Jerzy Zak - lutenist

Initially, he played classical guitar - he studied under A. Kowalczyk in Łódź (diploma in 1979) and J. Tomas in Alicante, Spain, 1980-81. Since 1983, he has specialized in early music playing historical plucked instruments - lute, theorbo, and 19th-century guitar. He studied in London under the guidance of Ch. Wilson, T. Crawford, D. Poulton, A. Bailes, N. North, and others. In 1983, he won the first prize at the early music competition in Manchester.

He performed in all major concert halls in Poland, in most European countries, and in Canada. He accompanied famous soloists such as B. Hofmann, P. Kusiewicz, R. Wistreich, A. Manze, O. Pasiecznik, A. King, and others. In the Warsaw Chamber Opera, he was a lutenist and musical director of baroque productions (Monteverdi, Merula, Pękiel, Blow). In 1993, he founded his own ensemble - Kleine Cammer-Musique, specializing in the repertoire of the Saxon-Polish court in Dresden and Warsaw in the first half of the 18th century. He recorded three CDs for Acte Préalable - a solo with S. L. Weiss's music, A. Scarlatti's oratorio (conductor, nominated for the Fryderyk award in 2001), and chamber cantatas by A. Cesti (with soprano Jacek Laszczowski).

In 2001, he organized the "I International Festival in honor of S.L. Weiss in Wrocław". He has been continuously popularizing the lute music of S. L. Weiss (1687-1750), currently as the artistic director of the festival in his name in Grodków in Lower Silesia, where the composer was born.

He taught during summer courses of early music in Wilanów and guitar in Szczawnie-Zdrój. Since 1993, he has been leading the lute class at the Academy of Music in Krakow.