Based in Leszno in Poland, Tomasz Kowalczyk is an accomplished composer, virtuoso pianist, poet and published author whose creative output stretches far beyond classical composition. Since 2018 alone, he’s released more than thirty albums, each one exploring different corners of his musical language, from solo piano works to vocal pieces, film compositions and even a full-length alternative electronic record.
His compositions have found audiences across the world, circulating through social media where listeners connect with the distinctive timbre of his playing. Interpreted by professional musicians, picked up by hobbyists and experienced by those encountering it for the first time, his musical vision exists in multiple spaces at once, both intimate and far-reaching.
As a performer, Tomasz brings that same versatility to the stage; his work as a concert pianist has taken him across England, Germany and Poland, presenting his own compositions in a live setting that allows them to take shape in real time. Alongside these performances, his music has been broadcast on notable radio platforms, further extending its reach beyond the concert hall. Appearances on Polish television and international features on Movingclassics.tv, where he’s repeatedly been named “composer of the week,” have continued to confirm his status as a figure whose work brings together traditional and contemporary audiences.
Collaboration has also become an important thread within his practice such as working with artist Maciej Ciszek to take his music into a multi-disciplinary space, combining solo piano performances with visual art in presentations. These projects expand the context of his compositions, placing them within a broader artistic dialogue that moves between sound and image. That dialogue continues in a different form through the recent recording project with American concert pianist Benita Rose.
The album titled Benita Rose Plays Tomasz Kowalczyk, built around Tomasz’s compositions, brings together eight of his works in a setting that highlights both their emotional impact and technical nuance. Benita’s interpretation adds another context to the music, offering a perspective shaped by her own extensive performance history. Her journey as a pianist has been equally expansive, having performed across Norway, Latvia, England, Spain, France, Canada, China and South America, she returns to Tomasz’s work with a global outlook.
Commenting on the release, Benita shares, “To interpret Tomasz Kowalczyk’s works at the highest level, one must consider that polyphony is intrinsic to piano music. Inherent to all piano music is self-dialogue- uniphonous chamber music of hands and voices, a precept Kowalczyk is well aware of. Each voice should be contoured and responding to voices around it, whether intertwining or balancing as planets in a solar system of an integrated universe.”
Setting up the release, “Cinnamon Shops,” the opening piece on the album, draws from a distinctly personal source, inspired by Bruno Schulz’s writing about his childhood. In Tomasz’s interpretation, that influence becomes something musical, translating memory into sound to reflect on the atmosphere of small, independent shops in Poland, spaces filled with everyday objects but imbued with a sense of nostalgia. Through the piano, those images take on a new form as Benita’s elegant performance casts a spellbinding scene of delicately cascading notes and graceful ebb and flow.
“My Little Life” follows with the flicker of piano notes, slipping into an enchanting soundscape where airy plinks and tumbling runs form a dazzling piece of neo classical music. “Pictures of Childhood” presents a melancholic composition of soft notes, delivered through emotive performance to offer a transportive moment of moving tone. Other highlights include songs like “Soul Distiller” with Benita’s stunning performance panache delivering a truly engrossing listening experience across five beautiful minutes.
Benita’s virtoso skills shine on “Valse Sentimentale,” where fluttering runs add a sense of lively energy to form an incredible piece of artistic expression. The finale comes with “Funeral,” a powerful piece formed with moments of deep bass notes and passages of intricate lead notes, laying down an utterly hypnotic conclusion to the stellar album.
We caught up with Tomasz Kowalczyk to find out more about his musical journey so far, his new collaborative album Benita Rose Plays Tomasz Kowalczyk and what he’s got lined up for the future. Check out our interview with Tomasz Kowalczyk below.
Hey Tomasz, how’s things?
Hi! This year is turning out to be even more exciting than the last. The world-renowned and world-class pianist Benita Rose has recorded an album of my piano compositions and is touring the world with them. She’ll be performing in the USA, Spain, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Denmark, and many other places!
What’s your earliest memory of making music?
My love of music and the art of creation manifested itself in me at an early age. I remember as a child composing miniatures and songs from the back of my mind, often playing them on a small piano. This was a form of my early love for the vastness of the Universe.
Which artists do you draw most inspiration from?
I love all great music that is eternal and transcendent. As a child, my greatest influences were Fryderyk Chopin – for the infinite possibilities of using the piano and its aesthetics – and Michael Jackson – for the multifaceted melody, sensitivity, and love of the world. These two personalities made my love of music grow infinitely.
How has your own style and sound evolved since you started out?
I believe we must be born with musical style and language—these are our inner cosmogonic spaces, where stars blaze and black holes hum. Over time, a composer develops more and more sounds, with which he increasingly identifies, yet which were only used on a microscale. Over time, we come to love more and more dissonances, which can exist on their own, or consonances “resolved” into dissonances. Music exists in constant development; anyone who claims otherwise is living in error.
How else do you find inspiration for your music?
I love painting – Ferdynand Ruszczyc, Hieronymus Bosch, Grunewald, etc. I adore poetry and literature – Homer, Virgil, Bolesław Leśmian. I have a large library at home with the most important works of literature and art history. But I also draw inspiration from my garden and nature.
As Cicero said, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
What do you love about the Polish music scene?
When it comes to the Polish entertainment scene, we’ve reached absolute rock bottom. Talentless, cacaphonous, exaggerated, and caricatured individuals dominate. The list goes on and on: Blanka, Hania Rani, Sanah, Wieniawa, Wiśniewski. These are people who treat music like a money-making prostitute.
For that, Polish classical music deserves praise. During the Polish partitions, when Poland disappeared from the map of Europe for 123 years, we had more outstanding composers than even England—like Chopin, Karłowicz, Szymanowski, and Moniuszko.
How did you find making your new album ‘Benita Rose Plays Tomasz Kowalczyk’?
Recording this album felt like a meteorite. Fast, fiery, but with complete professionalism, accuracy, precision, and sensitivity. What Benita Rose conveys to others through my music, for example, is incredible. We entered the studio in Arizona very quickly, and the album was recorded in one breath.
How was working with Benita Rose on the project?
Benita is incredibly professional. It’s hard to find a more ambitious person. Besides her ability to capture the most tender and powerful emotions, she was also incredibly curious about the compositions’ dates and inspirations.
What message did you want to get across with this release?
Take care of your own longings, be little princes of your own heart and the Universe every day. Be kind and love more deeply the people who deserve it!
What’s the main thing you want people to get out of listening to your music?
If you are looking for the poetics of the spirit, things yet undiscovered in music, things that arouse anxiety, but also love and the greatest happiness – I invite you to my Spotify and YouTube channel!
Do you have any advice for a new artist wanting to follow your footsteps?
The most important thing is love for music and art. Always follow your own path, don’t listen to the crowds, and then you will reach the very end of the universe and conquer all the stars!
Finally, what do you have lined up next?
To create and rejoice in the fact that the Gods and the Universe have given me this opportunity. I know that there are people who need art from the heart and soul in our times—in these times of capitalist hypocrisy.
Listen to Benita Rose Plays Tomasz Kowalczyk below
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