The International
Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, launched in 1927, is one of the oldest musiccompetitions in the world. Constantly evolving overits ninety-year existence, it has improved its form
and forged its own rich tradition. The number ofrounds, the programme, the method for assessing
participants and the number of prizes awarded
have all changed. What has remained constantsince the very beginning is the interest in theCompetition among critics, the media, pianists,‘culture vultures’ and the public at large.
The Competition was born of the need to sustain

In the first edition of the Competition, held in thefamiliarity with the music of Fryderyk Chopin andwinter of 1927, only twenty-six pianists from eight

to perpetuate the piano playing tradition that wascountries took part. Those arriving from outside

characteristic of his style. The idea for creating

Warsaw stayed and practised in the private homes

the Competition came from the teacher and pianistof families who had agreed to put them up.

Jerzy Żurawlew. Working with young people, heSome 200 applications were received for the second

observed their keenness for rivalry and for display-

edition of the Competition. After three promising

ing their talents, so he considered that a pianistic

editions (the third came in 1937), the organising

tournament would be the best way of encouragingof the Competition was thwarted for more thanthem to play Chopin. At that time, implementing

a decade by the Second World War, with the tradition

such an idea was by no means straightforward,

resumed in 1949. During the 40s and 50s the Compe-and for years the Warsaw Competition wastition gradually achieved a truly international level,

the only event of its kind in the world.

and a regular five-year cycle was established.
Prize-winners of previous editions joined the large
and impressive jury, including Lev Oborin, YakovZak and Imre Ungar, as well as one of the mostoutstanding composers of the twentieth century– Witold Lutosławski.

During the 60s and 70s the Competition wasin full bloom, with such brilliant winners
as Maurizio Pollini and Martha Argerich.
The year 1970 proved crucial for American andJapanese pianism, thanks to victory for Garrick
Ohlsson and second prize for Mitsuko Uchida.
Five years later, the host nation triumphed,with Krystian Zimerman becoming thefirst Pole to win for twenty years.
Over time, interest in the Competition and theby the Yugoslav pianist lvo Pogorelich.

event’s prestige began to surpass that of all other

The twenty-first century has posed newartistic events linked to Chopin. The number ofchallenges for the Competition in a changing

applicants from all the continents continued tosocial, cultural and media environment with which

grow. In 1980, the 10th Competition was won

not only the organisers, but also the prize-­winners

by the Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son,

must cope. Both camps are thriving increasingly

while incredibly strong feelings were aroused

well: the winner in 2000, Yundi Li, is a media
superstar. Highly sought-after are the leading
lights of the last three competitions: RafałBlechacz (winner in 2005), Yulianna Avdeeva(winner in 2010), Daniil Trifonov and lngolf Wunder,
and Seong-Jin Cho (winner in 2015). The YouTube
recordings and Facebook profiles of all these
pianists have had millions of views.
The last Chopin Competition, besides its remarkably high artistic standard, was also exceptionalin terms of digital access: all the competition
performances could be followed online in Full HD
quality on the Competition’s website and YouTube
channel. Another new phenomenon that we observed
during the last edition was a social media revolution: according to Press Service, around 5 billion
pieces of information about the Competition were
exchanged in the month of October alone.

The competition’s initiator, and one of the judges,
Jerzy Żurawlew, c.1927.

The 1st International Fryderyk Chopin Piano
Competition took place at the beginning of 1927
(although it was originally planned to commenceon 15 October 1926 – the day of the unveilingof Wacław Szymanowski’s Chopin monumentin the Royal Łazienki Park).
Auditions were held in the Concert Hall of the
Warsaw Philharmonic. The Competition, which
was conceived from the outset as an international
tournament, hosted 26 pianists from 8 countries.
The contingent from the Soviet Union included
the then twenty-year-old Dmitry Shostakovich.
Although not among the leading competitors,
years later he became one of the most outstanding
composers of the twentieth century.
Judges and participants of the 1st International
Chopin Competition.

The Competition proved a great success: reviewers
emphasised the high standard of the participants
and the huge emotions that accompanied therivalry. The organisers were not spared criticism,however: pianists from abroad were not assuredof practice rooms and had to make do with
instruments in private apartments, whichbecame the subject of jokes.

The competition jury during performances.

1927

1st International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 23–30 January 1927
Applications: 32
Participants: 26
Countries: 8
Age limit: 28
Jury Chair: Witold Maliszewski

Prize-winners
First Prize – Lev Oborin (USSR)
Second Prize – Stanisław Szpinalski (Poland)
Third Prize – Róża Etkin (Poland)
Fourth Prize – Grigory Ginzburg (USSR)
Lev Oborin

Competitors at the Warsaw Philharmonic,
left to right: Theodor Gutman, Leonid
Sagalov, Abram Lufer, Emanuel Grossman.

