The Institute’s Phonography for the Competition’s 100th Anniversary: Maurizio Pollini – Winner in 1960

One of the giants of world pianism, winner of the 6th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, for decades belonged to the pantheon of the most important figures on the world music scene. His victory in Warsaw, which opened the door to a distinguished career, was far more than a spectacular success. As Jan Popis recalls in an essay included in the album’s booklet: ‘When Maurizio Pollini [1942–2024] arrived in Warsaw in February 1960 to participate in the 6th International Chopin Competition, few probably expected that thanks to this eighteen-year-old young man, something that could be called a “new reality” would emerge in Chopin studies, until then firmly rooted in a Slavic-Romantic aesthetic formula.’ Today, for the first time, we are sharing with you the pianist’s complete recordings from that competition: sophisticated, exceptionally mature, captivating with their depth, clarity, and that something that defies description. As Pollini himself said: ‘Chopin’s music has been with me since childhood [...]. My love for him grew stronger with each passing year, because I understood better and better this music, in which each note speaks to the listener ever more clearly and convincingly.’

Hence we return to recordings from over half a century ago. Listened to from the perspective of this time, they transport us to a dimension of pure contemplation and shine with a brilliance perhaps even greater than when they were created.

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On the eve of the centenary of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, the Fryderyk Chopin Institute is producing a series of phonographic releases dedicated to the great pianists discovered by world music culture right here – in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. This series makes all the competition performances of these artists available for the first time to a wider audience – researchers, music lovers, and collectors. The series is released in both standards simultaneously – CD and LP, starting from October 2025.