Błaszczok, Aureli (EN)

Błaszczok Aureli, *24 July 1955 Gliwice, Polish violinist. He began learning to play the violin at the age of 7 at the community music centre in Gliwice and continued his studies with W. Zarudzka at the local State Primary School of Music and with W. Perzyński at the State Secondary School of Music (currently the Karol Szymanowski State General Music School) in Katowice, which he graduated from in 1974. He studied with S. Lewandowski at the Higher State Music School (now the Academy of Music) in Katowice, where he took up the position of assistant professor in 1982; he also perfected his violin playing under the guidance of W. Marschner in Freiburg im Breisgau and A. Gertler in Wolfenbüttel. In 1971, he won second prize at the L. van Beethoven International Violin Competition in Hradec Králové, and in 1973, he won first prize at the 2nd Festival of Young Violinists in Lublin. Commended in 1975 at the International Instrumental Competition in Markneukirchen, in 1976 he won second prize at the Z. Jahnke National Violin Competition in Poznań. He won third prize at the 8th H. Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznań (1981). In 1986, he received the Grand Prix and gold medal at a festival in Bordeaux. In the 1989/90 season, he became concertmaster of the Badische Staatskapelle in Karlsruhe, and since 2001/02 he has held this position in the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker orchestra, with which he also performs as a soloist. He is a highly regarded performer of sonatas by Ch. Ives and works by Polish composers: G. Bacewicz and K. Szymanowski, and was the first performer of A. Lasoń’s Sonata No. 1 for solo violin, dedicated to him (premiered in 1978 at the 4th Youth Festival in Warsaw).