Biography
Biography
Katarzyna Lassak is an American-born Polish virtuoso violinist and a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (2020), where she studied under the guidance of Professor Janusz Wawrowski and Professor Agata Szymczewska. She successfully defended her doctoral thesis with distinction in 2022, under Prof. Wawrowski's supervision. She also honed her artistry under the tutelage of Professor Krzysztof Węgrzyn and Professor Marcin Baranowski. In 2025, the critically acclaimed album “Katarzyna Lassak. Roots and Inspirations” was released through Chopin University Press. The album features the world-premiere recording of Jan Adam Maklakiewicz’s Violin Concerto No. 2 “Góralski” (“Highlander” Concerto), which Lassak recorded as a soloist alongside the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw under the baton of Paweł Kapuła. The album pairs this symphonic work with its original folk sources – traditional Podhale “tunes” performed by Lassak as lead violinist alongside her family's highlander ensemble, the Lassak “Helios” Family Ensemble from Zakopane. The recording also incorporates precious archival tracks of her great-grandfather and grandfather. For this groundbreaking project, Katarzyna Lassak was nominated for the prestigious 2026 Fryderyk Award in the category of Phonographic Debut of the Year – Classical Music.
She has performed as a soloist with numerous distinguished symphony orchestras, including the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin, the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz, the Oskar Kolberg Świętokrzyska Philharmonic in Kielce, the Tadeusz Baird Philharmonic in Gorzów, the Wojciech Kilar “Sinfonia Baltica” Polish Philharmonic in Słupsk, Toruń Symphony Orchestra and the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw. She also performed alongside the Warsaw Players chamber orchestra, the Tatra Climate Orchestra, and the Atom String Quartet. Over the course of her concert career, she has worked under the baton of acclaimed conductors such as Łukasz Borowicz, Michał Klauza, Paweł Kapuła, Przemysław Fiugajski, Agnieszka Kreiner, Michał Krężlewski, Adam Banaszak and Norbert Twórczyński.
Lassak uniquely and successfully bridges the worlds of a classical virtuoso and a traditional-folk ensemble leader. On the stages of Poland’s major philharmonic halls, she presents a distinctive concert programme featuring three iconic 20th-century violin concertos deeply rooted in highlander lore: Jan Adam Maklakiewicz’s Violin Concerto No. 2 “Góralski”, Grażyna Bacewicz’s Violin Concerto No. 3, and Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 61. In these performances, she brilliantly contextualises the classical repertoire by preceding the symphonic works with live, traditional highlander melodies – the original sources of inspiration for the composers – performed alongside the Lassak “Helios” Family Ensemble.
She has performed at prestigious international music festivals, including the “Masters of Polish Violin Artistry” String Festival, “Emanacje”, “Gaude Mater”, “Muzyczne Przestrzenie”, “Ogrody Muzyczne”, the Piotr Janowski Festival, and the Wojciech Kilar Festival. She has performed in prominent venues such as the ROMA Musical Theatre, the Karol Szymanowski Museum at the Villa “Atma” in Zakopane, and the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.
Lassak is a prize-winner at numerous competitions; notably, at just 18 years old, she won the acclaimed “Let’s Remember Osiecka” Vocal Competition. Her recent achievements include earning 10 first prizes in national and international competitions, highlighted by the prestigious “Sabałowe Gęśle” Grand Prix for best instrumentalist at the International Mountain Folklore Festival and the “Dziadońcyn Smycek” Honorary Award. A recipient of the scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, her profound contributions to preserving regional culture were officially celebrated in 2023 when she was awarded the honorary title of “Wierchowa Orlica” (Mountain Eagle).
Katarzyna Lassak is an American-born Polish virtuoso violinist, a graduate of the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw (2020), where she received her Ph.D. degree with honours (2022) under the direction of Professor Janusz Wawrowski. She also studied under Professor Agata Szymczewska. She made a world premiere recording of the forgotten "Highlander" Violin Concerto No. 2 by Jan A. Maklakiewicz with the Polish Radio Orchestra, at the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio. Katarzyna Lassak comes from a highlander family from Zakopane (Southern Poland, Tatra Mountains), which continues a multigenerational history of folklore music traditions. She is a lead violinist of the Lassak "Helios" Family. During her concerts, she often juxtaposes her interpretation of folklore-inspired classical music with traditional performances of Podhale music.
She has performed as a soloist with the symphony orchestras of the Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin, Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz, Kolberg Philharmonic in Kielce, Baird Philharmonic in Zielona Góra, the Gorzów Philharmonic, the Polish Philharmonic "Sinfonia Baltica" in Słupsk and the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, as well as the chamber orchestra Warsaw Players, Tatra Mood Orchestra and Atom String Quartet. She has worked with such conductors as Michał Klauza, Łukasz Borowicz, Paweł Kapuła, Przemysław Fiugajski, Norbert Twórczyński, Agnieszka Kreiner and Michał Krężlewski. She has performed at the international music festivals, including the String Festival "Masters of Polish Violin Playing", "Emanations", "Gaude Mater", "Musical Spaces", "Musical Gardens", and the Piotr Janowski Festival. She has played recitals at the ROMA Music Theater in Warsaw, the Karol Szymanowski Museum in the "Atma" villa in Zakopane, and the Presidential Palace, among others.
She is the winner of many competitions. At the age of 18, she won the "Let's Remember Osiecka" Vocal Competition. Throughout the last year, she won 10 first prizes at national and international competitions, including: Grand Prix "Sabała's Fiddle" for the best instrumentalist at the International Festival of Highlander Folklore, and the "Dziadońka's Bow" Honorary Award. She was a recipient of a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. In 2023, she was awarded the honorary title of "Wierchowa Orlica" (Mountain Eagle).
