Paweł Łukaszewski—well-known composer, conductor, choirmaster, and 2011 Paderewski Lecturer—is this year’s winner of the Jerzy Kurczewski Prize. The artist was chosen for his outstanding achievements in the field of choral works, which have been presented at over 100 festivals in Poland and abroad, and were recorded on 70 CDs. The award ceremony will take place in 2015.
This award is given to artists in areas where Kurczewski was active, namely conducting and composition, with particular emphasis on repertoire for choir or vocal in general. In 1945 Kurczewski founded one of the most famous Polish choirs—the “Polish Nightingales” in Pozńan.
The Jerzy Kurczewski Prize has been awarded since 1999, with such esteemed honorees as: Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Stefan Stuligrosz, Andrzej Koszewski, Wojciech Kilar, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Krzysztof Szydzisz.
[Sources: lukaszewski.org.uk, wyborcza.pl, polmic.pl]