2027 – The Year of Jerzy Żurawlew

On Friday, 18 September, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland adopted a resolution designating Jerzy Żurawlew – pianist, teacher and founder of the Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw – as one of the patrons of the year 2027. The commemoration of Żurawlew next year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Competition.

Born on 25 December 1886 (according to the PWM Encyclopaedia, which cites this date in accordance with the inscription on the pianist’s gravestone at Powązki Cemetery) or in January 1887 (the most commonly cited date in many sources is 21 January) in Russia, in Rostov-on-Don, into a Russian-Polish family, Żurawlew quickly demonstrated a talent for the piano, which was recognised by his mother, his first piano teacher. As a teenager, Jerzy played, amongst others, for Józef Hofmann and Ignacy Jan Paderewski – both legendary virtuosos were greatly impressed by the young musician’s performances – and between 1907 and 1913 he studied in Warsaw under Aleksander Michałowski (Michałowski’s teacher was Karol Mikuli, a pupil of Chopin himself). He began to develop a brilliant career as a concert pianist whilst still a student; from 1913, having taken over the piano class at the Warsaw Music Institute, he gradually devoted more and more time to teaching.

Jerzy Żurawlew went down in the history of music above all as the initiator of the Chopin Competition; he had first conceived the idea of organising it around 1925, and finally, after much effort and against various adversities, the Competition was held for the first time in January 1927. Żurawlew sat on the jury for the first seven editions of the Warsaw competition and remained involved in its organisation until the end of his life – he died whilst the 10th Chopin Competition was underway, on 4 October 1980.

Next year’s celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Competition, alongside the commemoration of the Year of Jerzy Żurawlew, will feature a wealth of events, including concerts in Poland and around the world, exhibitions, educational, publishing and academic projects, as well as initiatives in the field of the visual arts – we will be publishing a detailed programme shortly on the chopincompetition.pl website. This coming Friday, we will be dedicating an essay to Jerzy Żurawlew on our blog.