To mark the birthday of Fryderyk Chopin, whose 213rd anniversary falls on 1 March, the Polish Institute in Brussels, the Fryderyk Chopin Institute and the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel have united to organise an event, Masterclasses preparing for the 2nd International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments, dedicated entirely to Chopin’s romantic works and to the performance of his music on historic pianos from his time. 

The two-day masterclasses on 4 and 5 March at the Konininklijk Conservatorium Brussel aim to prepare potential participants for the 2nd International Chopin Piano Competition on Period Instruments (Warsaw, 5-15 October 2023) and are part of a series of events promoting this Competition.

The participants will be taught by outstanding pianists – pedagogues, Piet Kuijken, Edoardo Torbianelli, Wojciech Świtała. At their disposal there will be 19th century pianos, Playel 1845 and Gross 1840 belonging to the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, and Erard 1836 and Pleyel 1843 from the Chris Maene collection.

Program of the Preparatory masterclasses:
4 March : lessons start at 10:00 and finish at around 17:30
5 March : lessons start at 9:00 and finish at around 14:00
For students: application via the registration form on the website of the KCB.
Deadline : 1 March 2023
All masterclasses are accessible for public, for free.
Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, Regentschapsstraat 30/rue de la Regence 30 (Concert Hall and A112) / Petit Sablon 5 (070, temple and 169), 1000 Brussels.

Edoardo Torbianelli
Since 1998 he has been professor of historic pianos, chamber music and aesthetics of the piano repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel and since 2008 he has also held the same function at the Hochschule der Künste in Bern. Visiting professor in Europe and in Colombia, from 2014 to 2021, he was in charge of instrumental training in the Master in Musicology and Fortepiano practice at the Sorbonne University in Paris as well as professor of historical pianos at the CRR in Paris.

Wojciech Świtała
He is a head of the Piano Department of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice since 2012. He has been a juror of the international piano competitions i. a. Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris, International Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz  as well as the XVII Chopin Competition in Warsaw. In 2014, he was appointed to the Programme Committee of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.

Piet Kuijken
He is a professor of piano and historical pianos at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel since 2002; he teaches chamber music seminars at the Orpheus  Institute  Ghent  and is a guest professor  historical pianos at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen and the Sorbonne University Paris. He was a jury member in the international pianoforte competition in Bruges in 2016 and 2019.

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An integral part of the event is the final Chopin concert “Chopin and his Europe” in Concert Hall of the Brussels Conservatories performed by pianists, Piet Kuijken, Edoardo Torbianelli, Wojciech Świtala and students, followed by a Music Talk, conversation with the pianists and public, moderated by Waldo Geuns (in English).
5 March at 16:30
Concert Hall of the Brussels Conservatories, Regentschapsstraat 30/rue de la Regence 30, 1000 Brussels
Tickets: 10€, students 5€, free for all KCB students and teachers and the participants of the masterclass.
Reservation possible via the website of the KCB.