CHOPIN SOCIETIES IN THE WORLD

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CHOPIN SOCIETIES IN THE WORLD

A meeting of the IFCS Board and Audit Committee was held in Paris on 28 February and 1 March 2020. The meeting was organized by Societé Chopin à Paris. Attending the meeting were: Theodor Kanitzer, Antoine Paszkiewicz, Elżbieta Artysz, Mariusz Fituch, Rosa Capllonch-Ferra and Ariel Paszkiewicz and Paweł Urbański. Also present were assistants Jakub Dmeński and Mariusz Morga and a guest invited by the organ-izer – Jadwiga Merkur, President of the Board of the Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdrój Foundation.

The program of the Grand Chopin Meeting to be held in October 2020 in Warsaw and drafted by the General Secretary was agreed at the Meeting of the Board (The conference “Chopin in South America”, Grand Assembly of the IFCS, rules of participation in au-ditions to the Chopin Competition)1*.

1 Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the Chopin Competition and the Grand Chopin Meeting were moved to the year 2021.

The meeting also involved a visit to the Polish Library in Paris and places marked by the presence of Chopin in that city.

On 1 March we were invited to the Théâtre des Champs Elysées to a gala concert held on the occasion of Fryderyk Chopin’s birthday. The Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Łukasz Borowicz. In the first part of the concert, the orchestra performed works by Polish composers associated with Paris (Roman Palester, Alexandre Tansman) and in the sec-ond it accompanied Rafał Blechacz in a beautiful rendition of Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E minor. A capac-ity audience rewarded all musicians with thunderous applause.

The eminent organizes of the Meeting – Antoine and Ariel Paszkiewicz also provided us with an opportunity to try some specialties of the French cuisine. Thank you!

The Vancouver Chopin Society

(Vancouver/CANADA)

In “Chopin in the World 2019”, I wrote the following: “For our 22nd season, beginning on November 10, 2019, we have invited five more virtuosi to share their art and their music with us: Zlata Chochieva, Federico Colli, Kevin Kenner, Tomasz Ritter, and Dina Yoffe. We look for-ward to our new season with intense anticipation”

Our effusive brochure/booklet set out the season with the rubric “Music That Gladdens the Soul”, and Chochieva’s and Kenner’s music achieved all of that, in spades. And then the 22nd season of The Vancouver Chopin Society was over, never to be completed, as the world in its entirety was pandemically overtaken.

Our final three concerts of five were wiped out: Federico Colli, Tomasz Ritter, and Dina Yoffe, sched-uled from March to May 2020, would not, with good reason, appear. That we were able to access online concerts by messrs. Colli and Ritter was conso-lation, of course.

Zlata Chochieva’s season-opening recital on November 10, 2019 was as richly satisfying---even astonishing---as expectations had led one to believe. Schubert’s G major D.894 Sonata was profoundly explored by Chochieva in a deeply-moving first half, while Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff were set off triumphantly against each other in the second half with four of the former’s Songs Without Words and six of the latter’s Études-Tableaux: here was piano-playing artistry of a high order indeed. And when has Rachmaninoff’s delightful frothing of the scherzo from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream spun with such brio! This was a splendid night indeed.

A Meeting in Paris

30Chopin in the World 2020

Kevin Kenner had appeared in concert with our Society in the past, and it was the happiest of pleasures to welcome him back for his recital, exactly two weeks after Chochieva’s. And what a boon it was to hear from him six miniatures by Paderewski, in-cluding the once-ubiquitous Menuet in G in a performance for the ages. Beginning his concert with a sonata by Haydn, his No.48, was life-giving, to both Haydn and us, his listeners. Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze of almost infinite variety, and Chopin, of course, five mazurkas and the fourth scherzo, completed an evening of mu-sical riches rarely experienced in the short span of a concert.

As for the 2020-21 season, our speculatively 23rd, there are as yet nu-merous questions.

The Vancouver Chopin Society functions because of the dedication and enthusiasm of our volunteers, led by our President, Patrick May, and our Artistic Director, Lee Kum-Sing, and our board of directors.

Henry EwertVice-President

The Vancouver Chopin Society

Zlata Chochieva and the VCS Board.

50th Anniversary in 2020

In the jubilee year of 2020 the Chopin Society in Darmstadt paid tribute to its namesake with an attrac-tive blend of well-known and lesser-known works by the great master. Our first gala concert on February 29th featured four first prizewinners of past Darmstadt competitions.

The concert began with introduc-tory speeches by Hartmut Stolzmann, Aleksandra Mikulska (President of the Society), Jochen Partsch (Lord Mayor of Darmstadt) and Jakub Wawrzyniak (Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Cologne), who paid tribute to the Polish pianist Maciej Lukaszczyk (1934 – 2014), who

Chopin-Gesellschaft in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland e.V.

(Darmstadt / GERMANY)

Four former first-prize-winners of the Darmstadt Chopin competition play at the an-niversary concert on February 29th, 2020, to celebrate the society’s 50th anniversary. From left

to right: Janne Mertanen, Claire Huangci, Ivett Gyöngyösi and Joanna Marcinkowska.

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founded the society in 1970, honour-ing his pioneering work in bringing people together in very difficult times and thanking the Chopin Society for its long-term commitment, for promoting young talent and for its cross-border work.

The first of the four outstand-ing pianists to perform was Joanna Marcinkowska from Poland (win-ner in 2002), who demonstrated her brilliant skills with a nocturne, three waltzes and the “Andante spianato and grande Polonaise”. Next, the Finn Janne Mertanen, (winner in 1992), “emphasized the poetic side of Chopin’s music, giving an introverted rendering of the C sharp minor polonaise and two nocturnes, while his performance of the Barcarolle in F sharp major almost en-tered the realm of impressionism.” (Klaus Trapp, Darmstädter Echo 2.3.2020)

Ivett Gyöngyösi from Hungary (winner in 2013) performed the F sharp minor polonaise and four mazurkas op. 30, which had gained her additionally the mazurka prize in Darmstadt in 2013. She then fur-ther delighted the audience with her interpretation of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10, a brilliant bravura piece resplendent with octaves and flashing glissandi. Finally, the climax of the long evening followed with the performance of the pianist Claire Huangci (winner in 2009): “The elegantly served bolero was followed by the three nocturnes of Opus 9, in which the soloist demonstrated her deep sense of sound. To the delight of the audi-ence she finished with samples from the “Humoresques de concert” op. 14 by the

late Romantic Polish pianist and politi-cian Ignacy Jan Paderewski, including not only the famous menuet, but also the tricky “Caprice a la Scarlatti” and the fast-paced “Cracovienne fantastique”. (ibid.)

Soon after this, there followed a long hiatus in our concert activity. The Corona virus pandemic forced us to cancel all concerts between March and August, and we hoped and prayed that our long planned September con-cert with piano and orchestra would be possible.

We were delighted that it was able to take place and we enjoyed two won-derful concerts on September 4th and 5th, 2020, which of course had to take place under strict Corona regulations that required wearing masks when standing close together (see photo). In her review for the Darmstädter Echo on 7.9.2020 Silvia Adler wrote:

“It had been almost forty years since Chopin’s rarely played “Rondo à la

Krakowiak” last rang out in Darmstadt. Back then, the founder and long-time president of the Chopin Society, Maciej Lukaszczyk, had been at the piano, ac-companied by the Chamber Orchestra of the Merck Philharmonic. At the an-niversary concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the society, this youthful work of the 18-year-old Chopin was on the programme again for the first time.” After the unprecedented success of the 2015 Chopin Marathon, in which twenty-three young pianists per-formed, in the order of composition, all the piano solo works of the Polish genius non-stop over sixteen hours, it was the unwavering intention of the Chopin Society to present for the Darmstadt audience Chopin’s entire oeuvre for piano and orchestra at a gala concert in the Orangerie. Due to the corona pandemic however, both the duration of the event and the or-chestra had to be curtailed, and three of the six works had to be performed in a version for piano solo.

