III International Chopin Piano Competition

Piano competition (1937)

Award

The III International Chopin Piano Competition (Polish: III Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 21 February to 13 March 1937 in Warsaw. It was the last competition before the outbreak of World War II, and the competition would not be held again until 1949.

80 pianists from 22 countries took part in the competition, including two participants from Japan. Contestants could choose between pianos manufactured by Bechstein, Bösendorfer, Pleyel and Steinway. Soviet pianist Yakov Zak was awarded the first prize.

Awards

Władysław Korsak, Deputy Minister of the Interior, giving the inaugural speech in the Warsaw Philharmonic

Yakov Zak, winner of the first prize, during the competition

Laureates of the competition: Yakov Zak, Rosa Tamarkina, Witold Małcużyński and Lance Dossor

Out of 80 pianists in the elimination stage, 21 were admitted to the final, where they performed two consecutive movements of one of Chopin's two piano concertos with the Warsaw Philharmonic.^[1]

The two female Japanese pianists Miwa Kai [jp] and Chieko Hara [jp] received great acclaim among critics and the public. When news broke that Hara, who reached the final, was not among the prize-winners and was merely awarded an honorable mention, a commotion broke out. Fearing that the frenzied crowd would cause damage to the Philharmonic, industrialist Stanisław Meyer sponsored a special award for Hara.^[2]

16-year-old Evi Wächter from Austria was the first pianist to perform in the elimination stage

The following prizes were awarded:^[1]

Two special prizes were awarded:

Jury

The jury consisted of:^[1]

The final of the competition. The jury sits on the left.

• Guido Agosti
• Wilhelm Backhaus (vice-chairman)
• Attilo Brugnoli [it]
• Zofia Buckiewiczowa
• Marian Dąbrowski
• Zbigniew Drzewiecki
• Emil Frey
• Alfred Hoehn
• Imre Keeri-Szano [hu]
• Lazare Lévy
• Loris Margaritis [el]
• Eugeniusz Morawski-Dąbrowa [pl]
• Heinrich Neuhaus
• Marie Panthès
• Isidor Philipp (vice-chairman)
• Zofia Rabcewicz [pl]
• Lucyna Robowska
• Richard Rössler
• Emil von Sauer (vice-chairman)
• Paul Schubert [Wikidata]
• Imre Stefaniai [hu]
• Andrei Stojanow [bg]
• Stefan Śledziński [pl]
• Józef Śmidowicz [pl]
• Magda Tagliaferro
• Józef Turczyński
• Adam Wieniawski [pl] (chairman)
• Bolesław Woytowicz (secretary)
• Jerzy Żurawlew

References

1. "III International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition". Fryderyk Chopin Institute. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
2. Marczyński, Jacek (21 October 2000). "Salon odrzuconych". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). No. 247 (5717) (wydanie specjalne) [special issue]. Warsaw. p. 4.

Further reading

• Ekiert, Janusz (2010). The Endless Search for Chopin: The History of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (1st ed.). Warsaw: Muza. ISBN 978-83-7495-812-7. OCLC 670048637.
• Arendt, Ada; Bogucki, Marcin; Majewski, Paweł; Sobczak, Kornelia (2020). Chopinowskie igrzysko. Historia Międzynarodowego Konkursu Pianistycznego im. Fryderyka Chopina 1927–2015 [The Chopin Games. The History of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition 1927–2015] (in Polish) (1st ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. ISBN 978-83-235-4127-1. OCLC 1153285192.
• Ossowski, Jerzy; Brodska, Halina (2010). The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in photographs. Warsaw: Fryderyk Chopin Institute. ISBN 978-83-61142-36-2. OCLC 802743657.

External links

• Chopin Institute's channel on YouTube
• Media related to 3rd International Chopin Piano Competition at Wikimedia Commons