Poles kick off the Chopin Competition

This year, the draw – traditionally choosing one letter of the alphabet to decide which names will play first in the international competition – resulted in the letter “B”.

As a result three Polish entrants will open the event on Saturday 3 October – Tymoteusz Bies, Rafał Błaszczyk and Łukasz Piotr Byrdy.

Seventy-eight pianists from 20 countries have confirmed their participation. They include 14 Poles, 13 pianists from China, 12 from Japan and nine from South Korea.

Over the past two days, all the participants were busy choosing an instrument on which they will perform throughout the event. As in previous years, there are four grand pianos to choose from, a Steinway, a Yamaha, a Kawai and a Fazioli.

The pianists were allowed to spend fifteen minutes each in the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall. Some tested all the instruments, others three or two, but quite a few of them had already made up their minds before entering the hall and spent the entire quarter of an hour at an instrument of their choice.

A gala opening concert of the Chopin Competition, on Thursday, features the Warsaw Philharmonic under its Music Director Jacek Kaspszyk and two famous Argentinian pianists Martha Argerich and Nelson Goerner, in concertos by Schumann and Ignacy Jan Paderewski, as well as a Polonaise for orchestra written specially for the occasion by the internationally acclaimed Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. (mk/rg/rk)