The young Polish pianist Piotr Pawlak had at short notice adapted the score of Chopin’s “Krakowiak” op. 14 for piano solo, which he performed on the first evening (see photo). ”The winner of the 2017 Darmstadt Chopin Competition unfolded with luminous sound a poetic tableau of flowing, ex-plosive colours.” (ibid.). Apparently without applying force, his fine touch developed sounds of expressive vol-ume. “Variations on La ci darem la Mano ”op. 2 from Mozart’s opera“ Don Giovanni” were performed by the Darmstadt pianist Sabine Simon, whose vivid shaping of the vocal lines,


perfect execution of the artistic runs and expressive contrast in the tutti sections made one forget for a while that the orchestra was missing.

In the second half of the concert Kevin Kenner, winner of the Warsaw Chopin Competition in 1990, per-formed “with breathtaking intensity and compelling inner logic” (ibid.) a selec-tion of early original piano solo works by Chopin including the Nocturne in E minor (posth.), Rondeau à la Mazur op. 5, and five mazurkas from opus 6

and 7, which were among the musical highlights of the ceremony.

Aleksandra Mikulska, President of the Chopin Society, opened the second evening with Chopin’s Piano Concerto in F minor accompanied by the strings from the Mainz Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra “relying on clear, wide-stretched lines, as in the hymn-like Larghetto, to assert Chopin’s gracefulness” (ibid.) Piotr Pawlak then gave a fine performance of “Fantasy on Polish Airs” op. 13 with orchestra, his interpretation being

characterized by a fine-textured, filigree sound. The concert concluded with a memorable rendition of the E minor concerto by Kevin Kenner. “The lyrical voice with which he performed the con-certo seemed soft and supple and at the same time absolutely compelling. Kenner seemed to have conceptually penetrated every phrase, no matter how small, and yet his interpretation sounded disarmingly natural.“ (ibid.)

Prior to these jubilee concerts in 2020 we had enjoyed a number of excel-lent and varied events that deserve men-tion: In September 2019 we had a most informative lecture on Fryderyk Chopin and Clara Schumann (to celebrate the bi-centenary of Clara Schumann’s birth) delivered by Dr. Wolfgang Seibold, with Prof. Sontraud Speidel at the piano, whom the “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik” described as the “Clara Schumann of today!”.

This was followed in October 2019 by our XXV International Masterclass for Pianists conducted by the Argentinian pianist and peda-gogue Prof. Carmen Piazzini. This 9-day masterclass opened with a concert by Carmen Piazzini who gave inspiring interpretations of works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert. Both the audience, which came every day to listen and learn, as well as the 14 active young musicians from eight nations, then enjoyed seven days of intense tuition before all active participants played in the final con-cert, in which the capacity audience was treated to a pot pourri of works encompassing 300 years of piano literature. Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schumann, Debussy, Ravel,

Kevin Kenner and Aleksandra Mikulska performing on September 5th with the Mainz Chamber Philharmonic under the baton of Catherine Rückwardt

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Sookie Schober

Rachmaninov and Bartok were all represented.

The photo shows the participants after the final concert. Standing in the front row from left to right are Hartmut Stolzmann (Board Member of the Society), Aleksandra Mikulska (President), Jill Rabenau (Vice President) and Carmen Piazzini.

November 2019 saw an evening of entertaining dialogue and music in the form of a book presentation by the German show master and actor Steffen Möller, much loved in Poland. Essays by the well-known Polish author and music critic Piotr Wierzbicki (*1935) had been translated into German by Steffen Möller and published for the first time in the German language under the title “Warum Chopin keine genialen Lieder schrieb – Essays”. (“Why Chopin did not write any ingenious songs – Essays”.) At the piano was

Aleksandra Mikulska, enhancing the spoken word with her interpreta-tion of some of Chopin’s best loved works. Dr. Peter Oliver Loew, newly appointed Director of the German Polish Institute in Darmstadt, a joint organiser of this event, moderated the evening. Photo: From left to right: Dr. Peter Oliver Loew, Aleksandra Mikulska and Steffen Möller.

Our New Year’s Concert in January 2020 starred the acclaimed pianist Prof. Boris Bloch, who had kindly agreed to replace Yuri Blinov after his tragic death in April 2019. His care-fully compiled and expertly executed programme contained Mozart’s A Minor Sonata KV 310, Beethoven’s E-flat Major Sonata op. 81a “Les Adieux” as well as works by, Bach, Chopin, Liadov and Tschaikowski. As encores he regaled his audience with two études by Chopin and

“Gnomenreigen” by Liszt. This con-cert was also dedicated to the memory of our long-standing member of the board, Christa Heimerl, who had passed away in December 2019.

Please check our website if you would like to read more about the his-tory of our society. A pdf version of our brochure “50 Years Chopin Society” in German and English is available for viewing under the heading “Über uns”, as well as a comprehensive list of concerts that have taken place over the space of 50 years. This and much more, including a selection of photos and video recordings of important con-certs, at www.chopin-gesellschaft.de

All photos by Dorothee or Hartmut Stolzmann.

Jill Rabenau, Vice President

Chopin- Gesellschaft Hannover e. V.

(Hannover / GERMANY)

1. Our 2019 activities started on January 25th, 2019 at Solvay GmbH with a solo piano recital by Alyosha Jurinic, an outstanding young artist from Croatia who studied in Zagreb, Vienna, Fiesolo and now in Weimar. He played music by Debussy, Schumann and Chopin. The audience was enthusiastic about him.

2. Next we met at the Jacoby Hall of Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover (HMTMH) on March 23rd, 2019 for our „17th International Piano Competition 2019“ under the patronage of the Consul General of the Republic of Poland. This contest is organ-ized biannually by our Society; five highly qualified young pianists between 18 and 25 years of age were pre-selected to hold this competition. The members of the jury this year were Professor Bernd Goetzke, HMTMH, Volker Hagedorn, journalist, author and musician, Professor Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń, Bydgoszcz, Professor Hubert Rutkowski, Hamburg, and Professor Catherine Vickers, Frankfurt/M., five well-known and experienced profes-sionals. They decided to offer the First Prize to Emanuel Roch (b. 1998) from Munich who in addition received the Prize of the Audience; the Second Price to Lukasz Byrdy (b. 1994) from Poland, and the third Prize to Daniel Golod (b. 1997) from Israel. The competition which lasted for 4 hours was moderated humorously by Professor Hans Baessler from Hamburg.

3. On April 26th, 2019 at the Assembly Hall of VHV Insurances a solo recital of our prize-winners Emanuel Roch and Lukasz Byrdy took place. Lukasz performed Chopin, Beethoven, Debussy and Liszt, followed by Emanuel with compositions of Chopin, Liszt and Bach/Busoni. It was a wonderful evening.

4. Our traditional summer “Matinee Concert and Picnic” took place on June 16th, 2019 in the countryside at Untergut Lenthe. Attended by more then 400 members of the Hannover Chopin Society and their families, friends and guests, this event again was a great success, beautiful set-ting with the beautiful park, the sunny weather and thanks to the two charming young artists: Anna Schaumlöffel,


soprano, and Jong Hai Park, 2nd Prize-winner of Gesa Anda Stiftung in Zürich, as pianist. In an old and restored barn they charmed us with Schubert, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Brahms and Bizet. The concert ended with our annual picnic in the gardens.