The 2nd International Fryderyk Chopin Piano
Competition was held, as the organisers hadoriginally planned, five years after the first.
In March 1932, 89 pianists from 18 countries
arrived in Warsaw. The Competition drew hugeinterest among the public and attracted correspondents from various corners of the world. Outstanding musical figures from abroad were invited toparticipate in the work of the jury. Guest of honour
was Maurice Ravel, who in a concert on 11 March
conducted a performance of his works: the Piano
Concerto in G major and La Valse.
During the final, there was an unprecedented
occurrence: due to a protest from the Hungarian
pianist Imré Ungár, who refused to accept equalFirst Prize with Alexander Uninsky, lots were drawn.

Entrance ticket.

The blind Hungarian pianist was not favoured byfortune, however, drawing Second Prize.
During the Competition, a poll was held to findthe best, most popular piano among the instruments
on which the young pianists had played.
The winner was a Viennese Bösendorfer.

Inauguration of the Competition, a speech made by Prince
Władysław Czetwertyński, president of the Warsaw Music Society.

Participants and judges, souvenir photograph.

1932

2nd International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 6–23 March 1932
Applications: over 200
Participants: 89
Countries: 18
Age limit: 28
Jury Chair: Adam Wieniawski

Prize-winners
First Prize – Alexander Uninsky (unaffiliated)
Second Prize – Imré Ungár (Hungary)
Third Prize – Bolesław Kon (Poland)
Fourth Prize – Abram Lufer(USSR)
Fifth Prize – Lájos Kentner (Hungary)
Sixth Prize – Leonid Sagalov (USSR)

Alexander Uninsky

The 1930s, during which the 2nd and 3rd editionsof the Chopin Competition were held, was a timeof dynamic expansion for this musical celebration,
suddenly cut short by the outbreak of war in 1939.
The Competition had soon gained an important
place on the map of musical tournaments, attracting the greatest talents from the farthest flungcorners of the world. There is no doubt that thiswas due in part to the international jury, which
included eminent figures of musical life, and also
to the extensive support from state institutions:the patronage of President Ignacy Mościcki andthe appointment of an Honorary Committee chairedby the President of the Council of Ministers.

Final of the competition, Witold Małcużyński,winner of Third Prize, at the piano.

In 1937, the Competition adhered to the successful two-stage format. The Polish pianists, who had
previously constituted the largest national group,
had to pass through an additional qualifying round.
Ultimately, 80 pianists from 22 countries took partin the Competition. They had at their disposal
pianos by four different firms: Bechstein, Bösendorfer, Pleyel and Steinway. The female pianists fromJapan caused quite a sensation. Although Miwa Kai
Competitors at a meeting with the President of Poland,
Ignacy Mościcki, at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

and Chieko Hara (distinction) were not among the
prize-winners, their playing was hugely appreciatedby critics and the public. They were the first representatives of the Land of the Rising Sun in thehistory of the Competition. As in previous editions,representatives of the USSR came out on top.

The jury deliberates.

1937

3rd International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 21 February – 12 March 1937
Applications: 250
Participants: 80
Countries: 22
Age limit: 16–28
Jury Chair: Adam Wieniawski

Prize-winners
First Prize – Yakov Zak (USSR)
Second Prize – Roza Tamarkina (USSR)
Third Prize – Witold Małcużyński (Poland)
Fourth Prize – Lance Dossor (UK)
Fifth Prize – Ági Jámbor (Hungary)
Sixth Prize – Edith Pitch-Axenfeld (Germany)

Yakov Zak

The first post-war International Fryderyk Chopin

Those were conditions that Polish pianists could only

Piano Competition was held in 1949. In connection

have dreamt of up to then. The whole programmewith the centenary of Chopin’s death, that year wasof preparations was overseen by a Pedagogic

named Chopin Year by the Council of Ministers.

Committee attached to the Ministry of Culture and

The piano tournament was accompanied by compo-

the Arts, comprising pre-eminent Polish teachers,

sition and sculpture competitions, stationary andwho followed the progress of each of the partici-

travelling exhibitions, and numerous concerts atpants. The collective work brought excellent results:

home and abroad. A complete edition of Chopin’s

an exceptionally strong contingent was formed,

works was also inaugurated under chief editor

which made a clean sweep of the podium places

Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The Competition was finan-(the Polish pianist Halina Czerny-Stefańska sharedced from government funds, as were grants andfirst place with the Russian Bella Davidovich).

training camps for the Polish pianists. The young
musicians were given access to the best pianos,

