Virus delays Chopin piano competition
WARSAW, Poland — Polish cultural authorities said Monday that they have decided to put off the 18th edition of the Frederic Chopin international piano competition by a full year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The new date for the competition is Oct. 2-23, 2021. The organizers said the list of contestants will remain unchanged for the event in Warsaw.
Culture Minister Piotr Glinski said the decision was dictated by the probability that gatherings with large audiences will still be banned this fall, amid covid-19 social distancing.
“I think we all agree that, although possible from the technical point of view, the competition without an audience would not make much sense,” Glinski said.
On top of a gold medal and a prize of $45,000, the winner secures prestigious recording and concert contracts. Among past winners are Argentina’s Martha Argerich, Italy’s Maurizio Pollini, Garrick Ohlsson from the U.S. and Poland’s Krystian Zimerman.
The competition also draws international crowds to Warsaw’s National Philharmonic.