5. Again, the annual highlight of the Hannover Chopin Society was the 31st “Open Air Concert and Picnic” at the Georgengarten, part of the Herrenhausen Gardens in front of the Wilhelm Busch Museum on August 25th, 2019. Traditionally this concert is open to the Hannover public and is free of charge. Donations are of course wel-come! In the heat of blazing August sun more than 5.000 people, predominantly young people, were sitting or lying on the grounds in front of the Junges Sinfonie Orchester (JSO) Hannover conducted by Tobias Rokahr and enjoyed the wonderful music by Khatschaturjan and Sarasate. The two soloists were Ioana Cristin Goicea, violin, from Rumania and Luka Okros, piano, from Georgia, now living in London. He played the Piano Concerto Nr. 1 in b-flat minor op. 23 by Tschaikowski.

6. The Chopin Society met again on September 15th, 2019 at Schloss Bückeburg under the patronage of its owner Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. The Bückeburg Palace is about 40 km away from Hannover and has a long, fascinating history; the “Ballsaal” obviously was the perfect setting for a “Pianomatinee”! Following a warm greeting words from the Prince himself Emre Yavuz from Turkey delighted us with Chopin and Rachmaninoff. The fiancée of the Prince Schaumburg, a concert pianist herself, was so touched by Emre, that her eyes were welled up with tears. An unforget-table morning garnished with delightful lunch buffet to top it all. What a delightful Sunday for all our guests.

7. The next concert of the Hannover Chopin Society took place on October 25th, 2019 at the “Maharajah’s Palace” in Hannover Zoo. This unusual location proved to be the ideal place to perform the “grande fantaisie zo-ologique” Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens. Twelve students of our Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, along with a young student from the drama department of the same school gave us a truly mag-nificent performance of this famous piece of Saint-Saens. We were very lucky to obtain the rights to use the original text written by the Viennese Symphoniker and the audi-ence was totally captured by this performance, including quite a number of very young guests under 10.

8. The last concert for our members in 2019 was a “Piano Evening in Advent” on November 22nd, 2019 at Hannover Rückversicherung with Mario Häring. This outstanding artist presented an ambitious program with compositions of Debussy, Schubert and Beethoven. The audience was impressed.

9. The new concert year 2020 of the Hannover Chopin Society started harmlessly on January 24th at HDI Insurance with chamber music; nobody suspected an upcoming annus horribilis. The winner of our 2009 piano competition as well as Concours Géza Anda, Claire Huangci, from USA and Tristan Cornut, violoncellist from Paris played compositions of Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Schumann. It was a wonderful start in the year.


10. The following concert on February 23rd 2020, at the auditorium of Schillerschule in Hannover-Kleefeld was our last concert since the Covid-19 took command of our lives. The winner of our 2019 piano competition Emanuel Roch together with Junges Sinfonieorchester Hannover (JSO) under the direction of Tobias Rokahr played Tschaikowski’s piano concert No. 1 in b-flat minor followed by piano compositions of Beethoven, Ravel and Chopin.

11. All the following concerts scheduled for the year 2020 had to be canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic and the guidelines of the authorities. However, to fulfill our intention to promote young piano artists at the begin of their career, we decided to support our artists and their young families by refunding their fees for the canceled concerts. This was gratefully acknowledged by all of them. Furthermore we have bought 100 CDs from 4 artists who could not perform on stage this year and are sending them to our members as a consolation and at the same time to support the artists financially.

With respect to our Society itself, the number of mem-ber families is still stable (slightly under 400 families) and the managing committee, chaired by Mrs. Sookie Schober since 2005, is glad to contribute to support the interest of young promising musicians, putting emphasis on pianists, as our patron Frederic Chopin would have wanted.

Prof. Dr. Friedrich Schuh, member of the board of Chopin Gesellschaft Hannover e.V.

György Ferenczy Foundation

(Budapest / HUNGARY)

The Foundation’s first event of the 2019/2020 season was the 9TH GYÖRGY FERENCZY INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION (28 Nov. – 1 Dec. 2019) for children and youth up to 22 years of age. There were 225 competitors representing 16 countries. As always, the audi-tions were held in two venues and were evaluated by two independent, international juries.

MIROSŁAW DUBIEL (PL), invited as the winner of the 27th International Chopin Piano Competition in Szafarnia.

Two young pianists performed short recitals during the competition’s closing ceremony: OLGA KSONDZYK (UKR), invited as the winner of the 1st “Shopenivska Vesna” International Piano Competition in Lutsk, and MATEUSZ

At the end of February, as part of the cooperation with the Vilnius, New-Vilnius Music School, Izabella Darska Havasi was a juror at the “Musica Brillante” International Chamber Music Competition in Vilnius (LT) and offered prizes for the best participants on behalf of the György Ferenczy Foundation.

The next event – the BUDAPEST CHOPIN FESTIVAL 2020, planned for most of the year, was nearly ruined by the COVID-19 pandemic. The planned inaugu-ration of the Festival was a concert by ALBERTO NOSÈ (IT), on 1 March, the anniversary of Chopin’s birthday. Unfortunately, a few days before his concert, Italy quar-antined the region from which the artist was to travel. We feverishly searched for a replacement and found it – in the person of PIOTR PAWLAK (PL), who quickly decided to cancel a performance in Poland to replace the Italian pianist. What’s more, he played Alberto’s program almost in its entirety, turning out a tremendously successful per-formance with his brilliant playing.

The second event was a concert by EUGEN INDJIC (USA/FR), scheduled for 8 March, but travel from France also became impossible. The pianist was replaced by GERGELY KOVÁCS (HU). By the way – both young pianists who replaced the originally scheduled artists were ex-aequo winners at our 8th International Chopin Piano Competition in Budapest (2018). The date of the second concert being between Chopin’s anniversary (1 March)


and the Hungarian National Holiday (15 March), our Hungarian performer Gergely Kovács chose to play a program of works by Chopin and Liszt (Chopin’s friend). Of course, we have not forgotten to extend best wishes on the occasion of International Women’s Day, celebrated just that day, to the girls and women attending the concert. The representatives of the Polish Institute and the Polish Embassy, including H.E. the Ambassador and his wife, were present at both concerts.

Only one event of the Festival was held as originally planned: CHOPIN DAY at the Music Faculty of Miskolc University, on 10 March 2020. It consisted of a lecture by IZABELLA DARSKA HAVASI in the morning, and a concert by PIOTR PAWLAK (PL) in the evening. The lec-ture, titled “In the footsteps of the composer’s intentions”, was based on a comparison of three editions of Chopin’s Etudes: Paderewski, Ekier and Klindworth’s “Seule Édition Authentique” (1839), found and purchased in a Polish antique bookshop. Piotr Pawlak also delighted the public with his improvisational skills – a deservedly successful per-formance like in Budapest, with no fewer than five encores.

But!!! – we did not know that a message arrived during the concert on the (switched off) mobile phone of my col-league, the organizer of the event: the Rector prohibited all events effective immediately, and suspended education activities at the university from the next day. What luck we had…

With no hope of continuing the Festival live, as origi-nally planned, we were forced to change to online events.

Some artists made their existing recordings available to us:

EUGEN INDJIC (USA/FR) – for the online concert on 5 May 2020, on the occasion of the Polish Constitution Day, with a festive foreword by H.E. Ambassador Jerzy Snopek.

RAFAŁ ŁUSZCZEWSKI (PL) – for the online concert on 31 May 2020, on the occasion of the Pentecost, with a festive foreword by Krzysztof Grzelak, parish priest of the Polish Personal Parish.

SHAUN CHOO (Singapore) – winner of our 4th International Chopin Piano Competition in Budapest (2010) – offered us his award-winning performance from the International Chopin Piano Competition in Australia for the online concert on 26 July 2020.

