Biography

The Canadian-born piano virtuoso Daniel Wnukowski (pronounced ‘Vnoo-koff-skee'), invariably amazes audiences from many parts of the globe with his energetic and outstanding musical interpretations and his extraordinary technical ability. Daniel Wnukowski deeply moves his audience through his hypnotic presence on stage and through his enormous palette of dynamics and color.

His winning numerous performance awards and prizes has enabled him to perform all over Europe and North America as a solo recitalist in many prestigious concert halls including the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Poland, the Concertgebouw Music Hall in Amsterdam, Holland, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, France, and the Stadt Casino in Basel, Switzerland.

After he left for Poland in 1997, Mr. Wnukowski took part in many international festivals and competitions including the renowned XIV Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw where he was highly acclaimed by music critics as a "rare musical gift." He was a full-scholarship participant in the International Holland Music Sessions, which selected him to participate in a public master class with Lazar Berman in the Concertgebouw. He has participated in masterclasses with a number of distinguished artists including, John Perry, Eugene Indjic, Menahem Pressler, Flavio Verani, Lazar Berman, Jan Huizing.

Being armed with a powerful set of fingers naturally made for the piano, and a powerful, yet charismatic personality on stage, offers Mr. Wnukowski the unique ability to program concerts effectively. At age 14, he performed at the Polish Embassy for government diplomats and officials in Ottawa, Canada, becoming the youngest pianist to ever perform at the Embassy. In 1997, in remembrance of the outbreak of World War II, he performed a recital at the National Theatre in Warsaw, Poland in front of an audience of over 2,000 people, which was broadcasted all over European television.

In 1999, he presented an alluring recital with his former teacher, Piotr Paleczny at the Living Arts Center Concert Hall, in Toronto, Canada, before an audience of 1,700 people. This was officially proclaimed by UNESCO as the Canadian inauguration of the “International Year of Chopin Celebration.” In 2001, he presented an all-Chopin recital, which was recorded live by Radio-Canada in Ottawa for broadcast on Radio-Canada French radio stations.

In addition to winning the National Chopin Piano Competition in Poland, which enabled him to receive a government grant and plenty of concerts, Mr. Wnukowski has won numerous other awards beginning at the age of 4, when he won his first 1st prize trophy at a local competition having to stand while performing because he couldn't reach the pedals! He was a laureate of the XI International Chopin Piano Competition in Szafarnia, Poland, and recurrently won the top pianist trophy award at Kiwanis Festival Competitions in Ontario, Canada, in his young teenage years.

Daniel Wnukowski was born with a natural talent and musical destiny. At age 3 1/2, he showed strong fascination for a grand piano made completely out of glass in a music store and begged his parents to let him begin taking piano lessons. By age 5, he was already enrolled in the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and by age 6, had composed a number of classical pieces for piano. At age 15, he graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music earning his ARCT diploma with a mark of 95%.

In 2003, Mr. Wnukowski completed his studies at the Peabody Institute of the John Hopkins University in Baltimore , MD under the guidance of Leon Fleisher. In the summer of 2003, he was exclusively invited to perform in a chamber music master class with Leon Fleisher in Villecroze, France.

In order to liberate the artistic genius inside of him, Mr. Wnukowski enjoys taking time away from the piano and expresses a strong interest for meditation and nutrition. He makes sure he is in optimum physical, mental and spiritual shape before every performance and will often leave the city to take long walks in mountainous areas.

After a hiatus from the international concert scene, in order to mature and build a large repertoire, Mr. Wnukowski is once again taking the music world by storm. He now returns to the concert platform, with an even greater passion for music-making and enchants his audience everywhere he is invited to perform. His newest CD recorded at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Canada has just been released.