The first Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdroj was held in 1946, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of
Frederick Chopin's concerts in the spa, and featured the excellent Polish pianists Zofia Rabcewiczowa and Henryk Sztompka. Held annually since then, over the years the Festival has achieved considerable artistic prestige and international status. The world's oldest uninterrupted piano festival, it has featured almost all of the greatest contemporary pianists who play Chopin, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Bella Dawidowicz, Halina Czerny-Stefanska, Raul Koczalski, Stanislaw Szpinalski, Ewa Bandrowska-Turska, Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Barbara Hesse-Bukowska, Lidia Grychtolowna, Adam Harasiewicz, Edward Auer, Ryszard Bakst, Fu T'song,
Jan Ekier, Regina Smendzianka,
Piotr Paleczny, Louis Lortie, Emanuel Ax, Garrick Ohlsson,
Krystian Zimerman, Paul Badura-Skoda, Stefan Askenase, Arcadi Volodos, Grigori Sokolov, Nikolai Lugansky, Nelson Freire, Ayako Uehara, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Nikolai Demidenko and many others.
For the past five years the Festival concerts have been accompanied by the hugely popular National Master Courses. The only such courses in Poland, they have been taught by the best foreign pianists-pedagogues who can boast having taught dozens of winners of top awards at major piano competitions. The Duszniki Master Courses are intended solely for a group of six young Polish pianists who are selected by Professor
Piotr Paleczny on the merit of talent and achievement. So far the participants have had the unique opportunity to work with such outstanding pedagogues as Dominique Merlet, Evgeni Mogilevsky, Alexei Nasiedkin, Vera Gornostaeva, Arie Vardi, Vladimir Krainev and John O'Conor, Dang Thai Son and Bernard Ringeissen. The 2006 course was taught by Professor Katarzyna Popowa-Zydron and Professor Eleanor Wong. The course audience is made up of pedagogues and students of Polish conservatories and music schools. The participants as well as some of the listeners are sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, paying only a small fee for accommodation, full board and tickets for the Festival concerts.
The idea of supporting music culture is also furthered by the International Chopin Competition Foundation – International Chopin Centre in Duszniki-Zdroj. Established sixteen years ago, it provides a meeting forum for young music talent, pedagogues, virtuosi and all music lovers.
Polish Music Information Center Polish Composers' Union January 2002 updated by: Anna Iwanicka-Nijakowska November 2006 | |
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