Born in Wroclaw, he studied in Warsaw and Lodz under Luiza Zalewska, Ryszard Bakst, Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Barbara Hesse-Bukowska and Victor Mershanov, in Paris with Konstanty Schmaeling, and in Switzerland with Witold Maluczynski.

He graduated from the High School of Music in Warsaw in 1974 in the class of Barbara Hesse-Bukowska, and continued his studies with Victor Merzhanov in Warsaw and Paul Badura-Skoda in Essen (1977-78). He was the youngest award winner at the 8th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in 1970, and award winner at the International Alfredo Casella Competition in Naples. Janusz Olejniczak performs in the leading concerts halls in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Salle Pleyel in ParyZu, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Washington’s Lincoln Center, Tonhalle in Düsseldorf, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. For four years he has taught at the Music Academy in Cracow. He has also sat on numerous piano competitions juries and given masterclasses in Canada, Japan, Colombia, and at the Mozart Academy.
His repertoire centers on the works of Chopin, Bach, Schubert, Schumann and Liszt. His interpretations of twentieth-century works have also been acclaimed, including Debussy, Ravel (Concerto in G), Prokofiev, Messiaen, Henryk Mikolaj Górecki, Wojciech Kilar, and Witold Lutoslawski. He is an avid chamber musician, appearing with singers Stefania Toczyska and Olga Pasiecznik, cellist Andrzej Bauer, and orchestras conducted by Witold Rowicki, Kazimierz Kord, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Marek MoS, Marek Pijarowski, Charles Dutoit, Grzegorz Nowak, Andrzej Markowski and others. In recent years he has given concerts and recorded on historical instruments (Érard and Pleyel), often collaborating with the Orchestra of the 18th Century of Frans Brüggen.
Apart from an extensive Chopin repertoire (for Polskie Nagrania, Tonpress, Muza, Wifon, Opus 111, Camerata, Sony Classical, Selene, CD Accord, Bearton), Janusz Olejniczak has also recorded works by Rameau, Mozart, Schubert, Prokofiev, Kilar, and Górecki. In recognition of his outstanding musical achievements he has received four Fryderyk awards of the Polish recording industry, as well as the Officer’s Cross of the Polonia Restituta (2000) and the Gloria Artis Gold Medal (2005).
Janusz Olejniczak has also appeared – as well as recorded best-selling soundtracks – in two famous motion pictures: Andrzej Zulawski’s La note bleue and Roman Polanski’s The Pianist.