Antoni Wit / conductor
„Polish conductor Antoni Wit is one of Naxos's great finds; a musician of tremendous passion and integrity, whose interpretations frequently outshine those bigger names on other labels.“ The Guardian
General and Artistic Director of the National Philharmonic since January of 2002 and, starting in the 2010/2011 season, the first guest conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra in Pampeluna.
Before, he was the director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic, the Orchestra and Choir of Polish Radio and Television in Cracow, the Great Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (later the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) (for 18 years) and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria.
He studied conducting with Henryk Czyż. He also completed the Faculty of Law at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow.
He extended his knowledge of music with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.
The 2nd prize at the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition in Berlin in 1971 has opened the door to a great international career. Antoni Wit conducted in nearly all important venues in Europe, both Americas, the Middle East and the Far East, performing with major symphony orchestras, including Berliner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, NHK Tokyo and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. One of his priorities is to promote Polish music. He conducted many first performances of the music of Penderecki, Lutosławski and Kilar.
Antoni Wit recorded more than 200 albums for CBS, Decca, NAXOS, EMI/HMV and others. He is one of a few artists in the world, whose records have sold more than 5 million copies. Wit was nominated for the Grammy award six times (recordings of the music of Penderecki and Szymanowski). He received the Grand Prix du Disque de la Nouvelle Académie, the Classical Internet Award, the Cannes Classical Award and the Polish Fryderyk award, as well as distinctions from prestigious music magazines around the world. Winner of, among others, the Orfeusz award, the Lutosławski Sociaty award, the Karol Szymanowski Foundation award and of the Diamond Baton award of the Polish Radio.
Antoni Wit is Professor of conducting at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.