The Competition was divided into three stages, withtest recordings were made, and the Poznań Philhar-

the addition of a qualifying round without audiencemonic Orchestra was even brought in to a summer(this was for candidates who had not taken part incourse held in Łagów Lubuski, so that the course

national qualifying rounds). During the first two

participants could practise the concertos withrounds, the jury listened behind wooden shutters,

its accompaniment.

so as not to see who was playing. The competitors
performed not under their names, but with numbers they had drawn. This was an experiment thatfailed to catch on and has never been repeated.
An innovation for the third round was the performance of a concerto in its entirety (previously, only
two movements were played), and the upper age
limit was raised to thirty-two. Due to the war-time
destruction of the Warsaw Philharmonic, theInauguration of the Competition,
Roma Theatre, a speech by
Władysław Rudziński.

auditions were held at the Roma Theatre on
Nowogrodzka Street.

National eliminations in 1948. Collective photographof the jury, competitors and organisers.

1949

4th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 15 September– 15 October 1949
Participants: 41
Countries: 13
Age limit: 16–32
Jury Chair:Zbigniew Drzewiecki

Prize-winners
First Prize (equal) – Halina Czerny-Stefańska (Poland),Bella Davidovich (USSR)
Second Prize – Barbara Hesse-Bukowska (Poland)
Third Prize – Waldemar Maciszewski (Poland)
Fourth Prize – Georgy Muravlov (USSR)
Fifth Prize – Władysław Kędra (Poland)
Sixth Prize – Ryszard Bakst (Poland)

Halina Czerny-Stefańska

Bella Davidovich

The year 1955 brought the return of the Competition to the rebuilt Warsaw Philharmonic. The finishing touches were still being put to the building
moments before the inauguration, and so the Competition was moved from October 1954 to February
the following year, which exceptionally increased
the gap between editions to six years. Its starting
date was linked on this occasion not to the anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s death, but to the dateof his birth, which according to current research
Fou Ts’Ong,winner of Third Prize.

was 22 February. The Competition would be heldin the winter also in 1960 and 1965, before returning to the autumn in 1970. For participants in the
5th edition, the bar was raised very high. In eachof the three rounds, the pianists had to tackle
a lengthy programme. And that was after having
battled through the qualifying rounds. Seventy
practice pianos were installed at the Hotel Polonia,
where the participants were accommodated.
The jury, which during pre-war editions of theCompetition had sat on the concert platform,
was moved to a much more secluded spot– on the balcony of the auditorium, where
it has traditionally been located ever since.
The Competition was a grand musical and society

Inauguration of the Competitionat the Warsaw Philharmonic.

event, playing host to Queen Elisabeth of Belgium,and seventy concerts and eighty recitals were given
in Warsaw and other cities. In the pianistic tournament, victory went to a representative of the hostnation: Adam Harasiewicz secured the win withan excellent performance in the final. Vladimir
Ashkenazy, who had been leading up to then,performed less strongly at the final stage andultimately came second.
Prize-winners of the 5th International Chopin
Competition, left to right: Vladimir Ashkenazy,Andrzej Czajkowski, Bernard Ringeissen,
Dmitry Paperno.

1955

5th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 22 February – 21 March 1955
Participants: 77
Countries: 25
Age limit: 16–32
Jury Chair: Zbigniew Drzewiecki

Prize-winners
First Prize – Adam Harasiewicz (Poland)
Second Prize – Vladimir Ashkenazy (USSR)
Third Prize – Fou Ts’Ong (China)
Fourth Prize – Bernard Ringeissen (France)
Fifth Prize – Naum Shtarkman (USSR)
Sixth Prize – Dmitry Paperno (USSR)

Adam Harasiewicz

The 6th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano
Competition was held on the 150th anniversary of
the composer’s birth. The year 1960 was proclaimed
Chopin Year, under the patronage of UNESCO.
Chopin’s music was present on every major
concert platform.
As Stefan Wysocki recalls: ‘That was the competition which initiated both the decoration of the halland the whole ritual of beginning all the auditions

Judges at the Warsaw Philharmonic:
Artur Rubinstein and Jerzy Żurawlew.

with a defilade of the candidates across the stage,
the presentation by the programme announcer andall the rest of it, which competition observers know
perfectly well and which – thanks to its constancy– sticks in one’s heart and mind’. That was also
the start of the great career of the then eighteenyear-old Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini, winnerof the First Prize. Among the 77 participants from30 countries, only his name went down in thehistory of world pianism. The audience favourite,
the Mexican Michel Block, the object of great excitement and rumours, failed to win a prize. Arthur
Rubinstein, honorary chair of the jury, which was
the largest in the Competition’s history, decided
to respond to the mood in the hall and award

A Competition performance at the Warsaw Philharmonic.

