Ever since it was first held, the International Competition of Polish Music has been attracting more and more candidates. In this year applications were sent from 14 countries located on 3 different continents. A total of 113 artists from 10 countries qualified for the Competition. This year’s edition will feature artists from Poland, Japan, the United States, South Korea, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Belarus, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.

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On 8 March 2023, a three-member Qualification Committee evaluated the applications submitted by the candidates wishing to participate in the Third International Competition of Polish Music.

The Qualification Committee, in a panel composed of Paweł Zalejski (Chairperson), Robert Morawski and Hubert Rutkowski, selected 21 pianists and 31 chamber ensembles to qualify for the Competition.

Here is a complete list of the qualified musicians (in alphabetical order):

Category I – Pianists:

  • Naoko Aburaki (Japan)
  • Weronika Chodakowska (Poland)
  • Magi Garcías Frau (Spain)
  • Julian Gast (Germany)
  • Weronika Górska-Mikosz (Poland)
  • Satoshi Iijima (Japan)
  • Serafim Ivanow (Ukraine)
  • Kiryl Keduk (Poland)
  • Maciej Kiełpiński (Poland)
  • Krzysztof Kozłowski (Poland)
  • Linda Lee (South Korea/United States)
  • Maryia Muryhina (Belarus)
  • Diana Ostrolutska (Ukraine)
  • Danylo Saienko (Ukraine)
  • Mikołaj Seroka (Poland)
  • Julian Stanny (Poland)
  • Georgi Vasilev (Bulgaria)
  • Jan Wachowski (Poland)
  • Marcin Wieczorek (Poland)
  • Tomasz Zając (Poland)
  • Natalia Zaleska (Poland)

Category II – Chamber ensembles:

  • Airis String Quartet (Poland)
  • Aka Duo (Japan)
  • Aleami Piano Duo (Poland)
  • Aries duo (Poland)
  • Diverso String Quartet (Poland)
  • Duet Sokołowski / Kluska (Poland)
  • Fono Piano Quartet (Poland)
  • Godzinski Piano Duo (Poland)
  • Górny/Dziewior Duo (Poland)
  • Karłowicz Quartet (Poland)
  • Kornowicz Drabiński Duo (Poland)
  • Lemański&Miarka Duo (Poland)
  • Magdalena Rzechowska / Marcel Groblewski (Poland)
  • Metropolis Piano Quartet (Poland)
  • Mikosz / Mariańczyk Piano Duo
  • Mimesis Quartet (Poland)
  • Modulor Quartet (Switzerland)
  • Mystic Piano Trio (Poland)
  • Noema Piano Quartet (Poland)
  • Piano trio ‘La Cadenza’ (Bulgaria)
  • Pietkiewicz Pietrzak Duo (Poland)
  • Ptak Pawłowski Duo (Poland)
  • Quintessence (Poland)
  • Reverie Piano Duo (Poland)
  • Sedina Reed Trio (Poland)
  • Sempre Piano Trio (Poland)
  • Shoven Quartet (Poland)
  • Silesian Wind Quintet (Poland)
  • Tri Sonance (Poland)
  • WtRiO (Poland)
  • Yamanishi & Dabrowski Duo (Germany)

The Director of the Competition has accepted a recommendation from the Qualification Committee to allow thirty-one participants in the second category (chamber ensembles) of the Competition.

The actual participation in the Competition is dependent on the payment of the entry fee (in the amount as stipulated in the Rules and Regulations [Rulebook] of the Competition) by each qualified candidate no later than on 28 March 2023.

What is unique about the International Competition of Polish Music?

“The programme of the International Competition of Polish Music is unique. Unlike most competitions – and there are hundreds of them around the world – standard repertoire is not allowed here. There are no obligatory virtuoso pieces to be performed, either, as they often eliminate those musicians who do not focus on meeting and surpassing ever higher technical demands. This competition promotes performers who seek their own repertoire and their own unique ways of sharing it with the audiences”, says Lech Dzierżanowski, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Music and Dance. And he adds: “This attractiveness and allure of the proposed repertoire is one of the vital elements that the panel of judges will take into account in their verdicts. In this context, I am happy to witness the competition becoming more and more international with each new edition. There is an increasing number of applications arriving from abroad, including the countries of the Far East. I find this fact immensely pleasing, because the International Competition of Polish Music does not only aim to encourage Polish musicians to delve deeper into the multiple facets of Polish music, but also to promote this music abroad.”

Which pieces have been chosen by participants?

In the ‘Pianists’ category, in addition to works written by well-known composers such as Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Karol Szymanowski, the musicians selected, for their programmes, compositions which can be rarely heard in live performances, written by, among others, Maria Szymanowska, Karol Mikuli, Franciszek Lessel, Karol Rathaus, Henryk Pachulski, Józef Nowakowski, Miłosz Magin, Józef Elsner, Antoni Kątski, Karol Tausig and Kazimierz Serocki. For their final round performances, the candidates selected all the eight piano concertos suggested in the Rulebook of the Competition. The candidates’ favourite piano concertos were the ones composed by Miłosz Magin, Aleksander Tansman and Józef Wieniawski.

The candidates in the ‘Chamber ensemble’ category numbered from two to five members. There were wind quintets, piano quartets, string quartets, reed trios, string trios, piano trios, as well as duos consisting of a clarinet and a piano, a flute and a piano, a violin and a piano, a viola and a piano, and two pianos. The duos and quartets were the most popular types of chamber ensembles. In their programme selections, the candidates favoured chamber music written by Mieczysław Wajnberg, Aleksander Tansman and Krzysztof Penderecki. The ensembles were also interested in rarely performed compositions written by such artists as Józef Krogulski, Jan Baptysta Kleczyński, Adam Walaciński, Władysława Markiewiczówna, Grzegorz Fitelberg, Witold Friemann and Andrzej Cwojdziński.

The programmes submitted for this year’s Competition will also feature the works whose performance may receive a special main prize. They must be written by such composers as Antoni Szałowski, Witold Maliszewski, Raul Koczalski and Antoni Stolpe.



The 3rd International Competition of Polish Music is organised by the National Institute of Music and Dance (Narodowy Instytut Muzyki i Tańca) in collaboration with the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic (Filharmonia Podkarpacka im. Artura Malawskiego) in Rzeszów, and funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.

You can find more information on the dedicated website: polishmusiccompetition.pl

Contact with the Competition Office:

office@polishmusiccompetition.pl, +48 785 360 000, +48 887 507 017

Media contact:

Agnieszka Wyszomirska:
agnieszka.wyszomirska@nimit.pl, + 48 887 240 011

Agata Szymczak: agata.szymczak@nimit.pl