RAFAŁ ODROBINA
Pianist, composer, arranger, teacher, music producer, founder of the ARS-MICA Studio, art historian, founder of the site IkonografiaChopina.pl.
He is a soloist and chamber musician performing in Poland and abroad and has played concerts and recorded albums with artists of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, the Warsaw Chamber Opera and the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw. In addition to his classical repertoire, he has also presented film music recitals, featuring his own arrangements of various pieces. He has taken part in more than ten theatrical performances, and given more than 3,000 concerts in total.
He is a teacher and sits on piano competition juries.
He composes in the autonomous and functional genres, including music for drama, broadcasts, podcasts, documentaries and commercials. A sizeable part of his musical activity focuses on arranging and transcribing film music and operatic works for theatre, choral pieces and popular music, with a portfolio encompassing more than 2,000 works to date.
He is the author of scripts and musical arrangements for theatre productions.
In 1997–2002, he collaborated with the Chamber Stage of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.
In 1998–2002, he worked as a pianist and arranger in the Song Section of the Vocal Department in the class of Prof. Małgorzata Kustosz-Piątosa at the Fryderyk Chopin State Music School Complex in Warsaw.
In 2001, together with Patrycja Piekutowska, he won the 2nd prize and the Special Prize for the best performance of work by a Polish composer during the Fifth Krzysztof Penderecki International Competition of Contemporary Chamber Music.
In 2009, he was presented with the Silver Laurel of the Scena na Piętrze Theatre in Poznań.
In 2009–2010, his renditions of Chopin’s pieces illustrated From the Album of Ms Salomea (Ze sztambucha pani Salomei) directed by Krzysztof Kolberger, on the life of Juliusz Słowacki.
In 2010, he adapted Stanisława Fleszarowa-Muskat’s dramas and created a play about Fryderyk Chopin, entitled The Farewell Concert. On the same year, he composed a musical fairy-tale, The Story of Frycek (Opowieść o Frycku), as well as God’s Jester (Boży Błazen) – a monodrama about Wacław Niżyński, for an actor, a pianist and a ballet dancer.
Since 2011, he starred as Schmidt in Paul Barz’s The Possible Meeting directed by Leszek Zduń.
In 2013–2014, he was featured as a guest artist in concerts of the Kurpie Ethnophonies. Tribute to Szymanowski and Skierkowski series, led by Weronika Grozdew-Kołacińska.
In 2014, he joined forces with Rafał Grozdew to record a collection of songs by Dobri Hristov, as well as developed a number of projects connected with the celebrations of the Year of Oskar Kolberg.
In 2017, he recorded previously unknown piano compositions by Tadeusz Kościuszko for the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw, featured in the exhibition From the Homeland for Its Defender. On the 200th Anniversary of the Death of Tadeusz Kościuszko (Ojczyzna Obrońcy Swemu. W 200 rocznicę śmierci Naczelnika Tadeusza Kościuszki.)
In 2018, for the celebrations of the centenary of Polish independence, he arranged twelve patriotic songs for orchestra, choir and soloists, featured in the show Under the Song’s Command, directed by Leszek Zduń.
He also leads the ARS-MICA Studio, which he founded.
As an art historian, he studies musical iconography, with particular emphasis on iconography concerning Fryderyk Chopin. He is a founder of the site IkonografiaChopina.com – the most comprehensive resource on the web featuring images of the Polish composer in painting, drawing, graphic arts, sculpture, medal making and poster art.
Education:
Primary and Secondary State Music School in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, piano class of Prof. Elżbieta Marciniak (graduated with honours).
Jarosław Dąbrowski High School No. 1 in Tomaszów Mazowiecki.
Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in the piano class of Prof. Lidia Kozubek and the chamber music class of Prof. Barbara Halska (graduated with honours), MA programme.
University of Warsaw – Art History (graduated with honours), MA programme.
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An accident on 3 October 2015 put an end to his career as a concert pianist. Since then, Rafał Odrobina has focused solely on composing, arranging and studio recordings.