Małgorzata Anna
Mokrus
In 2025, she was honoured with the prestigious ‘Golden Parnassus’ award, alongside the Special Award of the Rector of the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. Her performance at the 20th-anniversary edition of the International Piano Forum ‘Bieszczady Without Borders’ in Sanok also earned her a distinction for the best piano concerto interpretation. Her previous accolades include the Director’s Award at the Polish Institute in Bratislava, and a further distinction for concerto performance at the forum’s 19th edition. That same year, she won the Grand Prix at the International Music Competition and Festival ‘Music Without Limits’ in Druskininkai, Lithuania, and another Grand Prix at the 13th International Master Competition for Music Teachers in Warsaw. Her career is marked by top prizes at national and international piano and chamber music competitions in Italy and Spain. In recognition of her exceptional artistic contributions, she was honoured in 2025 with a prestigious scholarship from the 22nd edition of the ‘Young Poland’ (Młoda Polska) programme, awarded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
Combining her passions, she serves as the creator and host of the video podcast Musical Pictures with Chopin in the Background, broadcast on Polish Radio Chopin since September 2024. The series explores piano literature rooted in the Chopin tradition, with a particular focus on the profound interdisciplinary connections between various artistic fields.
This holistic approach extends to her work as a visual artist; her inaugural exhibition was held in 2022 in conjunction with the concert Dwa światy – sztuka bez granic. In August 2025, she was invited by the Podkarpacka Foundation for the Development of Culture in Sanok to open her solo exhibition entitled Miscellanea, showcasing her original pastels, watercolours, ink drawings, charcoal, and pencil sketches. Her artistic versatility is further evidenced by her illustration Golden Domes, which features on the cover of her monograph about Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux. The presence of consistent elements of colour in both music and painting offers a vast scope for creative synthesis, defining the trajectory of her future explorations.
„I believe Dr. Mokrus represents one of Poland’s finest pianists of her generation (...)”
— Professor Kevin Kenner University of Miami
„I believe Dr. Mokrus represents one of Poland’s finest pianists of her generation (...)”
— Professor Kevin Kenner University of Miami
Notable elements of her extensive repertoire include the complete Études-Tableaux by Sergei Rachmaninoff, French music, jazz, and contemporary pieces, including works for piano and electronics. She has given the national premieres of chamber works by Gabriel Erkoreka, Jaime Padrós, and Kanstantsin Yaskou in Poland and Czechia. In 2024, she performed on the Polish Paderewski Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural concert tour, conducted by Michał Karol Szymanowski. A highlight of the 20th International Piano Forum ‘Bieszczady Without Borders’ in 2025 was her premiere performance as a soloist with the Lviv Chamber Orchestra ‘Akademia’ (conducted by Igor Pylatyuk) of Konstantin Vilensky’s Concerto for Piano (Jazz Piano Trio) and Orchestra No. 2.
She made her debut with the Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in Katowice as part of the ‘Young Virtuoso Stage’ series. Her versatile experience comprises both solo and chamber music, performed at festivals across Poland and abroad. Her festival appearances include the 59th Prešovská hudobná jeseň, the 10th Poľské dni v Prešove, the 9th European Festival of Music Academies in Warsaw, the 19th and 20th International Piano Forum ‘Bieszczady Without Borders’, the Chopin Piano Sessions in Felanitx, the 43rd Hudební současnost ‘Musicollage’ in Ostrava, the 3rd ‘Chopin Evenings at the Okólnik’ in Warsaw, the IAM Student Art Festival, the 4th European Clarinet Congress, and the 7th National Promotional Festival ‘August of Talents’. She has performed in numerous European countries, including Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Spain, and Lithuania.
In 2020, she earned a PhD in Musical Arts for her doctoral dissertation on Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux. As a dedicated artist-researcher, her work is characterized by a profound integration of virtuosic performance and rigorous musicological inquiry. In 2021, she released the monograph Illustrationism and Symbolism in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux (Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music), a comprehensive study complemented by her CD recording of the complete cycle. Her scholarly output further encompasses a series of articles in prestigious collective volumes, notably Fryderyka Chopina światy dalekie i bliskie (Bernardinum, 2025), Muzyczne aliaże: Korespondencja na styku sztuk (Chopin University Press, 2024), and Muzyka fortepianowa XVII / Piano Music XVII (Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music, 2023), as well as the international publication Pedagogy in the Context of Present and Future Changes 8 (Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, 2023).
„Ms. Mokrus is a highly talented young pianist, with great insight into music, high technical abilities and, above all, a highly developed sense of musicianship.”
— Professor Jan Jiracek von Arnim University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
„Ms. Mokrus is a highly talented young pianist, with great insight into music, high technical abilities and, above all, a highly developed sense of musicianship.”
— Professor Jan Jiracek von Arnim University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
She is frequently invited as a soloist and lecturer to present at conferences and festivals in Poland and abroad. Her extensive participation includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th editions of the National Scientific and Artistic Conference ‘Ko-respondencja. Na styku sztuk’ (Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw); the National Scientific Conference ‘Chopin na Kujawach i Pomorzu’ (Chopin Centre in Szafarnia); the 8th International Symposium of Music Pedagogues (Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Croatia); the 2nd Congress of Young Science (University of Gdańsk); the 19th International Scientific Conference ‘Piano Music’ (Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk); and the 5th National Conference of PhD Students of Music Universities (Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw). Furthermore, she has served as a reviewer for music festivals, including the 8th and 9th ‘European Festival of Music Academies’ and the ‘Chopinowska Wiosna w Wawrze’ Festival.
In addition to her artistic and research activities, she maintains a significant pedagogical presence at her alma mater. She has been invited to conduct piano workshops for students at international music academies, including the Conservatorio Superior de Música ‘Manuel Castillo’ in Seville, Spain, and the Academy of Music in Pula, Croatia, as well as at primary and secondary music schools.
She completed her doctoral studies under the supervision of Prof. Wojciech Świtała at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, having previously received a Master’s degree at the same institution, where she studied piano with Prof. Zbigniew Raubo and chamber music with Prof. Teresa Baczewska. She also had the privilege of studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Prof. Jan Jiracek von Arnim and Alexej Gorlatch. Furthermore, she was awarded scholarships from both the Rector of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice and the ‘Polish Culture Around the World’ programme (Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw). She graduated with honours from the Karol Szymanowski School of Music in Katowice, where she studied piano under Prof. Anna Górecka. She honed her skills in masterclasses led by such distinguished artists as Lee Kum Sing, Jacques Rouvier, Eugen Indjic, Philippe Giusiano, Fumiko Eguchi, Carlo Palese, Wiesław Szlachta, Andrzej Jasiński, Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń, Victor Merzhanov, and Alexei Orlovetsky. She is currently pursuing postgraduate studies in the piano class of Prof. Jarosław Drzewiecki at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz.
She is a laureate of numerous national and international piano and chamber music competitions, including: the Grand Prix at the 8th Ireneusz Jeszka Festival of Young Talents; First Prize at the 11th Concorso Internazionale di Esecuzione Musicale Premio Città di Padova in Italy; Second Prize at the Concurs Internacional de Piano On-line Chopin Sessions Felanitx in Spain; Second Prize at the 3rd Antoni and Karol Szafranek National Forum of Young Instrumentalists; and Second Prize at the 6th National Piano Duo Competition in Katowice. Furthermore, she has received Honourable Mentions at international chamber music competitions in Jawor and Bydgoszcz.