SAMA is honored to partner with Seattle Theater Group (STG) to bring the Polish Pianist, Hania Rani back to Seattle. On her last visit to the city Hania’s venue had to change due to high demand. Don’t wait on this one.
Hania Rani is a multi-talented artist who has gained international acclaim as a pianist, composer, and singer. Her debut album, “Esja”, released in 2019 on Gondwana Records, is a captivating collection of solo piano pieces that earned Rani four prestigious Fryderyk Awards, including “Best Debut Album”, “Best Alternative Album”, and “Best New Arrangement”. The album was also recognized as the “Discovery of the Year 2019” in the Empik Bestseller Awards, while Rani was awarded the Sanki Award for the “New Face of Polish Music”.
In 2020, Rani released her sophomore album, “Home”, on Gondwana Records. The album is an expansive and cinematic work that showcases Rani’s growth as an artist. In addition to the solo piano pieces, Rani adds vocals and subtle electronics to her music, and is accompanied by bassist Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojtek Warmijak. The album earned Rani the notable accolade of ‘Best Composer’, a further acknowledgement from Fryderyk, and was included in Rough Trade’s essential “Albums of the Year”.
📷 Aleksandra Zaborowska
In 2021, Rani signed her publishing rights to Wise Music Group, joining names such as Olafur Arnalds, Dustin O’Halloran, Hildur Guðnadóttir, and Ludovico Einaudi. That same year, she released “Music for Film and Theatre”, a personal selection of recent compositions for film, theatre, and other projects on Gondwana Records.
Later in October, Rani released her duo album “Inner Symphonies”, recorded in the beautiful Szczecin’s Philharmonic Hall with Dobrawa Czocher, and released by prestigious Deutsche Grammophon. The album contains ten arrangements of Grzegorz Ciechowski tracks mixed with five original compositions written by Hania. To complement the duo’s release, they also released a remastered LP edition of their album from 2015 called “Biała Flaga”.
In 2022, Rani released the EP Live From Studio S2, which includes rearrangements of her favourite songs, such as ‘Hawaii Oslo’, ‘Glass’, ‘Leaving’, and ‘Buka’. She was also the subject of an in-depth portrait in the BBC Radio 4 Profile series, which explored her background, inspirations, and motivations.
Rani’s accomplishments extend beyond her musical career, as she has also composed music for movies, theatre, and other projects. Her song “Eden” was used as the soundtrack to the short movie by Małgorzata Szumowska for Miu Miu’s movie cycle “Women’s Tales”. Her “Whale Song” was used in a Louis Vuitton commercial, and multiple tracks were placed in the Netflix series “Last Chance U: Basketball”. Rani also composed music for the documentary movie “Venice: Infinitely Avantgarde”, and her music has been used in other films and plays.
Rani has performed sold-out concerts across Europe, North America, Japan, Israel, Turkey, and Russia, in prestigious venues such as NOSPR in Katowice, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Funkhaus in Berlin, and The Roundhouse in London. In 2022, she was invited to Paris to perform recorded live shows for ARTE and Cercle.
Rani draws inspiration from a wide range of sources, including classical music, jazz, electronics, and visual arts. Her father’s background as an architect and her own experiences in places like Berlin, Iceland, and Bieszczady, Southeast Poland, have influenced her