Pike received the distinction in last year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours, but due to the pandemic the official ceremony could not be held until this week.
Pike, 32, whose mother is Polish, has done a great deal to promote Polish music.
Her latest album, recorded for the Chandos label with pianist Petr Limonov and released this autumn, features a selection of rarely heard pieces by Polish composers Karol Szymanowski, Grażyna Bacewicz and Irène Wieniawska (Poldowski), the daughter of the composer and violin virtuoso Henryk Wieniawski.
In 2017, Pike curated a series of three concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall devoted exclusively to Polish music. It included the UK premiere of Penderecki’s Capriccio for solo violin and a specially commissioned new work by Paulina Zalubska.
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Click on the audio player above to listen to an interview with Jennifer Pike.