We also joined for live broadcasts of concerts organized by other institutions:

Concert in Żelazowa Wola – 28 June 2020 – SZYMON NEHRING (PL) – winner of our 3rd International Chopin + ….. Piano Competition in Budapest (2010)

concert in Duszniki Zdrój – 12 August 2020 – PHILIPPE GIUSIANO (FR)

concert in Duszniki Zdrój – 14 August 2020 – ALBERTO NOSÈ (IT)

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the organizers for their permission to broadcast the concerts on the website of the Foundation.

Izabella Darska Havasi

Associazione Culturale “Fryderyk Chopin”

(Rome / ITALY)

The curtain closes on the 29th “Roma” International Piano Competition organized by Fryderyk Chopin Cultural Association in partnership with the Cuomo Foundation and in collaboration with FCOM Organizzazioni Musicali. On the stage of the Palladium Theater, Sonia Sarno hosted the traditional Winners’ Concert, which presented the first Chopin prize. The entire international jury chaired by Marcella Crudeli agreed that Galyna Gusachenko (27, UKR) deserves the prize. She enchanted the audience of the Palladium and the Roma Tre Orchestra that accompanied her in the performance of Mozart’s Concerto in A major conducted by the talented Pawel Piotr Gorajski. Second and third prize go respectively to Yeontaek Oh (27, KOR) and Da Young Kim (32, KOR). Galyna Gusachenko wins € 7,000 and the chance to record and promote a record with KNS Classical, she can also perform in 10 concerts in Italy and around the world. She also wins the Special Prize of the “Fryderyk Chopin National Institute” for the best performance of a Chopin’s piece, which consists of a concert in Zelazowa Wola (PL).

This was the final stage of the two weeks of work to select the best pianists among the 108 young people, com-ing from 20 countries around the world, who participated in the competition in the 5 sections. Each of these youngs


was listened and evaluated by the international jury of Maria Teresa Caruchio (ARG); Silvia Cappellini Sinopoli (ITA); Vincenzo Marrone d’Alberti (ITA); Luca Rasca (ITA); Franco Carlo Ricci (ITA); Rosalba Vestini (ITA); Xin Wang (GER-CHI).

For the “Young Pianists” section Emma Guercio (11, ITA) won the prize and surprising for her early talent revealed; Arashi Kawamoto (25, JAP) wins the section “Emerging Pianists”; a Polish couple, Grzegorz Nowak and Anna Wielgus (29 and 27) win the “Four Hands” section; the sisters Nora and Zora Novotna (23 and 25 CZE) win the “Two Pianos” section.

A great audience for the final evening in the new loca-tion that was perfectly suited to the event. The Concert was attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See, Matthew S.M. Lee; dott. Paolo Spigarellli; Don Giovanni Cereti for the Confraternity of the Genoese; Ms. Fiorella Zampini; dott. Riccardo Bianchi, President of the Rotary Club Roma Ovest; dott. Aldo Imerito of the Ecotec Group; Ms. Tullia Cianconi Grifone, President of the Inner Wheel Roma Romae Club; Ms. Liliana Gallo Montarsolo; Ms. Maria Murmura; Eng. Vincenzo Bianchini of the Tecnologie e Comunicazioni srl and dott. Andrea Dotti; Ms. Maura Gentile president of the Unesco Club of Rome and Marcella Crudeli with Francisco Diaz Lison and Peter Hungebuhler, of the Cuomo Foundation.

The event was recorded and streamed by 2R Multimedia Productions and will soon be available on all the social me-dia channels of the Competition

The 2019 edition opened on November 27th with a concert for piano and flute by Marcella Crudeli and Stefano Maffizzoni, anticipated by a cultural meeting entitled BETWEEN LITERATURE AND MUSIC - Readings by the actor Ruben Rigillo from the novel by Angelo Angelastro - ‘PENNELLATURE MUSICALI’ BY MARCELLA CRUDELI, with the participation of Angelo Angelastro, TG1 journalist and writer, who presented his book “Il bel tempo di Tripoli”. The event took place in memory of Alfredo Cuomo, 10 years after his death. Father of the Cuomo Foundation, in 2004 he gave birth to the partnership between the philanthropic organization and the Competition.


The competition received the patronage of the Italian UNESCO National Commission, the UNESCO Club of Rome, the Order of Malta, the Lazio Regional Councils and the Presidency of the Capitoline Assembly. The event was made thanks to:

Poste Italiane; Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See; Rotary Club Roma Ovest; Inner Wheel Club Roma Romae; Ecotec Group; Alfonsi Pianos; KNS Classical; Music Talent Lab; Paolo and Paola Spigarelli; Technologies and Communications; Donzelli family; Adolfo Tagliero; Antonino Murmura Foundation; Liliana Gallo Montarsolo.

The Fryderyk Chopin Cultural Association, in addition to the organization of the “Roma” International Piano Competition, carries out an intense concert activity also aimed at promoting young talents at prestigious schools in the capital, including the Vivona high school.

The Fryderyk Chopin Society in Warsaw

(Warszawa / POLAND)

The Chopin Society 2020 report briefly goes back to the autumn of the previous year. In November 2019 the Society celebrated its 85th an-niversary. The jubilee event was held in the Staszic Palace in Warsaw and provided the opportunity to take a look at the achievements and major events in the history of the Chopin Society. Karol Radziwonowicz gave a piano recital. The capacity audience included persons from the Society’s local branches in Sanniki, Żychlin, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Gdańsk and Supraśl.

In March 2020 Dr Ewa Sławińska-Dahlig (a musicologist with a PhD in arts & humanities) became the Society’s new Director General. She took over from Director Antoni Grudziński after his retirement.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chopin Society succeeded in holding live concerts at the Basilica of St John the Baptist in Brochów. The Summer Chopin Concerts pro-ject, which in 2020 ran into its 13th edition, is held in the church which is linked in a special way with the Chopin family. As usual, the concerts were held on every Sunday in July and August and were well attended. The project received financial support from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Joanna Ławrynowicz, Julia Łozowska, Rafał Łuszczewski, Karolina Nadolska, Szymon Nehring, Piotr Pawlak, Karol Radziwonowicz, Tomasz Ritter, Maria Szraiber, Aleksandra Świgut, Andrzej Wierciński. As in the previous years, the co-organisers of the concerts were Stołeczna Estrada and Muzeum Łazienki Królewskie.

Another online project was Maria Gabryś-Heyke’s recital on a Krall & Seidler piano, the oldest Polish-made piano (1830). The recital, featuring works from the 1820s and the 1830s by Polish composers Józef Elsner, Karol Kurpiński, Maria Szymanowska and Fryderyk Chopin, was video-recorded on 7 June 2020 in the Staszic Palace’s Hall of Mirrors, and is avail-able on the Chopin Society’s YouTube

It also collaborates with the “Il Tempietto Association” which organizes concerts at the Teatro Marcello and at the Sala Baldini, historic places in Rome. The Fryderyk Chopin Association organizes concerts in the fifteenth-century cloister of the Confraternity of San Giovanni Battista de’ Genovesi.

A special mention goes to the “Salotto di Marcella Crudeli”: the founder and President of the Fryderyk Chopin Association has resumed an ancient and unfortunately dis-appeared tradition of bringing together writers, musicians, professionals from various sectors in her home to create a synergy in the field of culture and music in particular.

The aim is also to make talented young people known, as well as to bring to the attention of the public profiles of musicians and composers in particular, of cultural expo-nents and professionals, many of whom have made them-selves meritorious towards the Association and its activities.

