Events and Guests—2019

Special Guest—Włodek Pawlik

Włodek Pawlik
Włodek Pawlik

Hailed as “Horowitz of jazz”, Pawlik is the first Polish jazz musician to receive a Grammy Award, having won in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category with his album Night in Calisia, recorded with Randy Brecker and the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra. His composition “Freedom,” a musical work for choir, orchestra and jazz trio, was performed on June 4, 2014 at the Royal Square in Warsaw as part of the celebration of Polish Freedom and was attended by many heads of states, including the President of the USA, Barack Obama. In 2018, Włodek Pawlik and his trio, with special guest Randy Brecker, performed at the Blue Note Jazz Festival in New York, being the first Polish performers in the history of this famous festival.

Włodek Pawlik is a graduate of the F. Chopin University of Music in the piano class of Barbara Hesse-Bukowska. He also studied jazz at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg and attained a doctorate at F. Chopin University of Music, where he has conducted lectures on improvisation since 2007. Pawlik has appeared and won awards at many renowned jazz contests and festivals. He has performed and offered clinics and masterclasses in the United States and Australia and has recorded numerous CD albums. Apart from jazz, his artistic output includes film soundtracks, orchestral works, 2 piano concertos, ballet music, opera, cantata and theatre music. In 2014 Włodek Pawlik was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Pawlik will play his score to Bestia during the screening and will remain after the screening to talk about the process of composing for films.