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Conductor Anna Szostak among winners at Polish Music Awards

04.11.2025 14:30
Choral conductor Anna Szostak was among the winners at the 2025 Polish Music Awards, known as the Coryphaeus Prizes, which were handed out at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw on Monday night.
Polish conductor Anna Szostak.
Polish conductor Anna Szostak.Photo: Adrian Tync, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Szostak received the accolade in the Personality of the Year category.

The jury praised her achievements, particularly with the Camerata Silesia ensemble, which she founded in the southern city of Katowice in 1990.

Under her artistic leadership, the group has earned a Europe-wide reputation for its interpretations of both early and contemporary music.

The Discovery of the Year prize went to 21-year-old pianist Mateusz Dubiel, who took part in the recent International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.

Mateusz Dubiel jest laureatem I nagrody w 53. Ogólnopolskim Konkursie Pianistycznym im. Fryderyka Chopina w Warszawie. W pierwszym etapie trwającego właśnie Konkursu Chopinowskiego reprezentował Polskę w niedzielnej sesji porannej. Mateusz Dubiel. Photo: NIFC/ Krzysztof Szlezak

Although he did not advance to the second stage, many critics described him as one of the most promising young Polish pianists.

A student at the Academy of Music in Kraków, southern Poland, Dubiel has performed in the United States, Japan, France, Germany and Lithuania.

The Honorary Coryphaeus for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Waldemar Dąbrowski, who stepped down earlier this year as managing director of the National Opera in Warsaw after serving a total of 21 years, with a six-year break.

Waldemar Dąbrowski Waldemar Dąbrowski. Photo: Wojciech Kusiński/Polskie Radio 

The citation for the award described Dąbrowski’s tenure at the helm of the National Opera as "one of the most spectacular in the history of Polish cultural institutions" and credited him with establishing regular artistic collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

A celebration marking the 80th anniversary of PWM Polish Music Publishers, held at the National Forum of Music in Wrocław, southwestern Poland, received the Event of the Year award.

The two-day event featured 34 concerts, workshops and meetings, showcasing a cross-section of Polish music from 20th-century classics to contemporary works.

The annual Coryphaeus Polish Music Awards have been presented since 2011.

The award statuettes were designed by renowned Polish sculptor Adam Myjak, who died earlier this year.

(mk/gs)