Photo by Filip Blazejowski
The Third International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszów begins today! The event popularises Polish nineteenth- and twentieth-century music and promotes talented artists who discover works written by lesser-known Polish composers. The winners of the previous editions of the Competition are now successfully showcasing Polish music in concert halls around the world. During the Competition, we will have an opportunity to listen to almost 80 artists from 9 countries. Within the total of 50 hours of competition performances, they will interpret about 250 compositions.
Organised since 2019, the International Competition of Polish Music offers a unique freedom of choice when it comes to selecting the repertoire to be performed there. The competitors submit their own, specially prepared programmes, which of course only consist of works written by Polish composers. This year, the participants can pick out compositions penned by more than sixty Polish creators. The Competition Jury will adjudicate not only the musical renditions, but also the selections themselves – their originality and overall attractiveness – says Lech Dzierżanowski – deputy director of the National Institute of Music and Dance in charge of the music department.
The listeners have a choice of either witnessing the performances from the seats of the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic Hall in Rzeszów or watching all the successive stages/rounds of the Competition on the National Institute of Music and Dance’s YouTube channel.
We encourage you to follow our social media, where you will be able to see the competition from behind the scenes:
Photo coverage of each day’s auditions will be available HERE.
The Third International Competition of Polish Music will be held between 2 and 9 July 2023.
2-6 July – performances during the first and second stages of the Competition (admission free)
7-8 July, 2.00 p.m. – the final stage of competition performances in the category of chamber ensembles (admission free)
7-8 July, 7.00 p.m. – final performances with the accompaniment of the orchestra
9 July, 6.00 p.m. – Prize Winners Concert
Find the details at: konkursmuzykipolskiej.pl/schedue/
Complete list of participants in this year’s edition:
The attractiveness and interpretations of the repertoire submitted by the competitors will be assessed by the jury members of both categories. The juries are composed of distinguished musicians from Poland and other countries.
Repertoire performed in the Competition
In their programmes, the competitors will be able to present their own individual selections based on works written by more than sixty Polish composers, e.g. Grażyna Bacewicz, Roman Maciejewski, Henryk Pachulski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Zygmunt Stojowski and Maria Szymanowska. Link to composers.
Prizes
In either of the two categories the Competition is divided into, separately for the category of Pianists and for the category of Chamber Ensembles, the best musicians will be awarded six main prizes. In 2023, a prize of 1000 euros will be awarded for the best performance of a work written by the following composers: in the category of Pianists – Antoni Stolpe, Eugeniusz Pankiewicz (125th anniversary of the composer’s death), Raul Koczalski (75th anniversary of the composer’s death), and in the category of Chamber Ensembles – Antoni Stolpe again as well as Witold Maliszewski (150th anniversary of the composer’s birth) and Antoni Szałowski (50th anniversary of the composer’s death).
There will also be special additional prizes, such as concert/recital invitations from philharmonic, cultural and artistic institutions, as well as media, cash and material prizes. Details.
The Prize Winners Concert will be performed on 9 July at 6.00 p.m. at the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic Hall in Rzeszów and repeated on 26 September at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw. The entire Competition will be streamed live on the YouTube channel administered by the National Institute of Music and Dance.
Previous editions of the Competition
The first edition of the Competition took place in 2019 attracting 81 participants who represented 6 countries. The first prize was won by Pavel Dombrovsky from Russia in the category of Pianists and a duo of violinists from Poland: Marta Gidaszewska and Robert Łaguniak, who are currently known as the Polish Violin Duo, in the category of Chamber Ensembles.
Eighty-six artists from three continents appeared at the Competition’s 2021 edition. Carter Johnson from Canada was the best pianist and the Książek Piano Duo (i.e. Agnieszka Zahaczewska-Książek and Krzysztof Książek) was the best chamber ensemble. The competitors were also awarded 38 special prizes.
The Competition is managed by the National Institute of Music and Dance in cooperation with the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic from Rzeszów and financially supported by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and by the Marshal of Podkarpackie Voivodeship.
The Competition is managed by the National Institute of Music and Dance in cooperation with the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic from Rzeszów and financially supported by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and by the Marshal of Podkarpackie Voivodeship.
PARTNERS, MEDIA PATRONS
The third edition of the Competition has received the Honorary Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda.
Partners of the Competition: Dwójka Polskie Radio, YAMAHA, PLL LOT, Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, Ruch Muzyczny magazine, STOART – fundator V nagrody, Stowarzyszenia Autorów ZAiKS – fundator V nagrody oraz 2 nagród specjalnych za najlepsze wykonanie utworów powstałych po 1945, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie, Zespół Szkół Muzycznych nr 1 im. K. Szymanowskiego w Rzeszowie, Zespół Szkół Muzycznych nr 2 im. Wojciecha Kilara w Rzeszowie.
Media Patrons: Polskie Radio, Culture.pl, Polmic.pl, Rzeczpospolita, TVP Kultura, ONET, Zwierciadło, Gość Niedzielny, Nowiny, Nowiny 24.pl, Podkarpacki Informator Kulturalny.
The Competition is a member of the piano competition network Alink-Argerich Foundation.
Contact with Competition Office: biuro@konkursmuzykipolskiej.pl
Contact for the media:
Agnieszka Wyszomirska: agnieszka.wyszomirska@nimit.pl, + 48 887 240 011
Agata Szymczak: agata.szymczak@nimit.pl, +48 785 310 000