An outstanding violinist, particularly cherished by Witold Lutosławski, to whom the composer entrusted the Polish premieres of all his violin works (Chain II, Partita in the version with orchestra and Subito, his last work). At Lutosławski’s personal request, he performed the composer’s works under his direction at numerous important music centres around the globe. He received his degree (with distinction) having studied under the supervision of such eminent violin masters as Tadeusz Wroński, Josef Gingold, Eugenia Umińska, János Starker and Henryk Szeryng. He won the first prize in the Eugène Ysaÿe Competition in Warsaw (1959) and the third and the special prize of Henryk Szeryng in the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznań (1962). Constantly invited to participate in world-renowned music festivals, he has performed during such prestigious events as the Warsaw Autumn, Edinburgh Festival, Berliner Festspiele, the Old Cracow Music Festival, the City of London Festival, Bregenzer Festspiele and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. He has performed with leading orchestras, including the English Chamber Orchestra, the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw, the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, NOSPR, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España, the Amadeus Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra. He collaborates with outstanding Polish conductors, as well as with artists of international stature, including Riccardo Chailly, Pinchas Steinberg, Leopold Hager and Michel Tabachnik. For two years he was the first violinist of the famous Warsaw Quintet.

He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Orpheus Prize of the Association of Polish Musicians (for the best performance of a Polish composer’s work at the Warsaw Autumn Festival; 1986), the Diapason d’Or Prize of French critics (for Lutosławski’s Chain II; 1989) and the Fryderyk Prize (for his recording of Lutosławski’s Partita; 1996). He has also received awards from the Minister of Culture and Art, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for promoting Polish culture abroad and the Polish Composers’ Union for multiple performances of contemporary works (in many cases dedicated to him). In 2002 he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. He is a retired full professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and a visiting professor at Soai University in Osaka.

Krzysztof Jakowicz is considered to be Henryk Wieniawski’s ‘violin great-grandson’. He plays the Italian violin given to him by his master Professor Tadeusz Wroński.