LA FOLLE JOURNEE DE VARSOVIE

Born in Lublin, Tomasz Ritter commenced his education at the Karol Lipiński General School of Music in the class of Bożena Bechta-Krzemińska in 2002. In 2009 he went on to study at the Karol Szymanowski State Music School Complex no. 4 in Warsaw in the class of Irina Rumiancewa-Dabrowski. Ritter is a laureate of many competitions, receiving 1^st prize at the 15^th International Piano and Chamber Music Competition in San Sebastian (Spain) in 2008, 1^st prize and prize for best performance of w work by Moritz Moszkowski at the 3^rd Moszkowski International Piano Competition in Kielce in 2009, 1^st prize and the journalists’ award at the 6^th International Piano Competition for Young Musicians in Enschede (the Netherlands) in 2010 and at the Talent Mladeho Klaviru award at the Mlady Klavir Piano Competition Laureates’ Review at the Conservatory of Music in Prague in 2010. He is also a finalist of the 2009 edition of the Young Musician of the Year competition organised by the Culture channel of Polish Television.

The pianist has received scholarships from the Marshal of the lubelskie voivodship, from the National Children’s Benefit Fund and from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2010). He has performed in Lublin (at the Caper Lublinensis festival), in Warsaw (at the Fryderyk Chopin Music University, at the Belvedere and at the Royal Castle) and abroad, in Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Austria, France and Japan). Some of the concerts were broadcast by radio stations (in the Czech Republic) and on television (in Japan). Ritter has had an opportunity to study with Garrick Ohlsson, Alexei Lubimov, Victor Merzhanov, Tatiana Shebanova, Robert Levin, Avedis Kouyoumdijan, Viera Nosina, Ivan Moravec and Milan Langer. He has also been acquiring experience in playing historical pianos and the harpsichord (with Petr Šefl, Malcolm Bilson and Johann Sonnleitner). In 2010 he performed with the Martinů Quartet in the Czech Republic.