Krzysztof Urbański
In September 2020, Krzysztof Urbański entered the tenth season of his tenure as Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in 2015, and he has led the orchestra in Hamburg and on tour in Japan and Europe. With the orchestra he recorded albums of Lutosławski’s works, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, all on Alpha Classics. His discography also includes Chopin’s small pieces for piano and orchestra with Jan Lisiecki and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon which received an ECHO Klassik Award and Martinů’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with Sol Gabetta and the Berlin Philharmonic recorded for Sony. With Sinfonia Varsovia he recorded Penderecki’s Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima on the Accentus label.
Mr. Urbański maintains an international presence by appearing as guest conductor for numerous orchestras around the world, including the Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Dresden Philharmonic, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Vienna Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Mr. Urbański served as chief conductor and artistic leader of the Trondheim Symphony from 2010 to 2017; in 2017 he was appointed Honorary Guest Conductor of the Trondheim Symphony and Opera. He also served as principal guest conductor of Tokyo Symphony for four seasons beginning in 2012.
In June 2015 Krzysztof Urbański received the Leonard Bernstein Award at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, becoming the first conductor to have ever received this award.