Praised as a conductor of immense temperament, convincing with sureness, energy and the detailed power of her baton, Polish conductor Marzena Diakun has reached veteran status at a young age. 2nd Prize winner of two major international conducting competitions (Prague Spring Competition 2007 and Fitelberg Conducting Competition 2012), she focuses on orchestral and choral works by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Shostakovich, as well as her country´s greatest composers - Penderecki, Lutoslawski, Karlowicz and Szymanowski. Sought after for her interpretations of the French and Bohemian masters, her performances are described as remarkably balanced, finely nuanced, and deeply felt, knowing how to dazzles with her mastery and the height of the gesture, and how to obtain from an orchestra density, expressiveness, and details. 

From the 2026/2027 season, Marzena Diakun will take over the position of chief conductor of the Rheinische Philharmonie State Orchestra in Koblenz, performing with the orchestra as designated chief conductor from May 2025. The season 2025/26 sees her return to orchestras such as the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Orchestre National du Capitol de Toulouse, as well as to several of the Polish orchestras and will conduct for the first time the Navarra Symphony Orchestra and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. She will also return to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with her own Koblenz Orchestra.

Her newest recording of Brahms’ works for choir and orchestra (Label IBS) with Orquesta y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid, of which she was Artistic Director and Principal Chief Conductor until the summer of 2024 has been greatly hailed by the press.

Her own foundation, "Per Musicam ad Futura", and collaborations with institutions such as Festival Présence and the Ensemble Intercontemporain are the culmination of two decades of dedication to new creations, premiering and performing new works by numerous Spanish, Dutch, Austrian, Polish, and French composers. Her recording, Polish Heroines of Music (Label PWM) is an exemplary model of her savoir-faire and commitment. 

Herself a teacher and a mentor, she looks back on inspiration and support from great conductors such as Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez and Marin Alsop.

Awards

2004 Scholarship of the Minister of Culture

2006 Second Distinction at the 4th International W. Lutosławski Conducting Competition for Young Conductors in Białystok

2007 Second Prize at the International Conducting Competition during the “Prague Spring” Festival

2010 Diploma for Outstanding Participation in the “Euroorchestra Festival” in Almería, Spain, awarded to the Wrocław Youth Orchestra conducted by Marzena Diakun

2012 Second Prize at the 9th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Conducting Competition in Katowice

2013 “Koszaliński Orzeł” Award

2013 Special Award of the Mayor of Koszalin “Artist of the Year 2012”

2014 Nomination for the “Iuvenes Wratislaviae” Award of the Wrocław Branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences

2014 Rector’s Award of the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław

2015 Nomination for the “Wrocław Music Award”

2015 Mayor of Wrocław Award “30 Distinguished Citizens of Wrocław”

2015 Boston Symphony Orchestra Scholarship – Tanglewood Music Festival

2015 Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship Award

2016 Honorary Badge of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage “Meritorious for Polish Culture”

2017 Polityka Passport Award in the category of Classical Music

2021 “Emocje 2021 Muzyka” Award of Radio Wrocław

2022 Médaille d’Honneur of the Orchestre Pasdeloup

2023 Awarded the “Bronze Cross of Merit” by the President of the Republic of Poland

2025 Conferred the title of Professor