Pianist Pawel Kowalski says Chopin Competition is a piano Olympics
Pianist Pawel Kowalski told PAP Studio that the Chopin Competition is a piano Olympiad. He believes that music and sport have much in common, and that the young pianists are at the peak of their athletic abilities.
The 19th Chopin Competition began in Warsaw on Thursday October 2. In an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP), pianist Pawel Kowalski said that it is not only one of the oldest piano competitions in the world but also one of the most important.
He said that even winners of other prestigious competitions – many of them participating in this edition – come to Warsaw, risking not repeating their previous triumph and losing the aura of victory. They take this risk, however, because it is the Chopin Competition that opens the door to a global career.
The pianist believes that if a musician "doesn't spoil this victory," their career will be set for decades to come. He cited the artistic successes of Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, Krystian Zimerman, and Garrick Ohlsson as examples. "That's why the best pianists from 20 countries take part," he added.
Kowalski pointed out that this is the largest cultural event of the year in Poland: "It's essentially a piano Olympiad that will attract spectators and listeners from all over the world," he said.
He also noted the strong connections between music and sports, saying that "these disciplines combine, above all, perfection and the ability to cope with stress, as well as striving to be better than everyone else," he explained. "Those who participate in the competition know this perfectly well. They practice for many hours a day. They also have excellent professors."
Kowalski added that that the entire Chopin Competition will be musically and athletically exciting.
The Polish Press Agency is the media partner of the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition. Materials about the event will appear on PAP services, on the PAP.pl website, in the PAP Studio, and on our foreign-language websites. The materials will include, among others: current reports from the Chopin Competition, commentaries, interviews with previous winners and experts, profiles of participants and jurors, as well as interesting historical and statistical facts.
For the duration of the competition PAP will be joined by pianists Aleksandra Swigut and Pawel Kowalski, as well as musicologist and music journalist Marcin Majchrowski.
Pawel Kowalski is a renowned performer of over 40 works for piano and orchestra, recitals, chamber music, film music, and jazz. He was the second – after Krystian Zimerman – to perform Witold Lutoslawski's Piano Concerto, which he performed in Warsaw under the direction of the composer himself.
Thanks to a Witold Lutoslawski scholarship, he studied in Cologne, Warsaw, and Vancouver, and has performed in 40 countries on four continents, in all Polish philharmonic halls, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, the Conservatori Superior in Palma de Mallorca, the Auditorio Mozart in Zaragoza, the Palau de la Musica in Valencia, the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn, the Bela Bartok National Concert Hall in Budapest, the George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest, the Casa de la Cultura in Buenos Aires, and with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile in Santiago. He was awarded Poland's Gloria Artis Silver Medal for Merit to Culture. (PAP)
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