Rajski Wojciech Józef, *9 July 1948 Edwardowo (near Warsaw), Polish conductor and teacher. In 1971, he graduated from the State Higher School of Music (PWSM) in Warsaw in the class of Bogusław Madey. While still a student, he was the conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Polish Scouting Association (Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego). As a scholarship holder, he also studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne (1973) and participated in master classes in Vienna (1974–75). He made his debut in 1972, conducting Giselle by A. Adam at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, where until 1978, he conducted opera and ballet performances (Donizetti, Moniuszko, Verdi, Bizet, Delibes and others). In 1974, he began cooperation with the Poznań Philharmonic, where in 1978–80, he held the position of general and artistic director. In 1978–81, invited by Jan Krenz, he was the first conductor of the Theater der Stadt Bonn and the Beethovenhalleorchester. In 1982, he founded the Wojciech Rajski Chamber Orchestra in the Tricity (since 1986, the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Sopot), with which he went on numerous tours of Europe, the United States (twice) and the Far East. At the same time, in 1988, he held the position of artistic director of the Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk. In 1993–2006, Rajski was the artistic director of the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, with which he gave concerts in Poland and many European countries. As a guest conductor, he has performed in Europe, Brazil and Mexico with world-famous soloists, including C. Arrau, H. Szeryng, M. Rostropowicz, D. Oistrach, I. Pogorelich, R. Alagna, K. Kenner and with K. Zimerman, with whom he toured Germany twice – with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie (1988) and with the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Sopot (2014). Rajski has taken part in many international festivals, including the Warsaw Autumn Festival, Prague Spring, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Evian Montpellier, and La Chaise Dieu. He is the originator and artistic director (since 2011) of the International Music Festival Energa Sopot Classic. In 1993, Rajski began his teaching career; he taught conducting classes at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe (1993–94), at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main (since 1994), and since 2008, at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk. In 2010, he received the title of professor of musical arts from the President of the Republic of Poland. Rajski has released over 60 albums for labels such as EMI, Chant du Monde, Thorofon, Claves, Koch and others. For the first time in the history of phonography, together with Albrecht Breuninger and the Polish Radio Orchestra, he recorded the complete works for violin and orchestra by Karol Lipiński. He has made recordings for radio and television in Poland and abroad, including for SAT 1, 3 SAT and ARD. He has received many distinctions and decorations, including the Medal of St. Wojciech (1998), the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2002), the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2005), the Pomeranian Art Award (2008) and the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2022). In 2022, he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his artistic activity.