Due to the pandemic, some concerts had to be cancelled, oth-ers were held online. The 61st season of the Chopin concerts in Warsaw’s Royal Łazienki Park, which are out-door events, was for the first time moved to the Internet. All recitals were recorded in the Łazienki Park’s Orangery and Palace on the Isle, and were made available on all successive Sundays from mid-May to the end of September. The recorded recitals are still available on the Chopin Society’s YouTube channel [Towarzystwo im. F. Chopina / TiFC]. The perform-ers included Maria Gabryś-Heyke, Adam Goździewski, Adam Kałduński, Bronisława Kawalla, Rinko Kobayashi, Julia Kociuban, Jacek Kortus, Paweł Kowalski, Przemysław Lechowski,

Aleksandra Bobrowska’s recital. Basilica of St John the Baptist, Brochów.


channel. The recording opened a new chapter in the life of this nearly two-hundred-year-old instrument built by the renowned Warsaw piano manufacturer. On that same day the first presentation of the renovated piano was made to a select group of people. The instrument was restored in Andrzej Włodarczyk’s piano work-shop in Słupno.

One of the Chopin Society’s projects is the Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin Record Competition (since 1985). In September 2020 the results of the 9th Competition were announced. After assessing 51 one/two CD recordings submit-ted by 7 record companies, the Jury (Bronisława Kawalla, Andrzej Jasiński, Andrzej Lupa, Piotr Paleczny, Karol Radziwonowicz, Adam Rozlach, Ewa Sławińska-Dahlig, Wojciech Świtała) awarded the following main prizes: Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric

Chopin in the category of recordings made on contemporary instruments went to Deutsche Grammophon for Seong-Jin Cho – Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1; Ballades, London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda; Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin in the category of re-cordings made on period instruments

Piotr Pawlak. Recordings in the Royal Łazienki Park in Warsaw.

Maria Gabryś-Heyke at a 1830 Krall & Seidler piano. Staszic Palace, Warsaw.

Covers of the 26th-28th issues of Rocznik Chopinowski (2018-2020).

went to Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina for Janusz Olejniczak – Chopin: 57 Mazurków / Mazurkas; Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin in the category of re-released historical recordings went to DUX for Chopin: Songs / Pieśni i piosnki Op. 74, Henryka Januszewska (soprano), Marek Drewnowski (piano) (the original recording was made in 1988). Special Prize in the category of recordings made on con-temporary instruments was awarded to Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina for Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky – Chopin: Piano Concerto; Sonata in G minor for piano and cello (Op. 65); Sinfonia Varsovia, Jacek Kaspszyk. Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina also received five honourable mentions, two in the category of recordings made on con-temporary instruments and three in the category of recordings made on period instruments.

In November 2020 the 28th issue of the Rocznik Chopinowski came out. The articles, contributed by Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, Kuniko Inoue, Piotr Mysłakowski, Tokimasa Sekiguchi, Zbigniew Skowron, Krzysztof Dorcz, Piotr Dahlig, discuss Fryderyk Chopin’s biography, teach-ing methods and pedagogic-aesthetic views. They describe the complicated fortunes of the composer’s correspond-ence and the cult of Chopin in Poland and the world. The articles abound in new details and hitherto unpublished sources. The publication of the 28th is-sue was co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.


Société Frédéric Chopin Genève

(Genève / SWITZERLAND)

La Société Frédéric Chopin Genève a inauguré traditionnellement sa nouvelle saison musicale 2019 à Collonge-Bellerive, siège de la Société. Le Concert du Printemps du samedi 13 avril à la Salle Willy Buard, a été donné par Christian Chamorel, pianiste suisse de renommée, qui a interprété des œuvres de Mozart, Mendelssohn et Chopin. Très appré-cié, il a été chaleureusement applaudi par le public. Ce concert fut dédié en mémoire de Mireille, notre chère Amie décédée subitement, membre de la Société Chopin depuis sa création.

Comme chaque automne, et de-puis vingt-deux ans, le Festival Chopin 2019 s’est déroulé du 6 au 15 octobre et a poursuivi sa forme itinérante à tra-vers Genève, en passant par le Studio Ernest-Ansermet de la RTS, la Salle Willy-Buard à Collonge-Bellerive, la Salle des Nations du splendide Hôtel des Bergues de Genève, la Salle Frank Martin ou encore la Salle de récital de l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze.

Quatre nouveaux pianistes figu-raient pour la première fois à l’affiche de notre festival : François Dumont, Konrad Binienda, Pawel Kowalski et Szymon Nehring.

Le concert d’ouverture du Festival a eu lieu le dimanche 6 octobre au Studio Ernest Ansermet. François Dumont, lauréat de plusieurs concours interna-tionaux dont le prestigieux Concours International Chopin de Varsovie en 2010, a interprété un magnifique programme composé exclusivement d’œuvres de Chopin. Une atmosphère magique, une émotion profonde. Une soirée inoubliable !

Puis du 9 au 11 octobre, pen-dant trois jours consécutifs, François Dumont a tenu la Chopin Masterclass. Lors du premier jour, le mercredi 9 octobre une conférence intitulée « Un moment d’échange autour de Chopin » a suivi le cours d’interprétation. La Masterclass s’est terminée par son traditionnel concert des participants à

la Salle de récital de l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze. Tous les participants ont reçu en cadeau le double CD de l’intégrale des Nocturnes par François Dumont. Un disque exceptionnel ! Sans doute, une des meilleures interprétations de notre époque.

Le soliste du deuxième concert du Festival, du 8 octobre, Konrad Binienda, jeune talent d’origine polo-naise actuellement habitant aux Etats-Unis, s’est fait connaître comme étant non seulement un excellent interprète de Chopin mais également comme un compositeur remarquable. C’est dans la charmante Salle Willy Buard de Collonge-Bellerive que le public a eu la joie de découvrir ses multiples facettes.

Cette année, une nouveauté dans la programmation : les pianistes du concert du 13 et du 15 octobre, ont interprété en première partie de ré-cital des œuvres pour piano seul de Fryderyk Chopin puis en seconde partie les Concertos de Chopin en mi mineur et en fa mineur avec quintette.

Le dimanche 13 octobre, nous avons accueilli dans la Salle des Nations du majestueux et historique Hôtel des Bergues le pianiste polonais Paweł Kowalski. La Salle des Nations de l’Hô-tel des Bergues, construite en 1834, a gardé jusqu’aujourd’hui son caractère du XIXème siècle si proche dans son ambiance de l’atmosphère des salons parisiens de l’époque lorsque Fryderyk Chopin se mettait au piano.

Le mardi 15 octobre, dans la Salle Frank Martin, Szymon Nehring, jeune pianiste polonais, repéré lors du Concours Chopin de Varsovie en 2015

François Dumont au Studio Ernest-Ansermet

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et lauréat du Concours Rubinstein de Tel-Aviv en 2017, a interprété avec beaucoup de raffinement le Concerto en fa mineur. Le public a remercié chaleureusement sa prestation.

Le Festival Chopin peut être fier d’avoir contribué au fil des ans, et ce depuis 1998, à la résurrection de ces versions en formation de chambre.

C’est irrésistiblement aux re-marquables musiciens du Quintette Ephémère que nous avons confié cette mission, et qui cette année était com-posé d’Olivia Jacobson et Elsa-Camille Sapin aux violons, Florane Gruffel à l’alto, Florestan Darbellay au violoncelle et Rostyslav Burko à la contrebasse.

Le public enthousiaste était présent au rendez-vous et tous les concerts ont remporté un vif succès ! L’impulsion donnée à l’organisation d’un festival décentralisé, nous a confirmé une fois encore, que nous avons fait le bon choix. Ce changement lui a donné un souffle nouveau.

Grâce à la Société Frédéric Chopin, la Musique de Chopin demeure vi-vante à Genève !

