...Polish organist Marek Kudlicki, well partnered by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, encompassed this multi-faceted score (Poulenc, Concerto) with confidence and technical finesse. The fast sections bad a fitting sense of exuberance and power, while the soft coda was tinged with gentle sadness. The balance between organ, timpani and orchestra was excellent.
The Straits Times, Singapore
-The American Organist Magazine
...The concert by this young Cracow musician impressed me most and is firmly established in my memory. I was enchanted by his ripe, concentrated dashing playing and his taste for the right organ stops to express in a clear, subtle and brilliant way his sensitivity for the beauty of organ sound. One can certainly say that somebody truly distinguished in organ virtuosity was playing here.
Tygodnik Powszechny, Poland
...Kudlicki - Fantastic Organist From Cracow ...It was a great pleasure to study his technique of playing, which emitted such beautiful music. Kudlicki's playing offered not only technical perfection, but also profound interpretation with artistic intelligence, profiling the different works.
Kristianstadsbladet, Sweden
...A World-class Organist in Elverum Church ...Marek Kudlicki is a tremendously selective organist. His fingerwork is clear and precise. He pulls his stops according to a carefully worked-out plan, thereby lending a great range of colour to the music performed.
Hamar Arbeiderblad, Norway
...One of the Greatest ...Marek Kudlicki gave concert of romantic organ music and it was soon apparent that a master organist was performing. As the concert went on, one became more aware of the soloist's capacity to express the romantic style, making the music come alive through the necessary amount of freedom and feeling. In a time when organ music tends to be so mathematically exact, this is a welcomed change.
MAREK KUDLICKI
CONCERT ORGANIST
Marek Kudlicki is one of the few organists who earn his living almost exclusively from appearing in concerts. He tours the world constantly and has performed on every continent achieving great acclaim.
He was born in Tomaszów Lubelski, Poland. He studied organ (under Prof. Joachim Grubich) and conducting (under Prof. Krzysztof Missona) at the Academy of Music in Cracow. He completed his diploma with distinction. It is noteworthy that he began his musical career while still a student, by giving concerts and recitals in many cities of Poland.
In the summer of 1973 he took part in the master course in Mechelen (Belgium) taught by Prof. Flor Peeters, the noted interpreter of Cesar Franck’s organ works. He continued his postgraduate studies with renowned organist, Prof. Hans Haselböck at the Vienna Academy of Music.
Marek Kudlicki won the First Prize (and the Special Prize of the Polish Ministry of Culture and Art) in the Organ Competition in Poland in 1973.
For many years he has been actively engaged in artistic activities as is evidenced by the many concerts he has given in almost all of the European countries and many times in the U.S.A. and Canada (57 North American tours), as well as in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.
He has often appeared at international festivals as performer and judge for organ competitions. His numerous performances have been presented in conjunction with well known concert series in various music centers (Stockholm, London, Vienna, Sydney, Wellington, New York, Minneapolis, Bogota, Buenos Aires), as well as at renowned concert halls (Cracow Philharmonic, Cracow; Sala Luis-Angel Arango, Bogota; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland; Sejong Cultural Center, Seoul; Roy Thompson Hall, Toronto; Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong; National Concert Hall, Taipei).
In 1985, 300th anniversary of J.S.Bach, Marek Kudlicki was invited to perform on the largest organ of Asia in the International Festival in Seoul, Korea. His annual coast to coast North American tours are greeted with enthusiasm.
Marek Kudlicki regularly promotes Polish organ music in his programs. He routinely includes works of native composers in his recitals and in his recordings. He has given lectures at various universities on different continents. On the 200th anniversary of the Polish Constitution, he gave a celebratory recital at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.
He has recorded extensively for the state radio stations in Poland, Italiy, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Iceland, Radio Hilversum, Radio New Zealand, Radio Suisse Romande, National Public Radio - U.S.A., South African Broadcasting Corporation, as well as for several TV and record companies.
Marek Kudlicki’s repertoire is extensive. It encompasses works of all periods, including early, romantic and contemporary Polish organ music. Apart from solo works, he has in his repertoire numerous and seldom played pieces for organ and orchestra. He has performed these works with various orchestras throughout the world.
In his many years in the profession he has often complemented his appearances as an organ soloist with his activities as a conductor.
Fyens Stiftstidende, Denmark
...Organist Thrills in Rare Recital. ..The appearance of the young Polish organist Marek Kudlicki at St Mary's Church, New Plymouth, on Saturday night was a special event, and it was worth waiting for.
Taranaki Herald, New Zealand
..Since the organ of Wollongong City Hall was installed about 15 years ago, there have been about 200 performances of varying standard. Marek Kudlicki must rank as one of the very fine organists that have performed here.
Wollongong Journal, Australia
...Kudlicki - Brilliant Master ...The crowning finale was provided by Jacques Ibert with "Trois pieces" showing an admirable musical structure and extensive phrasing including complex fugus, in which Kudlicki demonstrated brilliant mastership. The genial Polish guest dared the listeners to grapple with mostly unfamiliar compositions, but rewarded him with faultless interpretations and joys in sound, maintaining a high level in his choice of works.
Taunus-Zeitung, Germany
...Kudlicki Pulls All Stops of His Art ...Polish organist fascinates ...Apart from gratitude for an extraordinarily informative program in its density, it was the fine sense of colourful sound on the part of the Polish guest, seemingly inexhaustible in making use of all changes of registration, their transparency and juxtaposition, which in addition to superior manual and footwork and ever lucid density of form caused the spontaneous applause of the audience.
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany
...Kudlicki is undoubtedly an organist with a symphonic concept ...He is a virtuoso of the instrument, attains a maximum of purity in spite of the reverberation of the nave and is master of contrasts.
Clarin, Argentina
...Excellent Mastership in Unity ...Alexandre Guilmant's "Symphony for Organ and Orchestra" is unabashed mass-pleasure. The Polish organist Marek Kudlicki has offered the work with panache ...Kudlicki's musical versatility is impressive. He possesses an outstanding technique, even in an ardent solo passage of restless footwork. That the audience has cheered him so enthusiastically tells nearly the whole story about the music itself and his interpretation of it.
Beeld, South Africa
.A Great Concert at the End of the 19th Organ Festival ... "Piece heroique" Op. 128 by Enrico Bossi played in the second part of the program, became a gala of virtuosity of the Polish organist. Marek Kudlicki offered a fine concert of high quality ...He got the very best out of the organ, showing his mastery of registration.
La Voz de Michoacan, Mexico
…Does the reviewer seem to have exhausted his store of superlatives on Marek Kudlicki’s account ? Listen for yourselves to this outstanding interpreter and form your own opinion. However, as one who has studied the contrapuntally-inclined organ music of 19th-century Germany in quite some depth for over ten years, this reviewer says with candoe that a recording of such calibre is a rarity and more than worth acquiring. Bravo et Gratias.
The Diapason, U.S.A
...Kudlicki Wins Appreciation ...Kudlicki gave a persuasive, finely balanced rendition of Scheidt's Variations "Ach du feiner Reiter". He played with unflagging sensitivity, each line carefully phrased to produce a fresh and direct performance ... Mozart's K 616 Andante was written for a small organ - the piece had a lovely bell-like clarity which Kudlicki exploited to the full.
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong