17 Facts About Janina Fialkowska

Janina Fialkowska, was born on May 7,1951 and is a Canadian classical pianist.

Janina Fialkowska is the granddaughter of John Todd, Canada's first professor of parasitology, and great-granddaughter of Edward Clouston, President of the Canadian Bankers Association.

Janina Fialkowska is the cousin of former Canadian cabinet minister David Anderson and cousin of stage and screen actor Christopher Plummer.

Janina Fialkowska began to study piano at the age of four with her mother and in 1960 enrolled in the Ecole Vincent-d'Indy in Montreal.

Janina Fialkowska pursued her secondary education at the Montreal girls school The Study, graduating in 1967.

In 1974, while enrolled in law school in Montreal, Janina Fialkowska participated in the inaugural Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv.

In 1986, to commemorate the centennial of the death of Franz Liszt, Janina Fialkowska was invited to perform his complete Transcendental Etudes in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, in London for the BBC, and in Canada for the CBC.

Also in 1992, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation produced a television documentary of her life and career, entitled The World of Janina Fialkowska, which was aired across Canada and was awarded a special jury prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

In January 2002, on the eve of a European concert tour, Janina Fialkowska's career was interrupted by the discovery of an aggressive cancerous tumour in her upper left arm.

In 2004, Janina Fialkowska returned to the stage as a two-handed pianist, first with a recital in Germany, followed by Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto in Toronto.

Janina Fialkowska has garnered praise for her interpretations of the works of Chopin and Liszt.

Janina Fialkowska has been married to German music manager Harry Oesterle since 2001.

Janina Fialkowska was the founder and first artistic director of Piano Six, a not-for-profit educational outreach program dedicated to supporting classical music in small communities throughout Canada.

In 1993, Janina Fialkowska convinced five well-known Canadian classical pianists to join with her in a tour of outlying communities that rarely host internationally known musicians.

Two of Janina Fialkowska's recordings were nominated by the Canadian music industry for a Juno Award: her 1997 CD Janina Fialkowska plays Szymanowski and her 1998 recital of virtuoso salon pieces La Jongleuse.

Janina Fialkowska's 2001 recording of Liszt's Transcendental Etudes earned the Critics' Choice award from American Record Guide.

Janina Fialkowska has recorded the Liszt Sonata for RCA Red Seal and discs of various works by Chopin for Atma Classique.