Konkurs Muzyki Polskiej

The Second Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music opens on 11 September in Rzeszów

Polish music performed by 86 artists from three continents will be heard at the Podkarpacka Philharmonic Hall in Rzeszów between 11 and 18 September. The musicians will compete for the total prize money of 80,000 euros in two categories of performers: pianists and chamber ensembles.

The preparations for the second edition of the Competition coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic that was not conducive to artistic activities, especially those of international status. Nevertheless, more candidates applied to appear in this edition than in the first one. The participants have prepared their own artistic programmes for the successive stages of the Competition out of works written by no fewer than 56 Polish composers.

? We begin the Competition as soon as 10 September with a concert performed by the winners of the first edition: the Russian pianist Pavel Dombrovsky and the Polish Violin Duo ? Marta Gidaszewska and Robert Łaguniak. This year?s competitors come not only from Poland, but also from Japan, the United States, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. We have no doubts that the month of September will see a beautiful feast of Polish music and I would like to take this opportunity to kindly invite everyone to come to Rzeszów in person or watch the Competition in front of their screens and monitors, as the audition performances and the Prize Winners Concert alike will be broadcast live on the Internet ? summarised Katarzyna Meissner, Director of the National Institute of Music and Dance.

The opening concert on 10 September and the daily broadcasts of the successive stages of the Competition between 11 and 17 September, as well as the Awards Ceremony and the Prize Winners Concert on 18 September can be watched live on the National Institute of Music and Dance?s YouTube channel and Facebook fan page.

The Juries for both categories of the International Competition of Polish Music consist of distinguished Polish and foreign musicians and musical personalities.

In the category of pianists, the judging panel line-up will be: Jarosław Drzewiecki (Poland), chairman of the Jury, pianist and teacher; Andrzej Jasiński (Poland), pianist and one of the most distinguished teachers of piano in the world; Koji Shimoda (Japan), music reviewer, pianist and teacher; Pavel Dombrovsky (Russia), pianist and teacher, winner of the First International Competition of Polish Music; Lidia Grychtołówna (Poland), doyenne of Polish piano music and teacher; Aleksandros Jusakos (Greece/Chile), pianist; Sergey Osokins (Latvia), pianist and one of the most distinguished Latvian teachers; and, as Secretary, Witold Kawalec (Poland), pianist and teacher.

? With the Second International Competition of Polish Music coming up, we are feeling like great explorers of what history has hidden from us. It is an exciting, one-of-a-kind sensation. I would like to invite the listeners to take part in this special event ? said Jarosław Drzewiecki, Chairman of the ?pianists? Jury.

In the category of chamber ensembles, the competitors will be judged by: Andrzej Tatarski (Poland), chairman of the Jury, pianist and teacher; Gary Guthman (United States), trumpeter, composer, arranger, conductor and music producer; Krzysztof Meyer (Poland), composer, pianist and teacher; Pedro Pablo Cámara (Spain), solo and ensemble saxophonist, teacher and author of music publications; Igor Pylatyuk (Ukraine), violinist, conductor, teacher and musicologist; Zdzisław Supierz (Poland/Netherlands), music impresario and opera producer; Tadeusz Wojciechowski (Poland), ensemble cellist and conductor; and, as Secretary, Janusz Ostrowski (Poland), cultural activist, educator and pianist.

? Remembering the 2019 edition of the Competition and its impeccable organisation by the National Institute of Music and Dance, I strongly believe that this year?s edition will be equally well-organised, for the benefit of the participants, the Rzeszów audiences and us jurors. I look forward to finding out how these young musicians have changed since the national preliminary round held in May and the recordings we were sent as part of the regular applications. I am sure they have changed for the better. The International Competition of Polish Music is a fantastic idea, which promotes Polish music beyond such greats as Chopin, Szymanowski, Lutosławski and Penderecki, publicly and internationally ? said Andrzej Tatarski, Chairman of the Jury in the chamber ensemble category.

From the second stage of the Competition onwards, the event will be accompanied by a workshop dedicated to journalists, organised by the National Institute of Music and Dance in collaboration with the Ruch Muzyczny magazine and the PWM Edition. The daily updates on the performances of the competitors will be published in an electronic bulletin on the dedicated website of the Competition: konkursmuzykipolskiej.pl. The workshop will be conducted by Jacek Marczyński, an eminent Polish reviewer and opinion journalist.

The winners of the Second Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music will appear twice before the Polish audiences: after the closing Awards Ceremony at the Podkarpacka Philharmonic Hall in Rzeszów on 18 September 2021 and at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw on 20 September 2021. In accordance with the governmental coronavirus prevention guidelines, 75% seats are available for sale, with a spare 25% for the fully vaccinated.

The Competition is organised by the National Institute of Music and Dance in cooperation with the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic in Rzeszów, and is funded by the Polish Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport. It has received the Honorary Patronage of Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland. The Competition belongs to the Alink-Argerich Foundation?s network of piano competitions.

Partners of the Competition: Yamaha, Centrum Medyczne MEDYK, ZAIKS, STOART, Pianist, Ruch Muzyczny.

Media patrons: TVP Kultura, PAP, culture.pl, polmic.pl.

LINKS:

Full list of participants: https://www.konkursmuzykipolskiej.pl/artykul/pelna-lista-uczestnikow-konkursu-i-kolejnosc-przesuchan

Promotional video: https://youtu.be/YdghpEjeI70

Links to daily online broadcasts:

https://www.youtube.com/user/IMITpolska;

https://www.facebook.com/NIMiTpolska

Tickets in Rzeszów:

http://www.filharmonia.rzeszow.pl/repertuar/dzien,10-09-2021.html

http://www.filharmonia.rzeszow.pl/repertuar/dzien,16-09-2021.html

http://www.filharmonia.rzeszow.pl/repertuar/dzien,17-09-2021.html