About VII Chopin Competition Edition

A contemporary music concert to inaugurate the Chopin Competition? That is what happened in 1965, with the audience treated to works by the Polish composers Kazimierz Serocki, Witold Szalonek, Tadeusz Baird and Karol Szymanowski.

The very high standard represented by the pianists and also the introduction of an additional fourth round (henceforth, the four rounds became the norm) meant that the 7th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition is often referred to as the ‘Great’ Competition. It also remained in the memory of its participants on account of the influenza that was raging in Warsaw at the time, which struck down young competitors and jurors alike.
Four pianists from Latin America received prizes and distinctions. There was also great success for the New York teacher Rosine Lhévinne, who had as many as five pupils among the prize-winners.

It was Martha Argerich - the 'black panther of the piano' - who emerged triumphant, although she began her first performance in rather unusual fashion... fleeing before her entrance on stage. Her tempi were described as ‘rocket-powered’, and her playing style was compared to the interpretations of the legendary Vladimir Horowitz.