Chopin Piano Competition

The International Chopin Piano Competition was founded in 1927 by Jerzy Zurawlew and is held in the Warsaw Philharmonic every five years, in October, over about three weeks. It is one of the oldest competitions of its kind and among the most demanding, partly because the repertoire is restricted entirely to Chopin, which removes the option of playing to one's strengths. Winning it has launched careers - Martha Argerich in 1965, Krystian Zimerman in 1975, Rafal Blechacz in 2005, Bruce Liu in 2021 - and the jury has more than once declined to award first prize at all. The whole competition is broadcast and streamed free, watched by very large audiences in Poland and in East Asia in particular, and the city fills with people following it. Between editions, the Chopin Museum in the Ostrogski Palace holds his manuscripts, letters and the last piano he used.

History

The pianist and teacher Jerzy Żurawlew began looking for money for the competition in 1925, and Henryk Rewkiewicz, director of the Match Monopoly, gave 15,000 złoty; the first edition was held in 1927. Further editions followed in 1932, 1937, 1949 and 1955, and it has been held every five years since; in 1957 it became a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, and its early editions were held in winter, close to Chopin's birthday on 22 February (Wikipedia, International Chopin Piano Competition).

What you'll find

• Three weeks of Chopin only - the restricted repertoire that makes it hard.
• The Warsaw Philharmonic - the hall where every stage is played.
• A career-making list - Argerich, Zimerman, Blechacz, Liu among the winners.
• Free broadcast - the whole competition streamed to a very large audience.

When to go

October, every fifth year. Several days.

Good to know

It runs in one month every five years - check the year before planning around it. Tickets for the later stages are extremely hard to get. The city is full. Between editions, the museum is the substitute.

Nearby

The Chopin Museum is at the Ostrogski Palace; Lazienki is south.

Key facts