Michał Balas

A cellist based in Basel, born in 2001 in Krakow, he is one of the leading musicians of his young generation.

In mid-2024, he will release his debut album with Joseph Haydn's cello concertos together with the KKO Mannheim orchestra and Christian Erny. This recording will be released by the Berlin Classics label.

In the 2024/25 season he will make his debut performing solo works with orchestra, such as: Dmitri Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 (tour with the NWD Philharmonic) and Sergei Prokofiev's "Sinfonia Concertante" with the Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra.

Michał Balas is internationally appreciated both as a soloist and chamber musician. Numerous engagements in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons took him to many renowned concert halls, including: to the Berlin Philharmonic, Musikverein in Vienna, Herkulessaal in Munich, concert hall of the Academy. Ferenc Liszt in Budapest, the Great Hall of the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, the Stadtcasino in Basel, the Warsaw Philharmonic and the Bedrich Smetana hall in Prague.

He is a laureate of many international music competitions. His greatest success so far was winning the first prize and a special prize for the best performance of a piece composed by a Maltese composer during the "Classic Strings Competition" in Dubai (2022). This competition guarantees a concert tour consisting of 10 solo performances in large concert halls in Europe. In 2018, he won the first prize and a special prize for the best performance of a contemporary piece during the "Johansen International Competition for Young String Players" in Washington. Moreover, he was the first winner of the Grand Prix at the Dominik Połoński Cello Competition in Łódź (2021).

In 2023, he was recognized as "Classic FM 30 under 30 Rising Stars" – a prestigious British distinction awarded to talented young musicians who have already managed to meet the challenges of large international stages. In 2022, he was nominated for the "Corypheus of Polish Music" award in the "Discovery of the Year" category. In 2021, he received the title of "Polish Cello Personality 2021".

Michał Balas has already had the opportunity to perform as a chamber musician with renowned musicians or participate in their master classes, including: with prof. Robert Levin, Steven Isserlis, prof. Claudio Martinez-Mehner, prof. Arto Noras, prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, prof. Laurence Lesser, prof. Janusz Wawrowski or prof. Agata Szymczewska. He also had the opportunity to learn from world-famous composers such as György Kurtág and Krzysztof Penderecki.

In 2020, he founded a chamber ensemble with pianist Mikołaj Woźniak, with whom he performed at music festivals in Denmark, Spain, Switzerland and Poland. They also regularly record chamber music. Michał's interests also include piano trios and string quartets. He was the first cellist of the "Penderecki Youth Orchestra".

He is a scholarship holder of the LYRA Foundation, the Swiss Foundation for Young Musicians and the Academy of Music in Basel. Currently, he is studying for a Master of Arts at Musik Akademie Basel under the supervision of Prof. Danjulo Ishizaki. Previously, his mentor was Prof. Stanisław Firlej, with whom he has cooperated for many years.

He plays an instrument from 1718, built by Carlo Antonio Testore.