Aldona Budrewicz-JacobsonPrésidente

Paweł Kowalski dans la Salle des Nations au Bergues

Szymon Nehring avec quintette Ephémère dans la salle Frank Martin

Bangkok Chopin Society (Bangkok / THAILAND)

Activities :BCS in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland pre-sented “Young Pianists, International Prize Winners’Concert” on 27th November 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the Siam Music Yamaha

Auditorium. The pianists aged from 11 to 17 years were Pasit Wattanalekhawong, Trinity Jantarach, Chakrit Khanonvej and Pannita Mamanee. Guest singer Indre Balakauskas (10 years old ) sang songs by Chopin accompanied by her mother Indhuon Srikaranonda Balakauskas.

On 13th February 2020, 7:00 p.m BCS presented An Evening of Music and Poetry at Tongsuang’s Piano Music Hall. A gathering of friends congratulated Professor Dr. Weerachat Premananda (the recipient of the 2019 Outstanding Professor in Humanities and Music Award by Chulalongkorn University) and Associate Professor Dr. Tongsuang Israngkun (the recipient of the 2019 National

Outstanding Professor. In Music by the Council of Thailand Universities Senate).

The compositions for piano were by Professor Dr. Weerachat Premananda with poems by Kamolvan Punyashthiti.

The Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Bangkok pre-sented an event (in collaboration with the Bangkok Chopin Society and Alliance Francaise) “Chopin, From Warsaw to Bangkok” on 12th March 2020, 6:00 p.m at Alliance Francaise. It was a Concert and Exhibition dedicated to the great Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin. After the con-cert performed by young pianists with special guest per-former Eve Pannita Mamanee there was the opening of the Exhibition by H.E. Ambassador Waldemar Dubaniowski. Refreshments were served.

The audience that filled the Alliance Francaise Hall that evening praised for the most successful Concert and Exhibition.

Another activity of the Bangkok Chopin Society in col-laboration with Mater Dei School Bangkok and Fukuoka Japan Girls’ High School is a Cultural Exchange Project which this year has been postponed to another time when the pandemic is over.

BCS hopes to continue its activities with the kind sup-port of organizations and the music community.


Chopin International Academy of TOVAK Foundation (Istambul / TURKEY)

As we are all in a special situation due to COVID, previous plans and Projects were changed or, unfortunately cancelled.

The 1st Chopin International Piano Competition will be postponed most probably to next year (2021). We will try to announce the exact date as early as possible.

Together with the General Consulate of the Polish Republic in Istanbul, the Chopin International Academy of TOVAK Foundation organised a Concert of tradi-tional Christmas carols for Polish-Turkish families living in Istanbul. The name of Fryderyk Chopin was mentioned during the concert several times when the Christmas song “Lulajże Jezuniu” used by the composer in his Scherzo in B minor Op. 20 was performed.

On the occasion of Fryderyk Chopin’s 210th birthday anniversary, celebrations were held as part of the “Chopin in Turkey – Chopin for Everyone” Project. This year, Dr Irena Ülkü proposed educational concerts – meetings with Fryderyk Chopin’s music in the homes of children and their Families: “Invite Chopin to your Home”. The beginning of the series of the concerts were held in Istanbul together with some Families. On that occasion, Chopin’s music was performed by children and by Dr Irena Ülkü. The families had a unique opportunity to watch videos about Chopin’s life in Warsaw and to listen to an educational talk about the importance of his wonderful piano and chamber music for the people in the World.

The participants cooked special birthday cakes for that occasion. All children, their parents and invited friends enjoyed the 210th anniversary birthday celebration of the great Polish pianist and composer Fryderyk Chopin in Turkey.


Chopin Society of Atlanta (Atlanta / USA)

Chopin Society of Atlanta’s 2019-20 season opened with a lecture by Professor John Rink, a prize-winning au-thor and expert on Chopin’s music, presented on June 30, 2019. The talk focused on Chopin’s enduring legacy and illuminated the composer’s unique approach to the piano.

Chopin in Art by Aengus Breslin

Sergei Babayan & CSA President Dorota Lato Chopin in Art by Audrey Yu

John Rink Lecture with CSA President Dorota Lato

October 27, 2019. His all-Chopin program included such beloved works as Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op.61, Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2, and Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 34 No 1. The second part of his recital was entirely devoted to one form, the mazurka. With the unique compendium of 18 mazurkas, Babayan painted a beautiful, poetic story that left the audience mesmerized.

The 6th edition of the Chopin in Art contest for chil-dren was organized in the Fall of 2019. This popular con-test gives the youngest audience an opportunity to express the impact of Chopin’s music through visual arts.

Winner of the first prizes in several major international competitions, including the Cleveland International Piano Competition, Sergei Babayan was CSA’s guest artist on


Chopin in Art by Eylul Ondortoglu

Emilia Folkert

Chopin in Art Contest Award Presentation

The 2019-20 season concluded with the recital by Elodin Vignon and Kyung-Ah Kim on February 22, 2020. Elodin Vignon is an accomplished Belgian pianist, hailed as “exceptional, sensitive and flawless.” Kyung-Ah Kim is the winner of numerous piano competitions, including the USA Beethoven Competition; she currently teaches piano at Seoul National University, South Korea.

The Chopin Society of Atlanta, founded in 2000, is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting Fryderyk Chopin’s music, advancing the understanding and appre-ciation of his legacy, and promoting the arts in the metro Atlanta area. The essence of our mission lies in enriching children’s education. We support the belief that classical music increases young people’s intellectual abilities, stirs their imagination, introduces them to a beautiful world of emotions, and helps them gain a better understanding of human nature.

We accomplish our mission by organizing competi-tions for young pianists, sponsoring awards for local piano competitions, inviting local young artists to perform at our fundraising events, as well as sponsoring concert tickets to music students and prizes for the participants of our popu-lar after-concert essay and Chopin in Art contests.

Our recitals have featured internation-ally acclaimed pianists, many of whom were prize winners of the Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition and other prestigious international piano competi-tions, including Rafał Blechacz, Ingrid Fliter, Christopher O’Riley, Sa Chen, Joyce Yang, Alex Kobrin, Kevin Kenner, Margarita Shevchenko, Piotr Folkert, Marc Laforet, Ewa Pobłocka, Ilya Yakushev, Eduard Kunz, and Georgijs Osokins. We have also hosted jazz musicians who presented their interpre-tations of Chopin’s music: Leszek Możdżer, Adam Makowicz, Andrzej Jagodziński Trio, and Grażyna Auguścik.

We invite you to visit our web-site, www.chopinatlanta.org, which fea-tures interviews with our guest musicians, videos and photos from our concerts, newsletter, and winning artwork.

On February 1, 2020, the Chopin Society of Atlanta celebrated its 20th anniversary with a special Gala Evening with Chopin, which highlighted the organization’s history and accomplishments. It was accompanied by a recital of young musicians from Georgia State University. These tal-ented artists are the recipients of the Elżbieta and Krzysztof Krawczyński Fund of CSA scholarships, which allowed them to study in Paris, France, and Valldemossa, Majorca, during the summer of 2019.

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Chopin Foundation of the United States

(Miami / USA)

This has been a remarkable year for the United States and really the entire world. An international pandemic, social unrest, environmental disasters, and a volatile political environment have all presented challenges. Yet, through it all, the Chopin Foundation has remained steadfast to its mission to support young, talented American pianists and to make the music of Chopin accessible to everyone.

We began the 2019-2020 concert season with the Chopin for All free concerts. In October we welcomed Polish pianist, Łukasz Krupiński who made his Florida debut as part of our cultural exchange with the Ludwig van Beethoven Association in Warsaw. His program was well received by an enthusiastic audience and in-cluded works by Scriabin, Schubert, Ravel, and of course, Chopin. The November concert featured Florida native and winner of the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition, Dominic Muzzi. His program included Sonatas by Brahms and Chopin. Mr. Muzzi was later accepted to compete at the 2020 National Chopin Piano Competition and advanced through the semi-final round.