Katarzyna Lassak (born in 1996) graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, where she studied in the violin class of Professors: Janusz Wawrowski, Agata Szymczewska and Andrzej Gębski. She is also a graduate of English Studies at the University of Warsaw. In 2022, she defended her doctorate with honours at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.
Katarzyna Lassak is a Polish Highlander from Zakopane and comes from a family with a multigenerational history of folklore music traditions. She is a "prymistka" (a lead violinist) of The Lassak "Helios" Family Ensemble. She eagerly performs pieces of classical violin repertoire that have been inspired by folklore music, especially by the Polish folklore music from Podhale, which is her native region.
In 2021, she made the first recording of the forgotten Violin Concerto No. 2 "Highlander" by Jan A. Maklakiewicz with The Polish Radio Orchestra, under the baton of Paweł Kapuła, at The Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of the Polish Radio. She performed this piece, inspired by the Highlander folklore, as a soloist at the 30th “Masters of Polish Violin Playing” Festival with The Zielona Góra Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, as well as at: Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin, Oskar Kolberg Philharmonic in Kielce, Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz, the Gorzów Philharmonic and the Polish Philharmonic "Sinfonia Baltica" in Słupsk. She worked with conductors such as Michał Klauza, Łukasz Borowicz, Paweł Kapuła, Przemysław Fiugajski, Michał Krężlewski and Norbert Twórczyński.
In 2022, in Zakopane a concert "Composers’ Inspirations with Highlander Folklore" was held, based on the unique concept of Katarzyna Lassak. She presented together with the Lassak „Helios” Family from Zakopane highlander melodies that inspired the composers, and played as a soloist with Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw conducted by Michał Klauza Violin Concerto No. 2 "Highlander" by J.A. Maklakiewicz. The performance of the composition fell on the 70th anniversary of the work's creation in Zakopane, and a highlander melody, which was quoted in this violin concerto is the "anthem" / "festival song" of the International Festival of Highland Folklore, during which the event took place.
Katarzyna Lassak began playing the violin at the age of 5. She is a graduate of the State Elementary School of Arts in Zakopane, where she studied under the supervision of Krzysztof Leksycki and Janusz Miryński. From a young age, Katarzyna has been a prizewinner of musical, poetic and art competitions. She received the Mayor of Zakopane Award and the Governor of the Tatra County Award. In 2015, she graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Second Degree State Music School in Nowy Targ, where she studied in the violin class of Ilona Nieciąg.
She was invited by Professor Janusz Wawrowski to join his chamber orchestra Warsaw Players, with which she has performed as a soloist and a chamber musician at the Emanacje (Emanations) International Music Festival in The Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice, the Music Gardens Festival in Warsaw, the Spaces of Music Festival and at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. She played in The Chopin University of Music Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Grzegorz Nowak at the Palace of Nations of the UN in Geneva on the centenary of Poland’s regained independence.
She began playing with The Tatra Mood Orchestra in 2010 and has likewise performed with this group as a soloist, at the 27th International Festival of Sacred Music "Gaude Mater", at the 49th International Festival of Highland Folklore in Zakopane, at the New Year's Eve Gala Concert and at the Independence Day Concert in Zakopane.
At the age of 18, she won the 1st prize at the 17th Polish National Vocal Competition "Let's remember about Osiecka". In 2016, she was invited to perform at the Gala Concert of the 19th Competition and Festiwal "Let’s remember about Osiecka". The premiere of the concert took place at the ROMA Theater in Warsaw, featuring: Katarzyna Lassak, Mateusz Pospieszalski and his band, Atom String Quartet, the Lassak "Helios" Family, Robert Czech and a guest performer Sebastian Karpiel-Bułecka.
Katarzyna Lassak has performed, among others, at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, in the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Polish National Opera, the Krakow Opera, at the Palladium Theatre in Warsaw, the National Museum in Krakow, the Szymanowski Museum at Villa "Atma" in Zakopane, the Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Theatre in Zakopane, as well as at many international music festivals both in Poland and abroad. She has been a guest of radio programmes broadcasted by Programme 2 of the Polish Radio and television programmes, on multiple occasions. Katarzyna Lassak has been awarded scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
As a solo instrumentalist Katarzyna Lassak won: Grand Prix "Sabałowe Gęśle" for the best instrumentalist "in recognition of verity to the tradition of performance, instruments and repertoire" at the International Contest of Ensembles, Instrumentalists, and Folk Singers named after Wł. Trebunia-Tutka (2023), the 1st prize at the National Competition „Sabałowe Bajania” (2023), the 1st prize at the Polish Highlands Folklore Festival in Zywiec (2023), the main prize at the „Stefaniakowe nuty” Competition (2022), the main prize at the „Berdowe Muzykowanie” (2012). As a "prymistka" (lead violinist) of her family band she won: the 1st prize at the National Festival of Folklore Bands in Kazimierz Dolny (2023), the 1st prize at the Competition of Podhale Bands (2023), Grand Prix at „Dziadońcyne Granie” (2023), the 1st prize at „Muzykowanie na Duchową nutę” (2023) and the main prize at „Przednówek w Polanach” (2013). Katarzyna Lassak is a member of the Klimek Bachleda Folklore Group. For several years, she has been a compère at the International Festival of Highland Folklore in Zakopane. In 2023, she was conferred the honorary title of „Wierchowa Orlica” (Mountain Eagle).