The second edition of the Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music will be held between 11 and 18 September 2021. The juries will be headed by Jarosław Drzewiecki and Andrzej Tatarski. The musicians can submit their applications for the competition until 31 May 2021 on the dedicated website polishmusiccompetition.pl. The event is organised by the Institute of Music and Dance in collaboration with the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic in Rzeszów and funded by the Polish Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport.

The competition is exceptional in that it allows the participants to prepare their own individual programmes. Compiling them for performance during the auditions of the competition, they can choose from amongst a pool of works written by 56 Polish composers, who were mostly active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Alongside the likes of Chopin and Penderecki, there are some less familiar names representing a variety of styles and musical epochs, e.g. Antoni Kątski and Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz as well as outstanding Polish women composers: Maria Szymanowska and Grażyna Bacewicz.

– We are hopeful and joyful looking forward to the second edition of the Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszów – says Jarosław Drzewiecki, chairman of the jury in the piano category.  – Generations of successive Polish musicologists, concert musicians and music teachers fought to keep the historical memory of Polish music amongst the other nations of Europe. The modern, open formula of the competition makes the audiences eager to be actively involved in this veritable musical archaeology. We’re all looking for phenomenal discoveries, authentic musical gems comparable with Juliusz Zarębski’s Piano Quintet or the compositions by Henryk Pachulski and Teodor Leszetycki. And as far as the competition winners are concerned, they will be expected to act as Ambassadors of Polish Music – he adds.

The participants performing at the 2nd Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music will contest in two categories: pianists and chamber ensembles for the total prize money of more than 80,000 euros jointly.

– As chairman of the jury in the category of chamber ensembles – says Andrzej Tatarski – I believe that this year’s competition will reveal a host of musical talents, excellent chamber musicians who will rediscover, before us the jurors and the audiences, new chapters of Polish music and who will go on to achieve further success in concert halls around the world. I think that the Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszów plays a key role in promoting Polish compositions. It gives the young musicians an opportunity to broaden and enrich their repertoire, and motivates them to develop as artists and gain valuable concert experience.

The jury in both categories consists of distinguished Polish and foreign musicians and musical personalities.

In the category addressed to pianists, the jury will consist of: Andrzej Jasiński (Poland), a pianist and one of the most distinguished teachers of piano in the world; Koji Shimoda (Japan), a music critic, pianist and teacher; Pavel Dombrovsky (Russia), a pianist and teacher, winner of the 1st International Competition of Polish Music; Lidia Grychtołówna (Poland), a doyenne of Polish piano music and a teacher; Aleksandros Jusakos (Greece/Chile), a pianist; Sergey Osokins (Latvia), a pianist and one of the most distinguished teachers of piano in Latvia; and, acting as secretary, Witold Kawalec (Poland), a pianist and teacher.

In the category of chamber ensembles, the participants will be judged by: Gary Guthman (USA/Poland), a trumpeter, composer, arranger, conductor and music producer; Krzysztof Meyer (Poland), a composer, pianist and teacher; Pedro Pablo Cámara (Spain), a saxophone soloist and recitalist, a teacher and an author of publications dedicated to music; Igor Pylatyuk (Ukraine), a violinist, conductor, teacher and musicologist; Zdzisław Supierz (Poland/Netherlands), a music impresario and opera producer; Tadeusz Wojciechowski (Poland), a cello recitalist and conductor; and, acting as secretary, Janusz Ostrowski (Poland), a cultural activist, educator and pianist.

The regular applications can be submitted via e-forms until 31 May 2021. The participating musicians will also have a chance to win numerous additional prizes in the form of financial rewards and, for example, invitations to perform in the most prestigious concert halls in Poland and at selected festivals. Furthermore, the Polish Institutes (Instytuty Polskie), in collaboration with the competition, will award recital performances in the cities where they are located, such as Bratislava, Saint Petersburg or Vienna. 

The first edition of the competition was held in 2019. There were over 80 participants from 6 countries. The piano category was won by Pavel Dombrovsky from Russia and the chamber ensemble category by a duo of violinists: Marta Gidaszewska and Robert Łaguniak, who currently perform as the Polish Violin Duo.

Two albums recorded by the winners of the first edition of the Competition of Polish Music, financed by the Institute of Music and Dance, have recently appeared in international distribution. The Polish Violin Duo, winners of the first prize, released their debut album called Joachim Kaczkowski Violin Duos opp. 10 & 16 in February 2021 and the Cracow Golden Quintet, winners of the second prize, brought out Polish Wind Quintets in November 2020. The second album has just received a nomination for the most important Polish music award Fryderyk 2021 in the category “Chamber Music Album of the Year”.

– We didn’t expect this competition to become such a springboard for us. We’ve received a host of invitations to concerts and tours. We’ve been to Beijing, for example. Ever since we won the Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music, we’ve managed to garner eighteen other awards, including eleven first prizes and six Grands Prix – enthuse the duo Marta Gidaszewska and Robert Łaguniak.

The rulebook, framework schedule of the competition, application forms, information on the repertoire, composers and sheet music, as well as all the updates, can be found on the dedicated website: www.polishmusiccompetition.pl.

Media contact:

Ms. Agata SZYMCZAK, IMiT – Head of the Communication Department agata.szymczak[at]imit.org.pl phone: +48 785 310 000