Alicja Śmietana

Alicja Śmietana, born in Krakow, Poland, is a Polish violinist, viola player, arranger and composer. She performs a varied repertoire, from Bach to contemporary music with – what was described as – “extraordinary brilliance and sensibility”. Coming from a musical family (her father being jazz guitarist Jarek Śmietana), she started playing the violin at the age of 5.

Winner of numerous competitions and awards (including the 1st Prize at the Israeli International Competition and the Brahms Society Award), Alicja studied at the Krakow Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and Kronberg Academy, with Christian Tetzlaff. Attending many international masterclasses such as Bachakademie, Sommerakademie Prag-Wien-Budapest, and Kronberg Academy, Alicja has been privileged to receive artistic guidance from many wonderful musicians including Hagai Shaham, Dorothy DeLay,
Zvi Zeitlin, Tabea Zimermann, Erich Gruenberg, and most recently Itzhak Perlman.

Gaining the respect of many world-famous musicians, Alicja has performed as a soloist and chamber musician together with Gidon Kremer, Nigel Kennedy, Ivan Monighetti, Yuri Bashmet, Martha Argerich, Simon Rattle, Gustav Dudamel, Boris Pergamenshikov. As a soloist, she’s been also performing together with many top orchestras and ensembles, and she’s made her international debut in London, under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. She has performed in the most important venues, including the Berlin Philharmonic and Royal Albert Hall. Alicja’s also been a guest at many prestigious festivals such as Verbier, Buxton, Les Musiques, and Schleswig-Holstein. Since 2003 she’s been occasionally involved with Kremerata Baltica – an internationally renowned group led by Gidon Kremer – which gave her the opportunity to work closely with many of the finest musicians and conductors of our time. Alicja is also keen on improvisation and is performing a lot of experimental music, jazz and contemporary music. She has played in some of the most important venues, such as The 100 Club, The Vortex, and Ronnie Scott’s.

In 2010 she’s been asked by Nigel Kennedy to become a co-artistic director of his new Orchestra of Life, with which she has also performed in the most renowned halls including Berlin Philharmonic, Cologne Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Palais des Congres and the Royal Festival Hall. Alicja records for Solo Musica, and plays a magnificent 1740 Camillo Camilli violin and a Jean Pierre Marie Persois bow, thanks to Mr Nigel Brown and The Stradivari Trust.