International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
In just one week’s time, the walls of the Szafarnia Chopin Centre will be filled with the works of Chopin, Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. All thanks to the opening ceremony of the 32nd Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition for Children and Young People. The opening ceremony will take place at Golub Castle on Wednesday (21 May). Hyuk Lee, finalist of the 2021 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, will sit at the piano. The event was subsidised by the budget of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship local government.
– The International Piano Competition in Szafarnia is a celebration of music in tribute to a great composer, an outstanding Pole and an extraordinary individual in the world’s artistic firmament,” emphasises Marshal Piotr Całbecki. – Many years ago, the landscapes of our lands inspired the young Fryderyk Chopin to write several youthful compositions, the motifs of which are repeated in the mature works of the brilliant Romantic. I believe that this time, too, the works of the master and the spirit of these places will sound together, interpenetrating and complementing each other.
This year’s competition will be attended by 55 young pianists from 18 countries, who are divided into three age categories. The auditions will take place from 22 to 24 May. The participants will present selected piano works, the main part of which will be compositions by Fryderyk Chopin. Their performances will be assessed by an international jury chaired by Prof. Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń and composed of Prof. Maria Murawska (Poland), Prof. Wojciech Świtała (Poland), Prof. Ingolf Wunder (Austria/Switzerland) and Prof. Dina Yoffe (Latvia). The concert of the laureates and the award ceremony is scheduled for 25 May.
Detailed information can be found on the institution’s website at www.szafarnia.art.pl.
The Chopin Centre is a cultural institution of the regional government. Others include the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz, the Gallery and Centre for Children’s Artistic Creation in Toruń, the Wozownia Art Gallery in Toruń, the Archaeological Museum in Biskupin, Professor Maria Znamierowska-Prüfferowa Ethnographic Museum in Toruń, the Museum of the Kujawy and Dobrzyń Region in Włocławek, Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, Lubostroń Palace in Lubostroń, and the Wilam Horzyca Theatre in Toruń. Wilam Horzyca Theatre in Toruń, the Wojewódzka Biblioteka Publiczna i Książnica Kopernikańska in Toruń, the Witold Bełza Wojewódzka i Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna in Bydgoszcz, the Wojewódzki Ośrodek Animacji Kultury in Toruń, the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Centrum Kultury in Bydgoszcz, the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Musical Theatre in Toruń, the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Heritage Center in Toruń and the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Education and Innovation Centre in Toruń.
Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office
14 May 2025.