Life
Michał Gondko is a Polish lutenist and musical director based in Basel, Switzerland. Born and raised in Warsaw, he initially studied classical guitar at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music before moving to Switzerland to concentrate on the lute, eventually graduating from the renowned Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where he studied under Hopkinson Smith. Since its founding he has been co-artistic director, together with keyboardist Corina Marti, of the Basel-based ensemble La Morra, specializing in late-medieval and early-Renaissance polyphony. Gondko pursues a parallel career as soloist, accompanist, and musical director, with a particular interest in European polyphonic art music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. His 2015 solo debut album, Polonica, devoted to Polish-connected lute music from around 1600, received wide critical acclaim.
Impact
Michał Gondko has been instrumental in uncovering and recording little-known Polish and Central European lute repertoire, most notably through his acclaimed album Polonica, which brought music by Diomedes Cato, Wojciech Długoraj, and other Polish-connected composers to modern listeners. As co-director of La Morra, he has helped shape the ensemble’s reputation for imaginative programming of medieval and Renaissance polyphony, earning a Diapason d’Or, the American Musicological Society’s Noah Greenberg Award, and Gramophone recognition, extending the international reach of early lute and vocal-instrumental repertoire.
Repertoire
Tombeau de Mademoiselle Gaultier by Denis Gaultier
Denis GAULTIER: Tombeau de Mademoiselle Gaultier | MICHAŁ GONDKO, Baroque lute
Praeludium by Diomedes Cato
Diomedes Cato: Praeludium | Michał Gondko
Polonica by Various composers (Polonica anthology)
Polonica | Michał Gondko