The Duo Post Scriptum explores and revives Belgian music from the turn of the 20th century, a rich repertoire in which masterpieces stand alongside unjustly neglected works. Founded in 2019, the ensemble brings together violinist Joanna Staruch-Smolec and pianist Krzysztof Potocznik, whose collaboration is rooted in an approach combining musicological research, historically informed practices, and curiosity for lesser-known works.
At the heart of their work lies the ambition to give voice once more to compositions that resonated in Belgian salons, concert halls, and artistic circles at the dawn of the 20th century. This pursuit has led them, among other things, to rediscover forgotten pieces preserved in Eugène Ysaÿe’s library, including the Sonata for piano and violin (1907) by Henriette Van den Boorn-Coclet.
This artistic exploration originates in Joanna Staruch-Smolec’s doctoral project (Université libre de Bruxelles – Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles), devoted to the violinistic gestures of Eugène Ysaÿe. It was in this context that the two musicians began collaborating within a shared project. Their meeting at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels subsequently gave rise to Duo Post Scriptum, whose identity is based on the dialogue between research and performance.
Since its creation, the duo has performed in Belgium and abroad. Recently, it has appeared at the Musiq3 Festival at Flagey and at Bozar. It has also been invited to the Music & Women and Courants d’Airs festivals (Brussels), the Performance Studies Network (Guildford, United Kingdom), the Early Recordings symposium at the Guildhall School of Music (London), as well as concerts organized by the Chopin Foundation, the ULB Musicology Laboratory, and the Curiosity Days of the CrB.
In 2025, Duo Post Scriptum was awarded second prize at the Génération Classique competition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Charleroi.
Joanna Staruch-Smolec
A graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in the class of Léonid Kerbel in 2015, Joanna Staruch-Smolec is doctor in Arts and Art Sciences, supervised by Valérie Dufour (Université libre de Bruxelles), Véronique Bogaerts, and Vincent Hepp (Royal Conservatory of Brussels). Her research, supported by the prestigious grant of the National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS), focuses on the violin techniques of Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931), combining violin experimentation with a systematic study of historical sources.
Joanna is a laureate of the Premio Giminiani competition in Verona (4th prize), the Tadeusz Wroński Youth Competition in Tomaszów Mazowiecki (distinction), the Wernaers scholarship of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, and the prize of the Chopin Foundation Belgium. She further refined her chamber music skills with musicians such as Maxim Vengerov, Ivry Gitlis, Mark Messenger, Guy Danel, the Talich Quartet, the Debussy Quartet, and the Pražák Quartet, through programs such as Musica Mundi, Cordes en Balade, and Chamber Music for Europe. She has been a member of the orchestra iMusiciBrucellensis and the ensemble La Chapelle Sauvage since 2012, and was a violinist of the Madera Quartet from 2014 to 2017. She has performed as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of the Université libre de Bruxelles, the Warmia-Masuria Regional Orchestra, and iMusiciBrucellensis.
She regularly gives lecture-recitals linked to her doctoral research, participates in international conferences (Belgium, France, Spain, England, Poland), and publishes the scientific and artistic results of her research in Early Sound Recordings: Academic Research and Practice (Routledge, 2023) and in the Revue Belge de Musicologie (2024 and 2025).
Krzysztof Potocznik
He began his musical education at the age of seven in Poland where he completed the National Music School in Wrocław with highest distinction under the guidance of Katarzyna Kaczorowska. He then continued his piano studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where he graduated with 'grande distinction' under the tutelage of Professors Eliane Reyes and Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden. He also studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Finland) with Professors Erik T. Tawaststjerna and Thomas Hecht (Conservatory of Singapore), as well as at the Ingesund School of Music (Sweden) with Prof. Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist.
A laureate of numerous international competitions held in Poland, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, and Belgium, Krzysztof notably won first prize at the 22nd International Chopin Competition in Rome, second prize and the Audience Prize at the 7th International Piano Competition in Collioure, second prize at the Andrée Charlier Piano Competition, a special prize at the 2nd Paris Competition-Festival, as well as first prize at the Juliusz Zarębski International Music Competition in Łomianki.
He has also been awarded distinctions by the Horlait-Dapsens Foundation and the Chopin Foundation in Belgium, received the Gerofi-Baschwitz and Pallemaerts prizes from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, the Wernaers scholarship from the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, as well as a scholarship from the Prime Minister of Poland for his artistic achievements.
In addition to his concert activities, Krzysztof performs regularly in concerts, festivals, and masterclasses led by renowned artists such as Andrzej Jasiński, Hans-Peter and Volker Stenzl, Janne Martonen, and Hyung-ki Joo.
Alongside his artistic career, Krzysztof teaches piano at the Academies of the City of Brussels.