About I Chopin Competition Edition

Winners

1st Prize

Lev OborinRussian Federation

2nd Prize

Stanisław SzpinalskiRussian Federation

3rd Prize

Róża EtkinPoland

4th Prize

Grigori GinzburgRussian Federation

Henryk SztompkaPoland

Jury

Felicjan SzopskiPolska

Zbigniew DrzewieckiPolska

Jerzy ŻurawlewPolska

Piotr MaszyńskiPolska

Józef TurczyńskiPolska

Adam WyleżyńskiPolska

Witold MaliszewskiPolska

Henryk Melcer-SzczawińskiPolska

Stanisław NiewiadomskiPolska

Zygmunt ButkiewiczPolska

Józef ŚmidowiczPolska

Zofia RabcewiczPolska

Alfred Höhn Niemcy

Information

The 1st International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition took place at the beginning of 1927 (although it was originally planned to commence on 15 October 1926 – the day of the unveiling of Wacław Szymanowski’s Chopin monument in the Royal Łazienki Park).

Its initiator was the pianist and teacher Jerzy Żurawlew, who under the influence of Aleksander Michałowski – an outstanding interpreter of Chopin’s works – in 1925 began seeking funds for a piano tournament. As Żurawlew recalled: ‘I met with utter incomprehension, indifference and even aversion. The opinion among musicians was unanimous: “Chopin is so great that he can defend himself”. At the Ministry, it was announced that there were no funds for it […] and that the whole idea was unfeasible’. In this difficult situation, help arrived from Henryk Rewkiewicz a businessman, music lover and board member of The Warsaw Music Society, who offered his personal financial guarantees to cover the entire deficit expected to arise from the first Competition. Many years later Jerzy Żurawlew wrote, "“[…] I was greatly helped by my friend Henryk Rewkiewicz, director of the Match Monopoly, who offered 15,000 złoty - a substantial sum at the time - for the Competition.” Ultimately, things picked up with the election of a new Polish president, Ignacy Mościcki, who became the patron of the Chopin Competition.

Auditions were held in the Concert Hall of the Warsaw Philharmonic. The Competition, which was conceived from the outset as an international tournament, hosted 26 pianists from 8 countries. The contingent from the Soviet Union included the then twenty-year-old Dmitry Shostakovich. Although not among the leading competitors, years later he became one of the most outstanding composers of the twentieth century.

The Competition proved a great success: reviewers emphasised the high standard of the participants and the huge emotions that accompanied the rivalry. The organisers were not spared criticism, however: pianists from abroad were not assured of practice rooms and had to make do with instruments in private apartments, which became the subject of jokes.

Plakat

The poster for the first edition of the Chopin Competition in 1927 still bears the hallmarks of 19th century posters. It was designed by Ludwik Gardowski (1890–1965), a graphic designer who actively participated in discussions on establishing a national typeface and efforts to create it after Poland regained independence in 1918. His Chopin poster consists mainly of Polish-French text, resembling in its form old commemorative plaques. The artist emphasized the serifs of certain letters, adding a decorative quality to the design.