Piano competition restarts in Poland

WARSAW, Poland — A gala concert on Saturday opens the 18th edition of the prestigious Frederic Chopin international piano competition, which was postponed by a year due to the

coronavirus pandemic. The competition, which continues through Oct. 23, was scheduled for October 2020, but authorities put the popular event off expecting that social-distancing requirements would ban the usual crowds of fans from attending the auditions at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.

The competition, in which only Chopin’s works are played, is reputed for launching world careers for its winners and finalists. The winner gets a gold medal, a prize of $45,000 and prestigious recording and concert contracts. The announcement of the winner is expected Oct. 20.

Concerts from 87 participants from around the world begin this morning with the performance of Xuanyi Mao from China.

Chopin, Poland’s bestknown and beloved classical music composer and pianist, was born in 1810 in Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw to a Polish mother and a French father. He left Poland at 19 to broaden his music education in Vienna and then in Paris, where he settled, composing, giving concerts and teaching piano.

He died in Paris in 1849 and is buried at the Pere Lachaise cemetery. His heart is at the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw.

There will be no competition auditions on Oct. 17 to allow the participants and the jury to attend traditional observances of Chopin’s death anniversary.

The auditions can be followed live on the Chopin Institute YouTube channel and on Polish state Radio channel.