Born in Warsaw in 1929, Wanda Wilkomirska began violin lessons
at the age of five with her father. Two years later she played
a Mozart Sonata in concert. Studying with Irena Dubiska in Lodz,
with Ede Zathureczky in Budapest and with Henryk Szeryng in Paris,
she won several prizes in international competitions, including
Second Prize in Leipzig in 1950.
For the next four decades Wanda
performed in over 50 countries on all five continents, playing
with the world’s most renowned orchestras such as the New
York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, London
Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic, working
with conductors the calibre of Leonard Bernstein, Otto Klemperer,
Sir John Barbirolli, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta and many others.
During this time she also toured as soloist with, amongst others,
the National Philharmonic Warsaw and the Minnesota Symphony. In
the sixties and seventies, Wanda Wilkomirska gave an average of
100 concerts per year, played recitals and recorded for EMI. Deutsche
Grammophone Gesellschaft, Polish Muza, Philips, Hungarton, Dorian
and the New Yorker label Connoissour Society.
Wanda Wilkomirska has given
world premier performances of numerous contemporary works including
Baird and Penderecki. She is renowned for her interpretation of
twentieth century music, having received two Polish State Awards
for promoting Polish music to the world and also other awards
for her contribution to music.
Chamber music has played an
important part of her musical life. She has toured with her sister
and brother as the Wilkomirska Trio and has also performed with
famous partners such as Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, Daniel
Barenboim, Misha Maisky and others.
In 1983 Wanda Wilkomirska accepted
the position of Professor at the Academy of Music in Heidelberg-Mannheim.
This was her first teaching experience and since that time she
has become a passionate pedagogue, while still maintaining her
renowned performance level.
In 1999 she joined the teaching
staff of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and since February
2001 has also worked for the Australian National Academy of Music
in Melbourne. Wanda Wilkomirska continues to be a part of musical
life in Europe, flying between the two continents for concerts,
masterclasses and competitions, whilst remaining emotionally involved
in musical life in Australia.