On November 24, 2019 we pre-sented the American pianist, Sean Kennard at a beautiful Chopin Salon concert on Miami Beach. Kennard

is currently a professor at Stetson University and was a prize winner of the 2005 National Chopin Piano Competition.

The 10th National Chopin Piano Competition

It is nothing short of a miracle that the Chopin Foundation’s flag-ship event, that takes place once every five years, was successfully concluded on March 1, 2020. Less than two weeks later the Miami-Dade County Auditorium was closed and Florida was virtually shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was beyond fortunate that the Foundation was able to welcome attendees and par-ticipants from across the entire U.S. as well as many international guests. We welcomed travelers from Poland, France, England, Spain and Italy in addition to a local audience.

The 10th National Chopin Piano Competition began with the arrival of 25 contestants on February 20th. The pianists represented some of the absolute best young American musi-cians and they came to Miami from 13 different states. On February 21, an orientation was held at the concert hall where the order of contestants was determined and each of the pia-nists selected one of the two beauti-ful concert grand pianos that were provided by our sponsor, Steinway & Sons Pianos. Over the course of the next 6 days (February 22 - 27) the pia-nists participated in three elimination rounds which eventually resulted in

the announcement of the six finalists. Each day, the public was treated to morning and afternoon recital sessions with a total of 55 live performances that were free and open to everyone. Each day, the Competition was also live-streamed and the resulting videos are being made available on YouTube, one round at a time.

On Friday, February 28 and in col-laboration with The Fryderyk Chopin Institute from Warsaw Poland, a spe-cial concert was presented to celebrate the 10th edition (and 45th anniversa-ry) of the Miami Competition, while also promoting the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition that has now been rescheduled for October 2021. The featured guest artist, Yulianna Avdeeva, who was the first prize winner of the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2010, gave an impressive performance that thrilled the Miami audience.

It was truly an honor to welcome Dr. Artur Szklener, the Executive Director of The Fryderyk Chopin Institute, and his professional team from Poland. It was especially mean-ingful for the Chopin Foundation to have this important group from Poland with us in Miami to work with us on this special event. Their support was deeply appreciated.

On February 29 the first 3 final-ists performed Chopin Concertos with the University of Miami’s Frost Symphony Orchestra under the baton of special Polish guest conductor, Marzena Diakun and the Competition concluded on March 1 with the re-maining 3 finalists performing with the Orchestra. The winners were announced at the awards ceremony which immediately followed. The top prize winner, Avery Gagliano, received a cash award of $100,000, a recording project on the Steinway & Sons label, and an extensive concert tour of the US and abroad, including a recital at Carnegie Hall presented by the Chopin Foundation. The Carnegie Hall performance was origi-nally scheduled for Jun 16, 2020 and has now been rescheduled for January 26, 2021. Many of her other concert dates will also be rescheduled.

We are now looking forward to the 2021 International Competition

Łukasz Krupiński – Receiving a standing ovation


in Warsaw. Our first and second prize winners, Avery Gagliano and Evren Ozel have been accepted to the event and we have high hopes for them as well as our other finalists, Parker Van Ostrand, Chelsea Guo, and Talon Smith who were accepted to enter the Preliminary round.

Special Award

This year the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) awarded the Chopin Foundation with their “Achievement Award.” This is MTNA’s highest honor and is bestowed upon individuals and enti-ties who have made significant and lasting contributions to the music teaching profession. Our Founder and President, Lady Blanka Rosenstiel was also honored personally as the recipient of the MTNA Citation for Leadership. Both awards were pre-sented by MTNA Executive Director and CEO, Gary Ingle who came to Miami for the 2020 National Chopin Piano Competition.

Scholarships

The Chopin Foundation received a record number of applications to the Scholarship Program for Young Pianists. The Scholarship Committee which included pianists Adam

Aleksander, Peter Miyamoto and Tian Ying selected 21 outstanding young pianists to receive awards in 2020 that will help further their piano stud-ies. Pianists can enter the program at age 14 and over the course of the 4-year program, they must learn the repertoire required for the National (and International) Chopin Piano Competition. Three of this year’s com-petition six finalists were graduates of the 4-year scholarship program.

Programs Online

Since the 2020 Concert Season has been cut short and plans for the current year are tenuous, the Chopin

Foundation has pivoted to an on-line format. The “Chopin Salons @ Home” were created as curated episodes that feature the winners and jurors of the 2020 Competition, as well as other great pianists that are part of the Chopin Foundation fam-ily. All episodes can be found at www.chopin.org/news.

Respectfully submitted by Barbara Muze, Executive Director of the Chopin Foundation of the US

MTNA Award – Lady Blanka Rosenstiel, President & Founder of the Chopin Foundation and Gary Ingle, Executive Director & CEO of the Music Teachers National Association

Competition Awards Ceremony – winners, jurors, and sponsors


REMEMBRANCES

Jan Krenz (1926-2020)

an Austrian pianist and pedagogue, who was considered as one of the major Polish conductor and composer. Jan Krenz stood at the helm of such orchestras as the Great Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice (WOSPR), the Orchestra of the National Theatre in Warsaw and the Beethovenhalle Orchestra in Bonn. As a conductor, he was successful in leading such orchestras as the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Berliner Philharmoniker, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Danmarsk Radio Orchestra in Copenhagen. He conducted many first performances of works by Polish composers, including Lutosławski, Górecki and Baird.

His compositions were a synthesis of traditional thinking and experiences of the avant-garde.

Jan Krenz was a member of the Polish Chopin Academy.

Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)

Polish composer, conductor and teacher. Penderecki taught com-position in Cracow, Essen and at Yale University in New Haven. As a conductor, he began with directing his own works, with time extending the repertoire to other composers, from Beethoven to Stravinsky, leading many renowned orchestras in Europe, Japan and the United States.

Penderecki is one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, deliberately changing his attitude from the avant-garde to Neo-romanticism. His output is impressive in the wealth of different genres and his works, such as the Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, or the St. Luke Passion have earned a permanent spot in the repertoires of major ensembles around the world. Penderecki also received a remarkable number of awards and titles, including many Honoris Causa degrees. He was a member of the Honorary Committee of the International Federation of Chopin Societies.


MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF CHOPIN SOCIETIES:Fundacion ChopinianaPresident: Martha NogueraAv. de Mayo 1370 - Palacio Barolo 6° floor office 127C.A.Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA Tel./Fax: + 54 11 47 73 22 95e-mail: [email protected] website: fundacionchopiniana.com.arFriends of Chopin Australia Inc.President: Ben JamesPO Box 6093O’CONNOR ACT, 2602 AUSTRALIA Tel.: +61 2 625 95 099e-mail: [email protected] website: www.friendsofchopin.org.auInternationale Chopin-Gesellschaft in WienPresident: Theodor KanitzerBiberstrasse 4,A-1010 Vienna, AUSTRIATel.: + 43 1 512 23 74, Fax: + 43 1 512 23 74/75e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopin.at The Vancouver Chopin SocietyPresident: Iko Bylicki# 400 - 601 West Broadway Avenue Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 4C2 , CANADAe-mail: [email protected] website: www.chopinsociety.orgSociedad Frederico Chopin de ChilePresident: Cristobal Giesen Miraflores 178 - Piso 13 7600981 Santiago, CHILEe-mail: [email protected]: www.sociedad-chopin.cl Společnost Fryderyka ChopinaPresident: Martin KasikDům Chopin, Hlavni 47,353 01 Mariánské Láznĕ, CZECH REPUBLICTel./Fax: + 42 0354 595 267, + 420 777 670 319 e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]: www.chopinfestival.cz Société Chopin à ParisPresident: Antoine Paszkiewicz23, avenue Foch,75116 Paris, FRANCE Tel: + 33 145 00 22 19, Fax: + 33 140 67 70 08e-mail: [email protected]: www.frederic-chopin.comAssociation „Musique au Pays de George Sand”President: Yves Henry7, avenue George Sand,36400 La Châtre, FRANCETel: +33 25 406 04 95, Fax: +33 25 406 09 15e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]: www.pays-lachatre-berry.com/nohant/chopinFryderyk Chopin-Gesellschaft in Berlin President: Jolanta BorkAugust-Viktoria-str 24,D-14193 Berlin, GERMANYTel/Fax: + 49 30 826 40 46e-mail: [email protected] Gesellschaft in der BRD e.V.

