Mateusz Kowalski: Bach, Chopin, Bobrowicz

Mateusz Kowalski (romantic guitar) takes listeners on a musical journey through the 18th and 19th centuries. From the full focus and beauty of Bach's music, to romantic music full of brilliance, temperament and virtuoso momentum.

The programme will feature Bach, Chopin, Sanz, Mendelssohn, Tárrega, Horecki and Bobrowicz. We will hear both transcriptions of the works of great masters and original guitar music. From Chopin's subtle mazurkas, to Gaspar Sanz's dancing Folias and Canarios, to Bach's full-bodied suites. There will also be music created especially for the guitar, including Felix Horecki's Fantasia op. 40 and Variation on Jan Nepomucen Bobrowicz's “Là ci darem la mano”. The artist will perform the program on a 19th century romantic guitar standing — following a practice known from the era. The awarded program (European Bach Guitar Award) was presented, among others, during the Bachfest in Leipzig and the Chopin and his Europe festival in Warsaw.

Mateusz Kowalski — Grammy nominee, one of the most outstanding guitarists, according to Classical Guitar Magazine, is a “spectacular” musician who performs an extensive repertoire from the Renaissance to the present with extraordinary knowledge and sense of style and with great musical culture.

He has performed in major concert halls around the world, including the Musikverein in Vienna and the Shanghai Grand Theatre, delighting audiences in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London. It has already been heard in more than 20 countries. Kowalski became famous for the first ever live performance of Fryderyk Chopin's Piano Concerto in F minor, arranged for guitar and orchestra. To the first performance with {Oh!} The orchestra conducted by Martyna Pastuszko took place during the “Chopin and His Europe” festival in 2023.

He is the winner of prestigious competitions, including the 2nd European Bach Guitar Award in Darmstadt — one of the most prestigious guitar competitions in the world, dedicated to the music of Jan Sebastian Bach, and the 2nd EuroStrings International Competition in London — a competition whose participants can only become winners of the most important European guitar competitions.

Mateusz Kowalski already has several albums, both as a soloist and chamber musician. The most important of them is “Slavic Sessions”, which he recorded with Slovenian guitarist Mak Grgic at the Stanisław Moniuszko Philharmonic in Koszalin — the album was nominated for the GRAMMY® 2026 Award in the category Best Chamber Orchestra/Small Ensemble Performance. The project was implemented with the support of the Municipality of Koszalin. Another of the most important albums is “Polish Romantic Guitar”, which premiered in 2021. The recordings are the result of cooperation with the Fryderyk Chopin Institute. This project had a major contribution to popularizing the works of Bobrowicz, Horecki, Szczepanowski and Sokołowski, of which Kowalski is a staunch promoter.

The artist collaborates with many outstanding musicians such as Martyna Pastuszka, Vaclav Luks, David Garrett and Marek Pasieczny, Tomasz Radziszewski.

Mateusz Kowalski was born in 1995 in Koszalin. He started learning the guitar at the age of 7 and for the next 12 years he studied under the guidance of Dariusz Schmidt at the Grażyna Bacewicz State Music School Complex in Koszalin. He then graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in the class of Ryszard Bałuszko, receiving the Magna cum Laude medal. He honed his skills during numerous master classes under the guidance of outstanding musicians such as Sergio Assad, Oscar Ghiglia, Alvaro Pierri. One of the most important remains the Konzertexamen in Darmstadt with Tilman Hoppstock.

In parallel with his solo career, the artist also develops pedagogical activities, giving master classes at festivals around the world. Since October 2019 he has been a lecturer at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. In 2025 he received the title of Doctor of Musical Arts.

The artist performs on traditional as well as modern instruments, including Jorge Godoy (Martinez) and Philip Woodfield-Oliver Moore. He plays on strings by Augustine.