Aleksandra Kuls
Her numerous achievements include winning the first prize at the Joseph Szigeti International Violin Competition in Budapest (September 2012) and two special prizes at the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznań (2011). She also won the second prize at the Grażyna Bacewicz International Violin Competition in Łódź (December 2019), as well as the second prize and special prizes at the 6th International Tadeusz Wroński Solo Violin Competition (2020). Recently, together with pianist Marcin Koziak, she was awarded the 3rd prize at the 2nd International Stanisław Moniuszko Competition of Polish Music in the chamber ensemble category (2021).
In 2015, she graduated from the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków, where she attended the class of Professor Kaja Danczowska. Since 2016, she has worked as an assistant lecturer in the Violin and Viola Department at her alma mater. Aleksandra Kuls has performed as a soloist in many places not only in Poland (for example with the Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic and the Cracow Philharmonic, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra), but also in the USA, Italy, France and Spain (with the orchestra of Real Filharmonia de Galicia and Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra), Germany (with the Zielona Góra Philharmonic Orchestra), Brazil (with Orquestra Sinfonica do Paraná), Turkey (with Istanbul Devlet Senfoni Orkestrası), Hungary (with Duna Symphony Orchestra), Ukraine (with Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra) and China (with China Philharmonic Orchestra). She participated in international festivals: Chopin and His Europe (2012-2015), Polish Culture Festival in Beijing (2014), Krzysztof Penderecki Festival in Warsaw (2013), International Kaposvár Chamber Music Festival in Hungary (2013), Music in Old Cracow (2012) and International Festival of Young Laureates of Music Competitions in Katowice (2012). She has had the honour to work with conductors such as Tadeusz Strugała, Antoni Wit, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Marek Pijarowski, Michał Dworzyński, Andrés Mustonen, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Yang Yang, Stanisław Krawczyński, and many more. She participated in Maxim Vengerov’s master courses. Aleksandra Kuls received numerous scholarships and awards for her artistic activity, such as the Polityka Passport Award 2011 in the classical music category, the award and scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2011 and 2012), the scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education (2012), the Young Poland scholarship for recording her debut album (2013), and many more. Aleksandra Kuls has carried out many recording projects: she recorded two albums for DUX (in a duet with Justyna Danczowska and with violin solos. Her solo album was nominated to the Fryderyk award); she also recorded pieces which are rarely featured in concert programmes: Violin concerto by Ignacy Waghalter (with the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra conducted by Andres Mustonen), violin pieces by Giorgy Catoire (in a duet with J. Danczowska for Sarton Records), Polish Rhapsody by Stefan Poradowski
(with the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw conducted by Paweł Przytocki), Offertorium by Sofia Gubaidulina (a live DVD recording from the concert in the castle on Pieskowa Skała with the CORda Cracovia Orchestra conducted by Marek Moś), Polish Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra by Stefan Poradowski (a recording for Polish Radio with the Polish Radio Orchestra conducted by Paweł Przytocki).