Biography

Dr. Magdalena Oliferko-Storck is a Polish-Swiss musicologist and concert musician, a research associate at the University of Bern. Her current scientific project focuses on the music market and cultural history of the 18th and 19th centuries, exploring the dynamic intersections of music, sociology, and commerce. Alongside her academic career, she is an active concert organist specializing in historical keyboard instruments, as well as a conductor and cultural manager.

Internationally recognized for her deep expertise in Frédéric Chopin, she has been closely associated with the National Chopin Institute in Warsaw since 2007. She received her Ph.D. summa cum laude from the University of Geneva and the University of Warsaw (co-tutelle). Her award-winning PhD thesis on Julian Fontana and Frédéric Chopin received prestigious prizes from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Prof. Feicht Competition. Prior to her doctoral studies, she graduated in musicology from the University of Warsaw, and her Master’s thesis on J.S. Bach’s organ concertos was awarded in the Prof. Zofia Lissa Competition. 

Her work has been supported by numerous distinguished grants, including fellowships from the Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss Universities (CRUS), the Société Académique de Genève, the Oskar und Vera Ritter Stiftung, and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. She regularly lectures at international conferences, serves as a peer reviewer, and acts as a scientific expert, including the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The list of her publications includes over 50 scientific works, including the books Julian Fontana. A Virtuoso in the Shadow of Chopin (2026) and Fontana and Chopin in Letters (2009, 2013).

Her profound scholarly insight is mirrored in her artistic path. As a versatile performing artist, she maintains an active international presence specializing in early music and historic keyboards. She completed her advanced organ studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, earning her concert diploma in the master class of Prof. Wolfgang Zerer, and subsequently obtained a Specialized Master’s degree from the Department of Historical Keyboard Instruments at the prestigious Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. She also studied under renowned artists such as Pieter van Dijk, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Andrea Marcon, Menno van Delft, and Rudolf Lutz. Furthermore, her expertise is backed by extensive masterclass training on historic instruments across Europe, including Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, and Spain. As a performer, she regularly appears as a soloist and conductor, and is the founder of the early music ensemble Le Jardin d’Eden. Her extensive leadership experience includes serving as the titular organist and Director of Music at the Johanneskirche Bern from 2012 to 2024.