Z
uzanna Sosnowska is considered one of the most outstanding Polish cellists of her generation. A sought-after soloist, chamber musician, and dedicated pedagogue, she has won more than 20 prizes at international competitions across three continents. Among her most notable accolades are the 1st Prize (ex aequo) and eight special prizes at the 10th International Witold Lutosławski Cello Competition in Warsaw. Other distinctions include the 1st Prize at the International Anton Rubinstein Competition in Düsseldorf, 3rd Prize at the B. Mazzacurati Competition in Turin, 2nd Prize in Liezen, 1st Prize at the Petar Konjović Competition in Belgrade, and 2nd Prize (1st not awarded) at the 9th Antonio Janigro Competition in Poreč, as well as special prizes in Zagreb and at the “Luis Sigall” International Competition in Chile.
She has performed as a soloist with leading orchestras such as the Warsaw National Philharmonic, the Polish Radio Orchestra, Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic, AUKSO Chamber Orchestra, Orquestra de Cambra de Mallorca, Orchestra della RAI in Turin, the Metamorphosen Berlin, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lübeck – under conductors including Antoni Wit, Ahmed El Saedi, Tadeusz Strugała, Marek Moś, Dawid Runtz, Michał Klauza, Andrzej Humala, Mirosław J. Błaszczyk, Szymon Bywalec, and Andrzej Klocek.
Together with Spanish pianist Magí Garcías, she forms the prizewinning Sosnowska-Garcías Duo, which received the 1st Prize at the Salieri-Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition in Verona and the 2nd Prize at the Swedish Duo Competition in Katrineholm. In 2025, they released their debut CD “Im Volkston” featuring works by R. Schumann, M. de Falla, and F. Say.
As a member of the Tansman Trio, she performs regularly throughout Poland in programs such as "Polska Scena Muzyczna", "Silesia Sonans", and "Szczecin Classic", with a particular focus on the music of the ensemble’s namesake, Aleksander Tansman. The trio’s debut album “Tansman Trio plays Tansman”, featuring world premiere recordings of Tansman’s string trio works, was released in December 2023 on the DUX label.
She has appeared at renowned festivals such as Krzyżowa Music, BASSO – Biennale of Quiet Sounds, Grochowska Street Summer Concerts, Clasclas (Spain), Music Connects (Switzerland), Thy Chamber Music Festival (Denmark), Musikfest Goslar, and Heidelberger Frühling (Germany). She has collaborated with distinguished musicians including Vadym Kholodenko, Sunwook Kim, Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Antonio Meneses, Arto Noras, Diana Ketler, Roland Krüger, Andrej Bielow, as well as Sharon Kam and Midori.
Zuzanna Sosnowska has performed in prestigious venues such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Beethoven-Haus Bonn, the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Philharmonie Luxembourg, and the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid. Her performances have been broadcast by Polskie Radio Dwójka, NDR, Radio Nacional de España, Idagio, and Telewizja Allegro HD. Together with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra under Bassem Akiki, she recorded Grażyna Bacewicz’s Cello Concerto No. 1.
She began her cello studies at the age of seven in Białystok with Grażyna Gedroyć, and continued at the Z. Brzewski Music School in Warsaw under Prof. Andrzej Orkisz. From 2012, she studied at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar with Prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, graduating with distinction in 2018. She went on to complete her Master’s degree at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, studying with Prof. Jens Peter Maintz and Fernando Arias, and concluded her Konzertexamen in 2023 at the University of Music in Lübeck under Prof. Troels Svane.
She has received numerous awards and scholarships, including the Special Prize of the Queen of Spain (2019 and 2020), and scholarships from the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Foundation, Villa Musica, Polish National Children's Fund, Deutschlandstipendium, Charlotte Krupp Foundation, and the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Since 2022, she has been teaching at the University of Music and Dance in Cologne. From 2025, she joins the faculty of the Leopold Mozart Center of the University of Augsburg and regularly gives masterclasses in Poland, Germany, Spain (including the Guest professorship at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de las Islas Baleares), and Namibia – with great pedagogical passion.
In the 2025/26 season, she will also appear as solo cellist of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne.
Currently, she plays a cello built by Andrzej Bobak (Poland, 2007).