Jacek Kaspszyk is a 1975 graduate of the Higher State School of Music in Warsaw (today the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music) and the winner of Third Prize at the acclaimed Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition. He has conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Wiener Symphoniker, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
The artist is also very active as an opera conductor. In 1976 he assumed the post of guest conductor of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, and later worked with the English National Opera, Opera North in Leeds, Opéra-Comique in Paris, opera houses in Lyon, Bordeaux, Zurich and Stockholm, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.
In 1998 he became artistic and music director, and in 2002 also director general, of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw. In 2007–08, he collaborated closely with the Lithuanian National Opera, which he took to festivals in Ljubljana, Ravenna, and Tel Aviv.
In 2011, Kaspszyk received the prestigious Elgar Society Medal. For several years, by a special invitation from Martha Argerich, he has been a regular guest at the Lugano Festival.
Since the beginning of his career, the conductor has collaborated regularly with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice – from 1978 as its first conductor, and from 1980 and later in 2009–12 as its music director.
Since September 2013, Jacek Kaspszyk has been the artistic director of the Warsaw Philharmonic, leading the orchestra during the first live online broadcast concerts in its history. In May 2015, he took the ensemble on a critically acclaimed tour of the UK.
Jacek Kaspszyk has recorded many albums, and his interpretation of Szymanowski’s King Roger with the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera (CD Accord) was nominated by the BBC Music Magazine to the Awards Disc of the Year, while a Gramophone magazine reviewer remarked that, “On every count, including pennies, this sweeps the board.”