The Paderewski Piano Competition is an international (initially national) piano music competition held every three years in Bydgoszcz, open to pianists aged 16–32. The first competition took place in 1961 and is organized by the in Bydgoszcz, in cooperation with the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music and the Pomeranian Philharmonic. The aim of the Competition is to honour the memory of Polish virtuoso pianist, composer, politician and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski, as well as to promote talented young pianists.
History The first competition was organized in December 1961 at the Pomeranian Philharmonic on the initiative of its director, Andrzej Szwalbe, and pianist Henryk Sztompka, who was a student of Paderewski. The competition was part of the 1960 celebrations of the Year of Ignacy Jan Paderewski and also served as a way to honor the patron of the Pomeranian Philharmonic. Twenty-three pianists from Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Katowice, Łódź, and Sopot entered the competition. The program primarily featured Polish music of the 19th and 20th centuries – from the works of Frédéric Chopin through Paderewski to Karol Szymanowski. The competition was won by the then-young Jerzy Maksymiuk. The next edition of the Competition was planned for 1964, but it did not take place due to the death of Henryk Sztompka.
After two decades, the competition was revived in 1986 by (Professor at the Bydgoszcz Academy of Music) as well as journalists Gdańsk and Henryk Martenka. The competition coincided with the 45th anniversary of Paderewski's death. Seventeen pianists participated in the second edition, including five foreigners studying in Poland. The jury was chaired by Professor . In the same year, the Bydgoszcz Music Society adopted Ignacy Jan Paderewski as its patron. From that moment on, the Society expanded its activities to include various initiatives aimed at promoting his music and ideas. Next editions took place in 1994 and 1998, with the latter becoming international and afterwards taking place every three years.
Competition winners Competition Winners National Ignacy Jan Paderewski Piano Competition YearDate1st Place2nd Place3rd PlaceSources I 1961 1–10 DecemberJerzy MaksymiukMaria KoreckaPiotr Lachert II1986 16–26 October Wojciech KocyanAndrzej JanaszekNot awardedIII1994 5–13 February Not awarded Maciej Szyrner Piotr LachertNot awarded International Ignacy Jan Paderewski Piano CompetitionIV1998 3–14 November Tomomi Okumura Michael Schneider Katarzyna BorekV2001 6–17 November Štěpán Kos Aleksiej Komarow Barbora SejákováVI2004 6–18 November Mariya Kim Esther Jung-A Park Marina Baranowa VII2007 4–18 November Nikita Mndojanc Julianna Awdiejewa Marianna PrjevalskayaVIII2010 7–21 November Eduard Kunc Kim Hyun-jung Siergiej Riedkin Michał Szymanowski IX2013 3–17 November Moon Zheeyoung Dinara Klinton Daiki Kato X2016 6–20 November Lee Hyuk Jakub Kuszlik Swietłana AndriejewaXI201910–24 November Filip Łynow Kamil Pacholec Yasuko FurumiXII20226–20 November Mateusz Krzyżowski Pedro López Salas Danyło Sajenko XIII20259–23 November Hyunjin Roh Elia Cecino Pin-Hong Lin
See also
List of classical music competitions
References
External links
in English in Polish