Piotr Szumieł

Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock.

Piotr Szumieł, born in 1977 in Warsaw, belongs to the group of the most versatile violists of his generation. He is also a professor of viola and a respected juror and masterclass lecturer. At a young age, he was a laureate of many prestigious awards at international competitions, including victories at the Jan Rakowski Viola Competition in Poznań in 1998, a special prize at the 36th International Instrumental Competition in Markneukirchen in 2001, second prize at the 9th International Johannes Brahms Competition in 2002 in Pörtschach (Austria), and third prize at the International Viola Competition in Vienna in 2004.

From 2002 to 2008 Piotr Szumieł was a member and leader of the viola section of the Dresden Philharmonic and the Dresden Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. For many years he has also carried out very intensive educational work—between 2005 and 2024 he was a lecturer in viola and chamber music at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden, as well as at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice (2013–2018). Since 2019 Piotr Szumieł has been professor of viola and head of the string instruments department at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock.

In addition to his solo and pedagogical activity, he is intensively involved in the string quartet Apollon Musagète Quartet, founded in 2006. Within two years of its existence, the ensemble gained outstanding recognition from critics as well as jurors of the most prestigious chamber music competitions. After victories at international competitions in Vienna and Florence, the quartet quickly established itself on the European music scene, winning first prize and almost all special prizes at the 57th ARD International Music Competition.

Piotr Szumieł is a laureate of the Paszport Polityki Award (2013), the scholarship program of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Young Poland, and the Burletti Buitoni Trust Award (2014) for outstanding artistic achievements with the Apollon Musagète Quartet.

The artist has conducted workshops and masterclasses in Austria, Germany, Hong Kong, Poland, and China. He has served on juries of international viola and chamber music competitions in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Katowice, and Meissen.