Janusz Olejniczak is a Polish classical pianist and actor.
Education
He studied under Luiza Walewska, Ryszard Bakst and Zbigniew Drzewiecki in Warsaw and Łódź. From 1971 to 1973, he studied in Paris under Constantine Schmaeling and Witold Małcużyński, and returned to Poland thereafter to study in the Higher State School of Music in Warsaw under Barbara Hesse-Bukowska.
Career
Olejniczak began playing piano at the age of six. In 1970, he placed sixth in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and two years later he placed fourth in the Alfredo Casella Piano Competition in Naples. He completed his post-graduate studies from 1977 to 1978 in Essen under Victor Merzhanov and Paul Badura-Skoda.
He has recorded often for radio and television as well as on compact disc for labels such as Polskie Nagrania, Selene, Pony Canyon, Opus 111 and Civil Defense Accord.
Among his awards are five Fryderyks and numerous awards for his recordings of the Chopin Piano Concertos with the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra. Olejniczak taught classes for four years at the Academy of Music in Krakow, has held master"s classes in Poland, Canada, the United States, and Japan, and has sat on judging panels of international piano competitions.
Acting career
In addition to performing the compser"s music, he portrayed Chopin, in Andrzej Żuławski"s film The Blue Note, He also performs the music in Roman Polanski"s film The Pianist, also appearing as the hand double for Adrien Brody, who portrays pianist Władysław Szpilman.
Membership
Olejniczak was a member of a chamber orchestra, and his repertory includes compositions of Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Chopin, Ravel, and Prokofiev.