Chopin Salon @ Home: A History of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw
Until we can see you again at our live events, we are pleased to present the Chopin Salons @ Home. We sincerely hope that all of our members and subscribers are keeping safe and healthy, and we invite you to enjoy these specially curated programs online, at home, and at your convenience.
The Chopin Foundation of the United States will forever be grateful for the benefit of good timing this year. We were one of the few performing arts organizations that was able to complete a major, live music event before the onset of Covid-19 restrictions. The 2020 National Chopin Piano Competition was successfully concluded on March 1, and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the US Competition.
We were beyond delighted that The Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw was able to join the celebration in anticipation of the 18th International Chopin Competition that was originally scheduled to take place this month - October 2020. Now rescheduled for October 2021, this is only the 2nd time that this prestigious Competition did not take place as scheduled. In the words of Executive Director, Artur Szklener: “We are sparing no effort to make sure that the 18th Chopin Competition will be as good as we all expected and that it will continue the great tradition forged over the decades. The Fryderyk Chopin Institute is working intensely to make the move from 2020 to 2021 run as smoothly as possible.” Director Szklener was with us in Miami with several colleagues from the Chopin Institute as the sponsor of a special concert that took place on February 28th featuring Yulianna Avdeeva - the 1st prize winner at the 2010 International Chopin Competition.
The Prelude to the February 28 concert featured a beautiful video presentation produced by the Chopin Institute that we are so pleased to share with our Chopin Salons @ Home audience. It traces the fascinating history of the International Chopin Piano Competition from its very first edition in 1927 through the 17th edition in 2015.
A Model for Miami
As you may witness from this video, the excitement surrounding the International Chopin Competition is palpable. That the top two winners of the US Competition are automatically accepted to this event is a testament to how faithfully the US Competition adheres to the rules and requirements generated by Warsaw, and it speaks directly to the vision of Lady Blanka Rosenstiel. A native of Poland, Lady Blanka saw that young American pianists would benefit from a Chopin Competition to prepare them to compete on a national level. For the past 4+ decades, scores of young American pianists have benefited from the Competition and Foundation Scholarships. We are looking forward to following the next group of brilliant young winners from 2020 as they represent the US in Warsaw next year. The track record for our American laureates has been exciting and we have enjoyed watching their careers flourish.
We finish this week’s episode with performances by two pianists who were successful first in Miami and then in Warsaw - Eric Lu (2015) and Kevin Kenner (1990).
Eric Lu won the gold medal in 2015 at the US Chopin Competition and placed 4th later that same year in Warsaw. Here is his beautiful rendition of Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 from the preliminary round at the International Competition.
Next, in case you missed the live stream, we invite you to listen to last week’s performance by Kevin Kenner, a top laureate of both Competitions in 1990 - and the Chair of our 2020 Chopin Competition! During the time when the 18th Chopin Competition was to be held, the Fyderyk Chopin Institute held a celebration of Chopin's music and great pianism. They presented a series of piano masters’ recitals and chamber concerts, which included performances by the most outstanding pianists of the previous editions of the Competition. The grand finale took place on October 19th and featured Chopin's two piano concertos in chamber versions, interpreted by Kevin Kenner and the Appolon Musagete Quartet - (the performance starts shortly after a word from the sponsors in the following video).
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Chopin Foundation programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; and the City of Coral Gables. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Funding Arts Broward; the Miami Salon Group; and scores of generous donors.