Block an hors concours prize.
Incidentally, Rubinstein’s great love of doughnuts
was revealed during the Competition. During thejury’s deliberations, doughnuts were supplied,along with other sweet treats, by Warsaw’s finest
confectioners. Apparently, the great pianist’s
appetite beat all records, with a dozen or sodoughnuts a day representing no great challenge.
Witold Małcużyński and Nadia Boulanger,
judges of the 6th International Chopin
Competition.

1960

6th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 22 February – 13 March 1960
Participants: 78
Countries: 30
Age limit: 16–30
Jury Chair: Zbigniew Drzewiecki

Prize-winners
First Prize – Maurizio Pollini (Italy)
Second Prize – Irina Zaritskaya (USSR)
Third Prize – Tania Achot-Haroutounian (Iran)
Fourth Prize – Li Min-Chan (China)
Fifth Prize – Zinaida Ignatieva (USSR)
Sixth Prize – Valery Kastelsky (USSR)

Maurizio Pollini

A contemporary music concert to inaugurate
the Chopin Competition? That is what happened
in 1965, with the audience treated to works by
the Polish composers Kazimierz Serocki, Witold
Szalonek, Tadeusz Baird and Karol Szymanowski.
The very high standard represented by the pianists
and also the introduction of an additional fourthround (henceforth, the four rounds became theOpening of the Competitionat the Warsaw Philharmonic.

norm) meant that the 7th Internationa Fryderyk
Chopin Piano Competition is often referred to as
the ‘Great’ Competition. It also remained in thememory of its participants on account of the influenza that was raging in Warsaw at the time, which
struck down young competitors and jurors alike.
Four pianists from Latin America received prizes
and distinctions. There was also great success for
the New York teacher Rosine Lhévinne, who had
as many as five pupils among the prize-winners.
It was Martha Argerich -the ‘black panther of the
piano’ -who emerged triumphant, although she
began her first performance in rather unusual
fashion... fleeing before her entrance on stage. Her

Arthur Moreira Lima at the piano.

tempi were described as ‘rocket-powered’, and herplaying style was compared to the interpretationsof the legendary Vladimir Horowitz.

The jury deliberates.

1965

7th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 22 February – 13 March 1965
Applications: 109
Participants: 76
Countries: 30
Age limit: 17–30
Jury Chair: Zbigniew Drzewiecki

Prize-winners
First Prize – Martha Argerich (Argentina)
Second Prize – Arthur Moreira Lima (Brazil)
Third Prize – Marta Sosińska (Poland)
Fourth Prize – Hiroko Nakamura (Japan)
Fifth Prize – Edward Auer (USA)
Sixth Prize – Elżbieta Głąbówna (Poland)

Martha Argerich‘It turned out […] that in February our climate is
too different from that in many other countriesof the world, as a result of which the exotic candidates in particular caught cold on arriving in Warsaw. In the autumn, meanwhile, the climate is closer
to the global average’, wrote Jerzy Waldorff in 1970
on the idea of moving the Competition to October.
The experiences of 1965 showed unequivocallythat the Chopin Competition ought not to be a
Winter Olympiad, but at worst an early autumn com-Judges in the conference room.

petition. The 8th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition was a great triumph for theAmerican school: First Prize to Garrick Ohlsson,
Fourth Prize to Eugen Indjic and a distinction for
Emanuel Ax. It was also an historical success forJapanese pianism: Second Prize for Mitsuko Uchidaand a distinction for Ikuko Endo.
There was huge interest in the Warsaw Chopin
Concerts held at the Teatr Rozrywki on the Vistulaembankment. Participants in the Competition
performed there, usually in the programme they
had presented the previous day during the auditions at the Warsaw Philharmonic. Nearly all the

Exhibition of Competition posters
at the Warsaw Philharmonic.

pianists taking part in the musical tournament
performed during the twenty concerts.
The Competition was phenomenal – people on thestreets were engrossed in the rivalry, taking toheart the successes and failures of their favourites,with emotions often running sky high. As Waldorff
relates: ‘Over these days, the entire city talks only
about piano playing, and every taxi driver knows
best how the finale of the B flat minor Sonata shouldbe played. On trams and buses, people are at one
another’s throats over their favourites for the
prizes. In front of the Philharmonic: crowdsof people who couldn’t get a ticket. Sometimes,
Mariko Hayashi signs autographs
at the Warsaw Philharmonic.

the militia has to be called to assist, but that
doesn’t always help!’

1970

8th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 7–25 October 1970
Applications: 123
Participants: 80
Countries: 28
Age limit: 17–30
Jury Chair: Kazimierz Sikorski

Prize-winners
First Prize – Garrick Ohlsson (USA)Second Prize – Mitsuko Uchida (Japan)
Third Prize – Piotr Paleczny (Poland)
Fourth Prize – Eugen Indjic (USA)Fifth Prize – Natalia Gavrilova (USSR)
Sixth Prize – Janusz Olejniczak (Poland)

Garrick Ohlsson

Competition medal, reverse,
Second Prize, silver.

