International Chopin Piano Competition International Chopin Piano Competition

The International Chopin Piano Competition (Polish: Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina), often referred to as the Chopin Competition, is a piano competition held in Warsaw, Poland. It was initiated in 1927 and has been held every five years since 1955. It is one of few competitions devoted entirely to the works of a single composer, in this case, Frédéric Chopin.

The first competition was founded by the Polish pianist and pedagogue Jerzy Żurawlew. Subsequent editions were organized in 1932 and 1937; the post-war fourth and fifth editions were held in 1949 and 1955. In 1957 the competition became one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competitions in Geneva.

Traditional special awards include the Polish Radio prize for the best Mazurka performance (since 1927), the Fryderyk Chopin Society in Warsaw prize for the best Polonaise (since 1960), and the National Philharmonic prize for the best performance of a Piano Concerto (since 1980). But the prize for the best performance of the concerto was not awarded to any of the prize-winners of the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition. The competition is organized by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute of Warsaw.

Jury

For a more comprehensive list, see List of jurors of the International Chopin Piano Competition.

Past members of the jury have included such names as Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Stefan Askenase, Wilhelm Backhaus, Paul Badura-Skoda, Nadia Boulanger, Dang Thai Son, Bella Davidovich, Philippe Entremont, Fou Ts'ong, Nelson Freire, Vera Gornostayeva, Arthur Hedley, Mieczysław Horszowski, Vladimir Krainev, Marguerite Long, Lazare Lévy, Nikita Magaloff, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Heinrich Neuhaus, Vlado Perlemuter, Maurice Ravel, Arthur Rubinstein, Emil von Sauer, Magda Tagliaferro, and many distinguished Polish pianists, teachers, conductors, as well as composers (for instance Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutosławski and Lidia Grychtołówna).

Chairman

Traditionally the chairman of the board is a Polish musician as follows:-

• Witold Maliszewski, composer (1927)
• Adam Wieniawski, composer (1932 and 1937)
• Zbigniew Drzewiecki, pianist and teacher (1949, 1955, 1960, 1965)
• Kazimierz Sikorski, composer and theoretician (1970 and 1975)
• Kazimierz Kord, conductor (1980)
• Jan Ekier, pianist and teacher (1985, 1990, 1995)
• Andrzej Jasiński, pianist and teacher (2000, 2005, 2010)
• Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń, pianist and teacher (2015)

Arthur Rubinstein and Jan Ekier have also acted as honorary chairmen.

Chopin Piano Competition for Amateurs

Since 2009, the Chopin Piano Competition is held for amateur pianists as well. The amateur edition of the competition is organized by the Chopin Society of Warsaw. It is aimed at music lovers from all over the world, for whom playing the piano is a passion rather than a way of earning a living. Despite being much younger than other prominent competitions for amateur pianists (for example, the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs in Paris), it has already attracted a significant number of top-level participants. And the first champion of Chopin Piano Competition for Amateurs is Rupert Egerton-Smith.