“With his reflected playing, which does not rely on external effects but on sound, structure and emotion, the viola virtuoso caused a storm of applause”
With his distinctive warm tone and sensitive interpretations, Lech Antonio Uszynski has established himself as one of the most sought-after violists of his generation. He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in renowned concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tonhalle Zürich, Konzerthaus Vienna, Wigmore Hall London, Suntory Hall Tokyo, and many others. He is also a regular guest at international festivals as both a soloist and chamber musician.
Recent solo engagements include appearances with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic under the baton of Krzysztof Urbański, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim—performing Pēteris Vasks’ Viola Concerto—and at the Interlaken Classics Festival, where he presented Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in a version for viola and orchestra. Lech Antonio Uszynski is Professor of Viola at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. He also serves as a tutor for the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) and is regularly invited to give masterclasses and teach at universities both in Europe and internationally.
He has been the Stradivari Quartet’s viola player since 2010 and enjoyed great acclaim with this ensemble on international tours throughout Europe, Asia and America. Additionally, to his performance as chamber musician and soloist, he has been invited in the past years as guest principal Viola by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, the Gstaad Festival Orchestra and numerous other Ensembles. In 2022 he held an “ad interim” position as co-principal Viola at the Sinfonieorchester Basel.
2019 his solo album “Progetto Gibson” was released by RCA Red Seal (Sony Classical). The pieces on this recording are related to Antonio Stradivari's famous "Gibson" Viola, 1734, which Uszynski played from 2010-2017. Previous recordings include Steve Reich's string quartets "Different Trains" & "Triple quartet" for Warner Classics and chamber music versions of Mahler 1st and 4th Symphonies. In 2018 his quartet released two CDs (Works by Schumann & Schubert) for RCA Red Seal (Sony). In 2021 he received much critical acclaim for his live-recording of Bachs Toccata & Fugue in a version for Viola Solo which was published on Youtube.
He was born in 1986 into a family of Polish musicians in Padova in Italy but moved to Switzerland the following year. It was there that he grew up, studying with Ana Chumachenco, Zakhar Bron and Michel Rouilly at Zurich’s University of the Arts. He also received mentoring and encouragement as a viola player from Rudolf Barshai.
Lech Antonio Uszynski currently performs on a rare Viola by the Maker Hendrick Willems built in 1690. Lech Antonio Uszynski is an Thomastik-Infeld Exclusive Artist and is playing on Spirocore and PI Strings.