Krystian Zimerman performs with orchestra.

The hosts of the Chopin Competition had to wait
twenty years for another home-bred winner.
Fortune smiled on the Poles in the 9th edition,
held in 1975. Krystian Zimerman, a pupil of AndrzejJasiński, went down in the history of the Competition as the youngest winner of the first prize andof the special prizes for the best performances ofmazurkas and of a polonaise. He was also the undisputed idol of the public. Soviet pianists also
enjoyed an upturn in fortunes, occupying the next

Donald Ryan during
a Competition performance.

three places (Dina Yoffe, Tatiana Fedkina andPavel Gililov in second, third and fourth placerespectively).
During the seventies, it became a tradition to perform Mozart’s Requiem on the anniversary of FryKrystian Zimerman’s diploma.

deryk Chopin’s death: 17 October. That work washeard during the composer’s solemn funeral at
St Mary Magdalene’s in Paris in 1849; in Warsaw,
the annual concert is held at the Church of theHoly Cross, where Chopin’s heart is enshrined.
Another innovation was to present the winnersof the first three places with medals: gold, silver
and bronze. The medals, designed by Józef
Markiewicz, were produced by the State Mint.

1975

9th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 7–28 October 1975
Applications: 128
Participants: 84
Countries: 22
Age limit: 17–30
Jury Chair: Kazimierz Sikorski

Prize-winners
First Prize – Krystian Zimerman (Poland)
Second Prize – Dina Yoffe (USSR)
Third Prize – Tatiana Fedkina (USSR)
Fourth Prize – Pavel Gililov (USSR)
Fifth Prize – Dean Kramer (USA)
Sixth Prize – Diana Kacso (Brazil)

Krystian ZimermanDuring the period of political change that wasarising in Poland in 1980, the Chopin Competition
gave Poles a rare opportunity to escape the worriesof everyday reality. The 10th Competition enjoyedhuge interest: a record number of 149 pianists from36 countries took part. The largest contingentswere from Japan and the United States. This time,
only three pianists came from the Soviet Union.
Vietnam was represented by just a single artist,
but it was he who came out on top. Dang Thai Son
also received the prizes for the best performanceof mazurkas (equal with Ewa Pobłocka), polonaise

Hung-Kuan Chen,a third-round competitor.

(together with Tatiana Shebanova) and concerto(also tied with Shebanova). It is worth emphasisingthat in the finale Dang Thai Son was playing withan orchestra for the first time in his life.
The Russian pianists were also of a high standard:
Tatiana Shebanova was runner-up, Arutyan
Papazyan fourth and Irina Petrova sixth.
The opening of the competition was inaugurated
with a performance by Martha Argerich and theWarsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton
of Kazimierz Kord.
Shockwaves were felt around the world over thefrictions within the jury. After the first round,Louis Kentner left the jury, appalled at the fact

Competition jury, 1 October 1980.

that none of his pupils had qualified for the next
round; then after the third round, Martha Argerichquit, unable to reconcile herself to the eliminationof Ivo Pogorelich. Immediately after the Competition commenced – on 4 October – the initiatorof the competition, and long-serving memberof the jury, Jerzy Żurawlew died. The jurors paid
tribute to the professor at Ostrogski Castle,
where his coffin was displayed.
Ivo Pogorelich,a third-round competitor.

1980

10th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 2–19 October 1980
Applications: 212
Participants: 149
Countries: 36
Age limit: 17–30
Jury Chair: Kazimierz Kord

Prize-winners
First Prize – Dang Thai Son (Vietnam)
Second Prize – Tatiana Shebanova (USSR)
Third Prize – Arutyun Papazyan (USSR)
Fourth Prize – not awarded
Fifth Prize (equal) – Akiko Ebi (Japan), Ewa Pobłocka (Poland)
Sixth Prize (equal) – Erik Berchot (France), Irina Petrova (USSR)

Dang Thai Son

The year 1985 brought the debut at the Chopin
Competition of the firms Yamaha and Kawai.
Participants in the 11th Competition could choose
between as many as five instruments, which compared to the list of pianos available in previous
editions – two Steinways and one Bösendorfer(Bechstein withdrew after its instrument waschosen just once during the 9th Competition)– was a big change.
Again there was no lack of controversy among the
jurors: Fou Ts’Ong, winner of Third Prize in theCompetition in 1955, could not accept the awardingof First Prize to Stanislav Bunin, and as a mark ofprotest he failed to turn up for the jury’s last session
and did not sign the verdict. Bunin donated his

Competition prize-winners, left to right: Marc Laforêt,Jean-Marc Luisada, Stanislav Bunin, Tatyana Pikayzen,
Michie Koyama, Krzysztof Jabłoński.

prize to ‘young generations of budding Chopininterpreters’. The Ministry of Culture and the Arts,
Warsaw Philharmonic,
the audience outside
the entrance.

in accordance with the donor’s wishes, paid theprize into the Fund for the Development of Culture.
Also associated with the 11th Competition is theinstitution of the Fryderyk Chopin Society’s international phonographic competition the ‘Grand Prix
du Disque Frédéric Chopin’.

