors such as Andrzej Boreyko, Jan Krenz, Henryk Czyż, Philippe Entremont, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Antoni Wit, Wojciech Michniewski, Tomasz Bugaj, Marcin Nałęcz-Niesiołowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Jerzy Salwarowski.

Tomasz Strahl maintains an active international career, performing with orchestras such as Sinfonietta Cracovia, Sinfonia Varsovia, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR), National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, AUKSO Chamber Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic, and the Municipal Symphony Orchestra of São Paulo (Brazil).

He has appeared in major venues such as the Schauspielhaus in Berlin, Brucknersaal in Linz, St. John’s Smith Square in London, Tel Aviv Art Center, Toppan Hall in Tokyo, Auditori in Barcelona, Glinka Hall in St. Petersburg, the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, and the Warsaw Philharmonic. His international tours have included Japan, Canada, and Spain. A highlight of his career was performing Witold Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto in the presence of the composer, under Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk (1993).

In 2005, he gave the Polish premiere of Piotr Moss’s Second Cello Concerto during the Festival of Premieres with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR), with whom he also recorded the rediscovered Cello Concerto by Zygmunt Stojowski in 2006.

He has made numerous archival recordings for Polish Radio and Television, as well as for CBC Radio in Canada. His discography includes recordings for Pony Canyon, CD Accord, Pavane Records, Gema Stereo, Polmusic, Acte Préalable, and Sony Classics. He has been nominated three times for the Fryderyk Award, winning the prize in 2003.

Tomasz Strahl is a Professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, and regularly gives masterclasses in Poland, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Japan, and South America. He also serves as a juror at numerous national and international cello competitions.

Since 2012, he has participated in the promotion of the National Edition of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin under the direction of Professor Jan Ekier, performing Chopin’s works for piano and cello in Europe’s major cultural centers. This collaboration also resulted in the release of a recording of Chopin’s chamber works on the DUX label, which received phonographic awards from Scherzo and Pizzicato magazines, along with a Fryderyk Award nomination.

In 2017, he was honored with the First-Class Award of the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage for outstanding artistic achievements. In 2019, he received the Fryderyk Award in the category Album of the Year – Symphonic and Concerto Music, followed by another Fryderyk in 2020 in the category Album of the Year – Chamber Music. In 2021, his achievements were recognized with a star on the Festival Promenade of Fame in Busko-Zdrój.

During the 2022/2023 concert season, he appeared several times under the baton of Antoni Wit.

Tomasz Strahl performs on a Leopold Widhalm cello (Nuremberg, 1778).

Photo: artist's promotional materials