On Thursday, Zdunik will perform a recital featuring a personally curated programme of works for solo cello.
It includes pieces by Polish composers Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Lutosławski and Paweł Szymański, in addition to Zdunik's own music and his improvisations on themes from Fryderyk Chopin and Karol Szymanowski.
On Friday and Saturday, Zdunik will appear as the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta.
Zdunik, 37, is a leading Polish cellist. He graduated with distinction from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, and developed his skills at the Leopold Mozart Centre in Augsburg, Germany.
In 2007, he won First Prize, the Grand Prix and nine other prizes at the Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition in Warsaw.
This spectacular success marked the beginning of his international career, with performances across Europe, the United States and South Korea.
He appeared at New York’s Carnegie Hall and the BBC Proms in London.
A highly versatile musician, Zdunik also improvises, composes and performs his own arrangements.
He plays on a modern instrument from the workshop of Wojciech Topa, a Polish luthier based in the Tatra mountain resort of Zakopane.
(mk/gs)