President: Aleksandra Mikulska Kasinostrasse 3, Kennedy-Haus, D-64293 Darmstadt, GERMANYTel./Fax: + 49 (0)6155 7952606Mobile: +49 152 286 70 334 e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopin-gesellschaft.de Chopin-Gesellschaft Hamburg Sachsenwald e.V.President: Hubert Rutkowski Kirchberg 8 DE-21521 Wohltorf bei Hamburg, GERMANYTel./Fax: +49 (0)4104 2489e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopin-hamburg.deChopin-Gesellschaft Taunus e.V.President: Ilse Schwarz-SchillerZimmersmühlenweg 27,D-61440 Oberursel, Hochtaunuskreis, GERMANYe-mail: [email protected]

Chopin-Gesellschaft HannoverPresident: Sookie SchoberHon. President: Mrs. Beate GeiselerKirchröder Str. 42 D-30625 Hannover, GERMANYTel: + 49 511-55-42-22, Fax: + 49 511 55 07 78e-mail: [email protected] website: www.chopin-hannover.de György Ferenczy FoundationPresident: Izabela Darska HavasiNagyszekes U, 8HU – 1172 Budapest, HUNGARYTel: + 36 1 253 66 40e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopin-budapest.huThe Chopin Society in IsraelPresident: Alexander Tamir †P.O.Box 410, Jerusalem, ISRAELe-mail: [email protected]: www.klassi.net/targ/chopin Associazione Culturale „Fryderyk Chopin” President: Marcella CrudeliVia Pierfranco Bonetti, 88/90I-00128 Rome, ITALYTel./Fax: +39 06 5073889e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopinroma.itThe Frederic Chopin Society of JapanPresident: Hitoshi Kobayashic/o Kawai Musical Inst. Mfg. Co. Ltd,Sumitomo fudosan shinagawa Bidg. 2F4-10-27 Higashi-shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 140-0002 JAPANTel.: + 81 333 79 28 03e-mail: [email protected] website: www.chopin-society-japan.comInternational Chopin Festival in JapanPresident: Hiroyuki Takashima1-20-2-307 Ebisu Shibuya-ku, Postal Code 150-0013 Tokyo, JAPANTel: +81 3 6450 3307, +81 90 3009 3951, Fax: +81 3 6450 3308e-mail: [email protected], website: www.t-artists.comThe Frederic Chopin Society of Korea President: Suk Kim Chong-Pil LimPiano Department, School of MusicHanyang University222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-guSeoul, 04763, REPUBLIC OF KOREA e-mail: [email protected] Chopin SocietyFaculty of Arts-Music Departament PrishtinaPresident: Lejla PulaAdress: Maria TheresaPrishtina, KOSOVOTel: + 38 138 220 446, Fax: + 38 138 220 446e-mail: [email protected] Chopin Stichting NederlandPresident: Jurn A.W. Buisman p/a Museum GeelvinckKamperweg 238181CS Heerde, NETHERLANDSe-mail: [email protected] Frederic Chopin Palestinian SocietyPresident: Saleem ZougbiP. O. Box 228, Bethlehem, PALESTINETel: + (970) or (972) 2 2777141 Email: [email protected],WhatsApp +970 599180918 Polish Chopin AcademyPresident: Irena Poniatowskaul. Tamka 4300-355 Warszawa, POLANDTel: + 48 22 44 16 197

Fryderyk Chopin Society in WarsawPresident: Bronisława Kawalla Karol Radziwonowiczul Tamka 43,00-355 Warszawa, POLANDTel.: (+48) 22 826 65 49, (+48) 22 828 38 73, Fax: (+48) 22 827 95 89 e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopin.pl

Foundation of International Chopin Festivals in Duszniki ZdrójPresident: Mariusz FituchRynek 10,57-340 Duszniki Zdrój, POLANDTel./Fax: + 48 74 866 92 80e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopin.festival.pl Chopin Golden Ring InstitutePresident: Janez RozmanŠercerjeva 35SI-4240 Radovljica, SLOVENIAe-mail: [email protected] „Festivals Chopin de Valldemossa”President: Rosa Capplonch FerraCelda No 2 en la Cartuja de Valldemossa,Claustre de la Cartoixa 2,07170 Valldemossa, Mallorca, SPAINe-mail: [email protected]: www.festivalchopin.com Institut Frederic Chopin en SuissePresident: Magdalena Hirszrue Grande Rue 22, 1820 Montreux 1820 Montreux, SWITZERLAND +41 77 489 81 66e-mail: [email protected]: www.institutchopin.comwww.jeunechopin.com Schweizerische Chopin-Gesellschaft in BaselPresident: Alicja Masan Postfach 4002 Basel, SWITZERLANDTel./Fax: +41 61 313 05 30e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopin-gesellschaft.ch

Société Frédéric Chopin GenèvePresident: Aldona Budrewicz-JacobsonCase postale 18,CH-1222 Vésenaz, SWITZERLANDe-mail: [email protected]: www.societe-chopin.chThe Frederic Chopin Foundation of TaipeiPresident: Anna Fujita 5F,No.17,Ln.26,Yixian Rd.,Xinyi Dist.Taipei 110, TAIWANTel.: +886 2 27 51 61 27, +886 2 27 81 33 60e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopintaipei.org.twBangkok Chopin Society President: Lucia Menchavez Thangsuphanich Hon. Secretary: Ms. Kamolvan Noot Punyashthiti 272 Soi Sri Nakorn, Linchee Rd.,Chongnonsi,Bangkok 10120, THAILANDTel.: 662 089 039 6021e-mail: [email protected]: sway.com/5cJmEuXoM9EEE8PwChopin International Academy of TOVAK Foundation President: Irena ÜLKÜ Fahrettin Kerim Gökay Cd. Okul Sk. Altunizade Sitesi F Blok D. 1 Üsküdar, Istambul, TURKEY Tel.: (+90) 531 772 18 35, Tel.: (+48) 505 082 777 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.chopintovak.orgFrederick Chopin Society in UkrainePresident: Natalia Vorobyovavul. Vernadskogo 18 kv. 40 49027 Dnepropetrovsk, UKRAINETel.: +38 050 176 5849e-mail: [email protected] Chopin Foundation of the United States, Inc.President: Blanka A. Rosenstiel1440 79th Street Causeway, suite 117,Miami, Florida 33141, USATel.: + 1 305 868 06 24, Fax: + 1 305 868 51 50e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopin.org Fryderyk Chopin Society of ConnecticutPresident: Luiz Carlos de Moura Castro38 East Woodhaven DriveAvon, CT 06001-2425, USATel.: +1 860 675 6363e-mail: [email protected]: www.chopinsociety.orgChopin Society of Atlanta President: Dorota Lato 10700 State Bridge Road, Suite 12, Johns Creek, Georgia 30022, USA Tel.: +1 404 245 6133 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.chopinatlanta.org

CHOPIN SOCIETIES IN THE WORLD

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