Jed Distler and his blog about 19th Chopin Competition

Jed Distler, a pianist, composer, and music critic gifted with a phenomenal sense of observation, wrote a blog for The Gramophone magazine during the 18th Chopin Competition in 2021, and it was among the most widely read and authoritative reports of the competition auditions. 

Distler’s insightful observations, his objective assessment of the performances without harming the young, sensitive pianists facing the exceptional stress of the Competition, and his extraordinary ability to synthesize – guided readers through the emotions and complexities of the Warsaw musical tournament.

For this 19th edition, Jed Distler once again takes up the challenge (because, truly, commenting on the Chopin Competition is a challenge for any informed and responsible critic!): his blog entries appear daily and provide fascinating reading for the Competition’s international audience. ‘I’m laying down one ground rule: no predictions,’ Distler declares. ‘Instead, I’ll report as accurately and as entertainingly as I can about the performances.’ We can be sure he will do just that.