Michie Koyama performs with orchestra,
conducted by Tadeusz Strugała.

1985

11th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 1–20 October 1985
Applications: 191
Participants: 124
Countries: 32
Age limit: 17–28
Jury Chair: Jan Ekier

Prize-winners
First Prize – Stanislav Bunin (USSR)
Second Prize – Marc Laforêt (France)
Third Prize – Krzysztof Jabłoński (Poland)
Fourth Prize – Michie Koyama (Japan)
Fifth Prize – Jean-Marc Luisada (France)
Sixth Prize – Tatiana Pikayzen (USSR)

Stanislav Bunin

The biggest surprise of the 12th Chopin Competition was the lack of a winner. Probably no one hadforeseen such a turn of events prior to the inauguration. Second Prize was awarded to Kevin Kenner,
who was participating in the Competition for thesecond time (distinction in 1980). Kenner was also
rewarded for the best performance of a polonaise(equal with Wojciech Świtała); for the first time inhistory, however, no one was given the prize for thebest performance of mazurkas. The pianists wereclearly not even helped in forging convincing interpretations by the unprecedented choice of as manyas seven pianos.
Janusz Ekiert recalls: ‘The 12th Competition passed
without any manifestations of great admiration andwithout any great controversy. Youngsters did not

The public awaits the results.

choose their idols, and the favourites failed to ignite
people’s imagination. One was hard pressed to notice
any of the feverishly sparkling eyes that one remebered from previous competitions. No one in theaudience fainted from emotion; if anyone, only
a pianist’. The Competition was honoured by thepresence of two crowned heads: Queen Fabiola ofBelgium and Queen Sofia of Spain, who opened theexhibition ‘Fryderyk Chopin and George Sand’sromantic journey to Majorca’.
Queen Sofia of Spain with Elżbieta Penderecka
and Krzysztof Penderecki.

Kevin Kenner,
winner of Second Prize.

1990

12th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 1–20 October 1990
Applications: 220
Participants: 110
Countries: 28
Age limit: 17–28
Jury Chair: Jan Ekier

Prize-winners
First Prize – not awarded
Second Prize – Kevin Kenner (USA)Third Prize – Yukio Yokoyama (Japan)
Fourth Prize (equal) – Corrado Rollero (Italy),
Margarita Shevchenko (Russia)
Fifth Prize (equal) – Anna Malikova (Russia),
Takako Takahashi (Japan)
Sixth Prize – Caroline Sageman (France)

The 13th Chopin Competition is associated with

Philippe Giusiano,
winner of equal Second Prize.

the addition of another work with orchestra to theprogramme of the final besides a concerto, with the
pianists offered the choice among the Variations on
Mozart’s ‘Là ci darem la mano’, Fantasy on Polish
Airs and Rondo à la krakowiak. This was also thefirst edition of the Competition in which pianists
were obliged to include a video cassette of a thirtyminute recording of their Chopin interpretations
with their applications.
As five years earlier, the jury failed to find among

The special prizes are awarded. Left to right:
Michał Ferber, Philippe Giusiano,
Rem Urasin, Nelson Goerner.

the participants an artist whose talent, abilities andpersonality merited the Grand Prix. Second Prize wasawarded equally to the French pianist Philippe
Giusiano and the public’s favourite Alexei Sultanov.
The Russian pianist, who saw himself as the favourite,
demonstrated his dissatisfaction at the verdict byboycotting the prize-winners’ concert; ultimately,
however, he decided to perform in the repeat
concert.
For the only time in the Competition’s history,
none of the three special prizes (for the best performance of mazurkas, a polonaise and a concerto)
was awarded.

During the final.

