About XII Chopin Competition Edition

The biggest surprise of the 12th Chopin Competition was the lack of a winner. Probably no one had foreseen such a turn of events prior to the inauguration. Second Prize was awarded to Kevin Kenner, who was participating in the Competition for the second time (distinction in 1980). Kenner was also rewarded for the best performance of a polonaise (equal with Wojciech Świtała); for the first time in history, however, no one was given the prize for the best performance of mazurkas. The pianists were clearly not even helped in forging convincing interpretations by the unprecedented choice of as many as seven pianos.

Janusz Ekiert recalls: ‘The 12th Competition passed without any manifestations of great admiration and without any great controversy. Youngsters did not choose their idols, and the favourites failed to ignite people’s imagination. One was hard pressed to notice any of the feverishly sparkling eyes that one remembered from previous competitions. No one in the audience fainted from emotion; if anyone, only a pianist’.

The Competition was honoured by the presence of two crowned heads: Queen Fabiola of Belgium and Queen Sofia of Spain, who opened the exhibition ‘Fryderyk Chopin and George Sand’s romantic journey to Majorca’.