News The XVIII International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition commences

The XVIII Chopin Competition, the biggest musical event in Poland and one of the greatest musical events in the world commences this Saturday, October 2nd The competition will open at 8.00 p.m. with a ceremonial concert of the 5 winners of the previous deditions with Belcea Quaratet, Simply Quartet and the The National Orchestra and Choir of Poland directed by Andrzej Boreyka. The repertoire is going to include compositions by Schumann, Beethoven and Bach. Emitel is the Competition Partner.

A record number of participants joined the XVIII Chopin Competition – over 500 pianists from all over the world. Due to the restrictions related to the pandemic, the Competition was moved from 2020 to 2021. Elliminations took part in July this year. The jury qualified 87 pianists to participate in the Chopin Competition, including 16 from Poland.

As Frederic Chopin said in one of his letters to his family, music does not have one homeland, it knows no borders. He was right, as his music is thoroughly enjoyed by the entire world, and his compositions fascinate subsequent generations. But there comes a moment, when the greatest piano talents congregate in a single place, when the attention of all the Chopin lovers focuses on Poland, the Composer’s homeland. This time is coming now. I am exceptionally proud that Emitel is the partner of the 18th of the Chopin Competition. We are very glad that thanks to our help, the signal broadcast by the Polish Radio and the Polish Television is going to carry the beautiful sounds of Chopin’s music to recipients in Poland. I wish the best to all the participants of the Competition, and challenging sessions to the jury members, as they are going to be indicative of the competition on the high level. And for the rest of us – the listeners, viewers and the audience – I wishme memorable artistic impressions Andrzej J. Kozłowski, the President of Emitel S.A. Management Board said during the press conference inaguruating the XVIII Chopin Competition.

The Competition is divided into 4 stages. The first is going to commence on Sunday, 3 October at 10 a.m. Approximately half of the participants of the previous stage are going to qualify to each subsequent stage. The pianists are going to be judged by a jury composed of exceptional pianists and teachers.

The results are going to be announced traditionally, at the staircase to the foyer of the National Philharmonic at night between October 20 and 21. The award ceremony and the first concert of laureates are going to be held on 21 October at Wielki Theatre – Polish National Opera.

The Chopin Competition will traditionally be broadcast in its entirety by TVP Kultura, Programme II of Polish Radio and Radio Chopin. The Chopin Competition will also streamed live to music lovers via YouTube Konkurs Chopinowski channel. Over 100 hours of transmission of competition hearings are ahead of us. During the previous edition in 2015, viewers collectively watched the auditions from the Competition 9,300,000 times which, when added up, equates to 141 years of viewing. Also this year, the Chopin Institute has prepared an app for mobile devices (iOS, Android) allowing to watch all the performances during the competition. For the first time, the performances by the participants may be viewed in 4K quality.

Emitel supports numerous cultural and arts events in Poland. It is a partner of the XVIII International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, the most important musical event in Poland and one of the most important musical events in the world, postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the Company was a partner of the exhibition “Józef Brandt 1841–1915” exposition, organised as part of the project “3 × Niepodległa” in the National Museum in Warsaw.