After a 2020 edition postponed due to the health crisis, the International Chopin Competition intends to reconnect with spectators this year.
A daring bet in the face of total uncertainty due to the health crisis.
But the organization of the event is staying the course and is maintaining, unlike its counterparts - the Queen Elizabeth competition in the lead, the arrival of a hundred young pianists in Warsaw from July 13 to 23.
They all hope to succeed South Korean Seong-Jin Cho, the latest winner.
Read also: Asian musicians more and more seduced by the Chopin piano competition
Shortlisted two years ago from among 500 applicants, the 164 candidates will pass the stage auditions test. Only 80 of them will have the honor of joining the final of the competition, which should then take place from October 2 to 23.
“The presence of the public during the hearings is crucial. The audience creates the atmosphere for the competition, it gives wings to the pianists and makes Warsaw the world capital of music for weeks on end, ”
says Joanna Bokszczanin, the competition manager.
A bias that appeals to both the musicians and the judges of the competition.
"But if the members of the jury are perfectly familiar with online auditions, most of them prefer the traditional procedure of a live audition in a single room"
, specified the director, in remarks taken up by
Radio Classique
.
To carry out a project of this magnitude, the organization of the event explained that it was in permanent contact with the Polish health authorities and the participants. The latter, selected from all over the world, may however suffer from restrictions imposed by their country of residence. A real organizational puzzle whose epilogue, despite the goodwill of the Chopin Institute, may remain uncertain until the start of the hearings.