Elisabeth Chojnacka

Elisabeth Chojnacka (born Elżbieta Chojnacka in Warsaw, September 10, 1939 — May 28, 2017) was a Polish harpsichordist living in France. She was one of the world's foremost harpsichordists specializing in the performance of contemporary harpsichord music.

She earned a degree from the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw in 1962, after which she moved to Paris, where she studied with Aimée van de Wiele.

Chojnacka presented the premiere performances of many works for harpsichord, both solo as well as with ensemble and/or electronics. Over 80 composers dedicated works to her, including György Ligeti, Iannis Xenakis, Zygmunt Krauze, and Michael Nyman, and performed or recorded music by Maurice Ohana, Henryk Mikolaj Górecki, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Franco Donatoni, Cristóbal Halffter, François-Bernard Mâche, Graciane Finzi, Stephen Montague, Yves Prin, Tomás Marco, Cristobal Halffter, Mauricio Sotelo, Grant McLachlan, Ástor Piazzolla, Marius Constant, Francis Poulenc, Luc Ferrari, André Boucourechliev, Aldo Clementi, Roberto Carnevale, Betsy Jolas, François-Bernard Mâche, Joseph Horovitz, Manuel de Falla, Roberto Sierra, Krzystof Knittel, Scott Joplin, Gustavo Beytelmann, Jean Wiener, Krzysztof Meyer, and Dimitri Yanov-Yanovski.

While she was known particularly for her performance of new music, she also played early music in her concerts, as well as in some of her recordings.

In performance, she generally performed with her harpsichord slightly amplified.

She formerly taught at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria, beginning in 1995.

She performed and recorded with the Xenakis Ensemble. She won the Grand Prix du Disque for Modern Music in 2003, for her recording of works by Maurice Ohana.

Chojnacka died on May 28, 2017 in Paris at the age of 78.[1]

Discography

• Ohana harpsichord / Ohana - Clavecin
• Energy
• Plus que Tango
• Scott Joplin
• Energy Plus
• Poulenc
• Xénakis
• Ohana
• Rhythm Plus
• Clavecin espagnol du XXème Siècle
• Clavecin 2000
• L'avant-garde du passé
• Le nouveau clavecin
• Clavecin d'aujourd'hui