1995

13th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 1–21 October 1995
Applications: 257
Participants: 130
Countries: 32
Age limit: 18–30
Jury Chair: Jan Ekier

Prize-winners
First Prize – not awarded
Second Prize (equal) – Philippe Giusiano (France),
Alexei Sultanov (Russia)
Third Prize – Gabriela Montero (USA)
Fourth Prize – Rem Urasin (Russia)
Fifth Prize – Rika Miyatani (Japan)
Sixth Prize – Magdalena Lisak (Poland)During the 14th Chopin Competition, which fell at
the turn of the millennium, many talented pianists
from the Far East appeared on the concert platformof the Warsaw Philharmonic. One could hardly saythat the chronological watershed brought the anticipated artistic breakthrough to the Competition.
Once again, there was no pianist who succeeded
in interpreting the Polish idiom contained in themazurkas or who captivated listeners with thebrillant style of the concerto which he or she
performed. The prize for the best performanceof a polonaise went to two Chinese pianists:
the winner of Fourth Prize, Sa Chen, and theoverall winner, Yundi Li. The jury was inclined
to withhold the First Prize yet again, but there

Yundi Li, winner of First Prize.

were fears about possible accusations that theCompetition’s standing had been lowered.
Once more, a second-time entrant gained success.
The Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter, winnerof Second Prize, had not even qualified for thethird round five years earlier. The audience’s
affections were won by the Romanian pianist
Mihaela Ursuleasa. Her striking personality was
also appreciated by the jury, which awarded
her a distinction. The pianist’s sudden death,

The jury deliberates.

in 2012, cut short her blossoming career.

Judge Hiroko Nakamura
gives an interview.

2000

14th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 4–22 October 2000
Applications: 240
Participants: 94
Countries: 25
Age limit: 17–28
Jury Chair: Andrzej Jasiński

Prize-winners
First Prize – Yundi Li (China)
Second Prize – Ingrid Fliter (Argentina)
Third Prize – Alexander Kobrin (Russia)
Fourth Prize – Sa Chen (China)
Fifth Prize – Alberto Nosè (Italy)
Sixth Prize – Mika Sato (Japan)

Yundi Li

Rafał Blechacz – all the unforgettable emotions of
the 15th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition are associated with that name. The Polishartist became the most decorated pianist in thehistory of the Competition, winning not only First
Prize, but also all the special prizes (for the best
performance of mazurkas, polonaise and concerto),
as well as the prize funded by Krystian Zimerman
for the best performance of a sonata and the audiKudo Rachel performs with orchestra,
conducted by Antoni Wit.

ence prize. In the final, while the last chordsof the Piano Concerto in E minor performed by
Rafał Blechacz were still resounding, an eruption of
genuine euphoria broke out among the audience.
The orchestra, bringing the work to a close, could
not be heard! The verdict was easy to predict.
Several crucial changes appeared in the rules of
the 15th Competition: it was decided to precede thecompetition proper with a qualifying round, since
the organisers found selecting participants solely
on the basis of video recordings to be not wholly
reliable. The Competition was divided into threestages. The jury’s assessment system was simplified: marking on a scale from 1 to 25 was replacedby voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’. An additional points scale

Rafał Blechacz surrounded by reporters.

from 1 to 100 was treated as secondary. The
assessments of all the judges remained secret.
For the first time, the Competition was broadcast in
its entirety on radio, television and the Internet.

The jury during the first round.

2005

15th International
Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
Dates: 2–24 October 2005
Preliminary Round:
Applications: 327
Participants: 257
Countries: 35
Competition:
Participants: 80
Countries: 19
Age limit: 17–28
Jury Chair: Andrzej Jasiński

Prize-winners
First Prize – Rafał Blechacz (Poland)
Second Prize – not awarded
Third Prize (equal) – Dong Hyek Lim (South Korea),
Dong Min Lim (South Korea)
Fourth Prize (equal) – Shohei Sekimoto (Japan),
Takashi Yamamoto (Japan)
Fifth Prize – not awarded
Sixth Prize – Ka Ling Colleen Lee (China, Hong Kong)
Rafał Blechacz

2010 was the jubilee year of the bicentenary of thebirth of Fryderyk Chopin. In connection with thegrand anniversary celebrations, Chopin beganappearing everywhere and in every possible form:
from the most authentic (Chopin on period instruments) to those adhering to popular culture(Chopin in tracksuit top with earphones).
In 2010, the Competition was organised for the firsttime by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute. The four-

Daniil Trifonov surroundedby reporters.

stage format was reinstated, and the Sonata in C
minor, Op. 4 appeared on the list of works for thethird round (giving three sonatas to choose from).
Among the pianos, an Italian Fazioli was available
for the first time. Many discussions and disputes
arose in 2010. The Austrian pianist Ingolf Wunder,
although he had fallen at the second hurdle in2005, was among the favourites for the 16th Competition from the very beginning, and he enjoyedhuge favour among the public. Ultimately, he came
second, and he had to share that prize with Lukas
Geniušas. The jury awarded First Prize to the Russian pianist Yulianna Avdeeva – the fourth woman
to be crowned winner of the Chopin Competition.

