Jerzy Maksymiuk

Jerzy Jan Maksymiuk (born 9 April 1936) is a Polish composer, pianist and orchestra conductor.

Career Maksymiuk was born in Grodno, Second Polish Republic (now Belarus). He studied violin, piano, conducting and composition at the Warsaw Conservatory where his teachers included Piotr Perkowski (composition), Jerzy Lefeld (piano) and Bogusław Madey (conducting). In 1964 he won first prize in the Paderewski Piano Competition; in 1973 he won an award of the Polish prime minister for his work with youth.

From 1983 to 1993, Maksymiuk was Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO), with which he appeared each season at the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts in London. Together, they made many overseas tours, and he became the BBC SSO's Conductor Laureate. In Britain, Maksymiuk has also conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the BBC Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and The Philharmonia. For the 1993 English National Opera Christmas season he conducted Die Fledermaus. In addition he has conducted many other orchestras in Europe, the US and Japan, Australia and Israel.

Among premieres given by Maksymiuk are A Mind of Winter by George Benjamin in 1981, Still Movement by Harrison Birtwhistle in 1984, The Confession of Isobel Gowdie by James MacMillan in 1990, as well as works by Krzysztof Meyer, Paul Patterson and Kazimierz Sikorski.