Szafarnia in the north of Poland hosts a youth-oriented edition of the prestigious annual competition
On May 5th, Kevin Kenner performs a recital at the inaugural opening of the festival. The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth is organised by the Chopin Center in Szafarnia, a cultural institution of the Kujawsko-Pomorksie voivodship. The Competition is open to pianists not enrolled as students in State Musical Schools. Fifty-five young pianists aged 6 to 18 years compete within four age categories. Coming to Szafarania from all over Poland and Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Japan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Palestine, Azerbaijan, Iceland and Italy. Over three days of auditioning they present their skills in front of a jury comprising professors and instructors from Poland, Spain, Canada, the United States and Holland.
The idea for the competition emerged in 1992. It was then that the first competition of a national range took place, and the subsequent ones were already of an international character. For many young musicians these were the first steps towards a musical career. The principal ideas of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth in Szafarnia are based on the common experience of music by young pianists, the exchange of knowledge and communication that surpasses cultural differences, thanks to the universal language of music.
This year's Competition has gained a special rank thanks to the interest of such music world personas as Kevin Kenner from the London Conservatory, Louise Samson of the Canadian Club Musical de Quebec, lecturers from the Conservatory of Pampeluna and prominent professors of the Polish Music Academies of Bydgoszcz, Wrocław and Poznań.
Paweł Wakarecy, last year's laureate of the
International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, is a cordial "representative: of the Szafarnia Competition. Having once been a participant himself, he knows very well what an opportunity it grants to young pianists. He opens the open-air Laureates' Concert on May 8th with a recital.
2011 Jury:
- Maria Murawska, president (F. Nowowiejski Music Academy, Bydgoszcz)
- Kevin Kenner (Royal College of Music, London)
- Fermin Bernetxea (P.Sarasate Music Conservatory, Pampeluna)
- Jan Maarten van der Mark (Music Conservatory of Rotterdam, Holland)
- Louise Forand-Samson (Artistic Director of Club Musical de Quebec, Canada)
- Andrzej Tatarski (I.J. Paderwski Music Academy, Poznan)
- Grzegorz Kurzyński (K. Lipiński Music Academy, Wrocław)
19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth in Szafarnia takes place between May 5-8, 2011. The event has been granted the patronage of the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Bogdan Zdrojewski, the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute, the
Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Spain, Angel Tellechea Goyena and the Speaker for Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship, Piotr Całbecki.
For more information, see:
szafarnia.art.plSource: press materials.