A record number of applications for the Chopin Competition 2020 in Warsaw

14/12/2019
Culture

The record number of over 500 applications were submitted for the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, which will take place in 2020, organised by The Fryderyk Chopin Institute. It is the next record number in almost 100-year history of the Chopin Competition.

The applications were sent by pianists from as many as 53 countries. The biggest groups of candidates come from China (over 100 applications), Japan (over 90 applications) and Poland (over 60 applications); there are strong representations from the USA, Canada, South Korea, Russia, Italy and France. The pianists applied from such various places as: Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

The age range of the participants of the Competition is between 16 and 30; over the half of the candidates for the Competition next year are between 21 and 23; there are 30 youngest ones – 16- and 17-year-old. The candidates were required to send a short biographical note, documentation of their most important artistic achievements from the last three years, two recommendations (of pedagogues and/or outstanding figures of musical life) as well as video recording with their own performance of the programme of the 1st stage of the Competition.

The documents and recordings of the candidates will be assessed by the Qualification Committee consisting of: Lech Dudzik (outstanding sound engineer), Janusz Olejniczak, Piotr Paleczny, Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń and Wojciech Świtała (members of the Jury of the Competition). Until 9 March 2020 we will know the names of 160 pianists selected by the Committee, who will be invited for the Preliminaries of the 18th Chopin Competition. The preliminaries will take place in Warsaw on 17–28 April 2020, and as the result of them 80 participants of the Competition, starting on 2 October, will be chosen.