Miroslav Kultyshev after his performance.

The rivalry could be followed from the first roundto the final thanks to simultaneous broadcasts onradio, television and the Internet.

Ingolf Wunder, winner of equal Second Prize.

2010

16th International
Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
Dates: 30 September– 23 October 2010
Preliminary Round:
Applications: 353
Participants: 182
Countries: 34
Competition:
Participants: 78
Countries: 22
Age limit: 17–30
Jury Chair: Andrzej Jasiński

Prize-winners
First Prize – Yulianna Avdeeva (Russia)
Second Prize (equal) – Lukas Geniušas (Russia/Lithuania),
Ingolf Wunder (Austria)
Third Prize – Daniil Trifonov (Russia)
Fourth Prize – Evgeni Bozhanov (Bulgaria)
Fifth Prize – François Dumont (France)
Sixth Prize – not awarded

Yulianna Avdeeva

All observers – international critics, media andadvertising market analysts, as well as regularattenders of cultural events – agree that in its reachand attractiveness, the 17th edition of the Chopin
Competition exceeded all of its previous editions.
The level of artistry presented by the competitors
was very highly rated by the jury. Ultimately, a representative of South Korea stood on the podium for

Krzysztof Książek during a performance.

the first time in the Competition’s history: Seong-Jin
Cho. The public’s favourites also included Kate Liu
and Charles Richard-Hamelin, and above all
the Polish representative Szymon Nehring, who

Seong-Jin Cho receives his medal fromthe President of Poland, Andrzej Duda.

received the Audience Prize. Votes could be castfor that prize via the website and a mobile app.
The competition was accessible in its entirety to allinterested parties on a global scale, thanks to themany broadcast channels, including a competition
web page, YouTube channel, smartphone and smart
TV apps, Polish Television TVP Kultura, Channel 2of Polish Radio, Medici.TV and many others. Public
Opinion Research Center data show that the progressof the Competition was followed in the media by
29% of the Polish population. The Competition
broadcast was heard all over the world by over
31 000 000 people (including ca. 10 000 000 Poles).

Aimi Kobayashi performs with orchestra, conducted by Jacek Kaspszyk.

A recording featuring the winner of the Chopin
Competition was released by Deutsche Grammophon, with selected works performed by Seong-Jin
Cho during three rounds of the competition.
Within a week of its first release, all 50 thousand
albums had been sold in Korea. It seems the
popularity of classical music as a whole is growing
because of Cho. Auction, one of the country’s
biggest online shopping sites, says that during theKate Liu before performing.

week of the album’s release, sales of classical music
albums soared more than 400 per cent comparedto the same period the previous year.

2015

17th International
Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
Dates: 1–23 October 2015
Preliminary Round:
Applications: 452
Participants: 160
Countries: 45
Competition:
Participants: 78
Countries: 20
Age limit: 16–30
Jury Chair: Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń

Prize-winners
First Prize – Seong-Jin Cho (South Korea)
Second Prize – Charles Richard-Hamelin (Canada)
Third Prize – Kate Liu (United States)
Fourth Prize – Eric Lu (United States)
Fifth Prize – Tony Yike Yang (Canada)
Sixth Prize – Dmitry Shishkin (Russia)

Seong-Jin Cho

In 2020 the eighteenth edition of the Competition
will be held. The Competition will officially begin
on 2 October with an inaugural concert featuring
previous winners. Yet for the pianists, organisers
and audiences it will actually start much earlier,with the preliminary round in mid April. Around
160 pianists selected by a qualifying committee willtravel to Warsaw, where the best 80 artists among
them will be chosen to take part in October. So
qualifying for the Competition is already a success.
The Competition proper will last for three weeks,and on 20 October we will learn the name of the
new winner, with the prize-giving gala and the firstof three prize-winners’ concerts taking place thenext day.
The Competition Jury will comprise, as always, outstanding Chopin interpreters, former Competition
laureates, teachers and also experts on the life andwork of Fryderyk Chopin. The points awarded by
the jury and details concerning the method of assessment will be made public after the Competition,
making the entire process transparent.
As with the last edition, music lovers will be able
to listen to all the competition performances via
the Internet: on the official Competition website
and YouTube channel. For the first time, transmissions will be available in 4K format and in VR directfrom the stage.
This year the Chopin Institute is also preparing
a special mobile app (Chopin Competition), smart
TV app and internet portal (chopin2020.pl), hosting all the key information relating to the 18th
edition of the Competition.

2020

18th International Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Competition
Dates: 2–23 October 2020
Preliminary Round:
Applications: over 500
Participants: ±160
Countries: 53
Age limit: 16–30
Jury Chair: Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń