The acclaimed Polish guitarist made his Carnegie Hall debut this month. Marcin Poprawski reports.

The success of Łukasz Kuropaczewski we saw on November 2 in Carnegie Hall was something one could have expected. It was a natural consequence of the artistic path he has chosen. For the first time in many years, Poland finally has a guitarist of such a convincing talent, masterly power, and unusual subtlety. This fact has become clear for the many eminent guests who came to this concert to Manhattan‘s most prestigious place.
The Polish virtuoso of the classical guitar is seen by Americans as one of the most promising musicians in the world. The fact is equally seen by his professors and young colleagues from one of the best music universities in the contemporary world, The Peabody Conservatory of John Hopkins University. One of the last row listeners to the concert was Łukasz‘s Maestro, Manuel Barrueco, doubtless the best guitarist in the world who – with unconcealed satisfaction and admiration for the talent of his most gifted student – was experiencing this crucial moment together with Łukasz. For the naturally ambitious residents of the United States, a performance in Carnegie Hall is always a fulfilment of a great dream and a career breakthrough. This event, however, not only made an individual‘s dream come true, but was also a feast for the most talented young guitarists and all guitar music aficionados from the East Coast.
U.S. critics tend to call Łukasz‘s style “hypnotising the audience in delight” and I have seen the Pole gradually acquiring mastery in this area. This could be the reason why for the first time in the history of concerts organised by the Peabody Conservatory all tickets have been sold out. The audience was especially deeply touched by Polish music by Lutosławski and Tansman, which – played with intense precision and feeling – astonished and seduced the listeners with its beauty and simplicity. The creative arrangements of Polish folk songs have carried the inhabitants of the huge metropolis to the idyllic and pure countryside. I was not the only one who has never heard such masterly played piano on this instrument. Pieces by Giuliani and Rodrigo and three astonishing encores have revealed the fire burning in this 26-year-old musician. This modest boy, born in Strzałkowo in the region of Wielkopolska, not for fame but for pure joy of sharing his talent ends his performance with an encore played in an acrobatic posture. He holds the guitar only with his knees, electrifying the audience with no harm to the interpretation of a Spanish masterpiece. For Łukasz, anything relating to guitar playing skills is possible. The last few pieces were welcomed with a standing ovation.
Kuropaczewski is also very skilled in choosing the repertoire. This proves his unusual maturity as an artist, prudence and a desire to share with the audience not only what is ambitious and technically difficult, but primarily what is truly beautiful and touching in the guitar repertoire canon. The listener is most important for this guitarist, which is why his concert was so uplifting and enchanted many people who were all lost in reverie and had childlike smiles when they were leaving the most important concert hall in the world, at the junction of 57th Street and 7th Avenue Kuropaczewski is an ambassador for Polish culture, not only through his music but also his open declarations about his cultural belonging. His humble words to the American audience were: “I am a Pole, also my wife and my guitar come from Poland.” This attitude brings a deepest respect of the audience and is broken with spontaneous applause. This November, another great concert hall is waiting for Kuropaczewski, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with another great audience which, thanks to this young musician, will be able to hear what is best in Polish culture.