Olejniczak Janusz, *2 October 1952 Wrocław, †20 October 2024, Polish pianist. He learned to play the piano in Warsaw with R. Bakst and Z. Drzewiecki and in 1971–73 in Paris with K. Schmaeling and W. Małcużyński, later he studied with B. Hesse-Bukowska at PWSM in Warsaw; he continued studies with V. Mierzhanov. In 1970, he received the 6th prize at the 8th International F. Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw; in 1971, he was a laureate of the A. Caselli Competition in Naples. He performed in Europe, Japan, Australia and America. He made numerous radio, TV and phonographic recordings (among others, for PN, Selene, Tonpress, Camerata, Pony Canyon, Opus 111 and CD Accord). His recording of Chopin’s concertos with Sinfonia Varsovia conducted by G. Nowak won the Fryderyk Award and the title of the Record of the Year of the “Studio” music magazine in 1995. Olejniczak taught master courses in Canada and Japan; in 1994–97, he taught the piano class at the Academy of Music in Krakow. He played the role of Chopin in A. Żuławski’s film La note bleue (1991).
In the opinion of music critics and audiences, Olejniczak was mainly a Chopinist. He impressed listeners with both his technical abilities and the poetic lyricism of his playing already as an 18-year-old pianist at the Chopin Competition. In his interpretations of Chopin’s music, Olejniczak refered to the romantic tradition of the Polish piano school. His playing was emotional and, at the same time, evocative and logical in its dramaturgy. Olejniczak’s repertoire included piano literature from J.S. Bach to contemporary music; the artist eagerly used works by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel and Prokofiev. Thanks to the lightness and finesse of sound and the ability to refine its timbre differentiation, he focused on the interpretation of French music from the Impressionist period.
