The Most Famous

MUSICIANS from Poland

This page contains a list of the greatest Polish Musicians. The pantheon dataset contains 3,175 Musicians, 30 of which were born in Poland. This makes Poland the birth place of the 15th most number of Musicians behind Ukraine, and Brazil.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Polish Musicians of all time. This list of famous Polish Musicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Polish Musicians.

1. Władysław Szpilman (1911 - 2000)

With an HPI of 73.76, Władysław Szpilman is the most famous Polish Musician. His biography has been translated into 48 different languages on wikipedia.

Władysław Szpilman (Polish pronunciation: [vwaˈdɨswaf ˈʂpilman] ; 5 December 1911 – 6 July 2000) was a Polish Jewish pianist, classical composer and Holocaust survivor. Szpilman is widely known as the central figure in the Roman Polanski film The Pianist, which was based on his autobiographical account of how he survived the German occupation of Warsaw. In the film, Szpilman is portrayed by American actor Adrien Brody. Szpilman studied piano at music academies in Berlin and Warsaw. He became a popular performer on Polish Radio and in concert. Confined within the Warsaw Ghetto after the German invasion of Poland, Szpilman spent two years in hiding. Following the Warsaw Uprising and the subsequent destruction of the city, he was helped by Wilm Hosenfeld, a German officer who detested Nazi policies. After World War II, Szpilman resumed his career on Polish Radio. Szpilman was also a prolific composer; his output included hundreds of songs and many orchestral pieces. Szpilman was also recognized as the most famous of the "Warsaw Robinsons", a term referring to Poles who survived in the ruins of Warsaw after the Warsaw Uprising.

2. Arthur Rubinstein (1887 - 1982)

With an HPI of 70.84, Arthur Rubinstein is the 2nd most famous Polish Musician. His biography has been translated into 57 different languages.

Arthur Rubinstein KBE OMRI (Polish: Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 1887 – 20 December 1982) was a Polish-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music written by a variety of composers and many regard him as one of the greatest Chopin interpreters of his time. He played in public for eight decades. His repertoire also included the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, Schumann and more.

3. Henryk Wieniawski (1835 - 1880)

With an HPI of 65.27, Henryk Wieniawski is the 3rd most famous Polish Musician. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Henryk Wieniawski (pronounced [vʲɛˈɲafskʲi] ; 10 July 1835 – 31 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and pedagogue, who is regarded amongst the most distinguished violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were also accomplished musicians, as was his daughter Régine, who became a naturalised British subject upon marrying into the peerage and wrote music under the name Poldowski.

4. Wanda Landowska (1879 - 1959)

With an HPI of 60.26, Wanda Landowska is the 4th most famous Polish Musician. Her biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Wanda Aleksandra Landowska (5 July 1879 – 16 August 1959) was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in the early 20th century. She was the first person to record Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations on the harpsichord in 1933. She became a naturalized French citizen in 1938.

5. Henryk Szeryng (1918 - 1988)

With an HPI of 60.15, Henryk Szeryng is the 5th most famous Polish Musician. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Henryk Bolesław Szeryng (usually pronounced HEN-r-ik SHEH-r-in-g) (22 September 1918 – 3 March 1988) was a Polish-Mexican violinist.

6. Artur Schnabel (1882 - 1951)

With an HPI of 57.46, Artur Schnabel is the 6th most famous Polish Musician. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th century's most respected and important pianists, his playing displayed marked vitality, profundity and spirituality in the Austro-German classics, particularly the works of Beethoven and Schubert. Music critic Harold C. Schonberg described Schnabel as "the man who invented Beethoven". Between 1932 and 1935, he produced the first recording of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas. In 2018, the Library of Congress selected this recording to be placed in the National Recording Registry for its historical significance.

7. Krystian Zimerman (b. 1956)

With an HPI of 56.91, Krystian Zimerman is the 7th most famous Polish Musician. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Krystian Zimerman (born 5 December 1956) is a Polish concert pianist, conductor and pedagogue who has been described as one of the greatest pianists of his generation. In 1975, he won the IX International Chopin Piano Competition. Following the success at the Chopin Piano Competition, he began his collaboration with the Berlin Philharmonic and has since performed with leading orchestras around the world as well as many prominent conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle. He is especially known for his performances of compositions by Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Beethoven. He is also the recipient of many awards and honours including Léonie Sonning Music Prize (1994), Legion of Honour (2005), Order of Polonia Restituta (2013) and Praemium Imperiale (2022).

8. Theodor Leschetizky (1830 - 1915)

With an HPI of 56.73, Theodor Leschetizky is the 8th most famous Polish Musician. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky; Polish: Teodor Leszetycki; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915) was an Austrian–Polish pianist, professor, and composer. He was born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land of Austria-Hungary.

9. Josef Hofmann (1876 - 1957)

With an HPI of 56.66, Josef Hofmann is the 9th most famous Polish Musician. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Josef Casimir Hofmann (originally Józef Kazimierz Hofmann; January 20, 1876 – February 16, 1957) was a Polish-American pianist, composer, music teacher, and inventor.

10. Christoph Eschenbach (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 56.55, Christoph Eschenbach is the 10th most famous Polish Musician. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Christoph Eschenbach (German: [ˈkʁɪstɔf ˈɛʃn̩bax]; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor.

People

Pantheon has 36 people classified as Polish musicians born between 1782 and 1989. Of these 36, 10 (27.78%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Polish musicians include Krystian Zimerman, Christoph Eschenbach, and Paweł Mąciwoda. The most famous deceased Polish musicians include Władysław Szpilman, Arthur Rubinstein, and Henryk Wieniawski. As of April 2024, 6 new Polish musicians have been added to Pantheon including Julie Guicciardi, Szymon Goldberg, and Wanda Wiłkomirska.