The 19th International Chopin Piano Competition is about to begin - Inaugural Concert October 2nd 2025
'There are the notes, there is what is behind the notes and there is what is between the notes'
Ignaz Friedman
Profile of the Reviewer Michael Moran
https://en.gravatar.c atom/mjcmoran#pic-0
The pianists' CV, teachers and career commentary to date is to be found in the personal entry of the participant in the book of the competition
I shall highlight in red bold those I feel should be considered to progress to the Finals and had something to say musically about the piece in question. Later I shall expand on these brief notes as there are severe time constraints in review writing.
Stage III Day III
16.10.2025
Morning session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Tomoharu Ushida
Japan
10:00
Programme:
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 45
Mazurka in B major Op. 56 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 56 No. 2
Mazurka in C minor Op. 56 No. 3
Fantasy in F minor Op. 49
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
Zitong Wang
China
11:00
Programme:
Mazurka in G major Op. 50 No. 1
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 50 No. 2
Mazurka in C sharp minor Op. 50 No. 3
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Variations in B flat major on a theme from ‘Ludovic’ by
Hérold/Halévy (‘Je vends des scapulaires’) Op. 12
Waltz in E major (WN 18)
Scherzo in B minor Op. 20
Yifan Wu
China
12:25
Programme:
Berceuse in D flat major Op. 57
Ballade in F major Op. 38
Mazurka in B major Op. 56 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 56 No. 2
Mazurka in C minor Op. 56 No. 3
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
Evening session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
William Yang
United States of America
17:00
Programme:
Scherzo in E major Op. 54
Mazurka in G sharp minor Op. 33 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 33 No. 2
Mazurka in D major Op. 33 No. 3
Mazurka in B minor Op. 33 No. 4
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
Piotr Alexewicz
Poland
18:00
Programme:
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Mazurka in E minor Op. 41 No. 1
Mazurka in B major Op. 41 No. 2
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 41 No. 3
Mazurka in C sharp minor Op. 41 No. 4
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 45
Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat major Op.
22
Kevin Chen
Canada
19:25
Programme:
Mazurka in E minor Op. 41 No. 1
Mazurka in B major Op. 41 No. 2
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 41 No. 3
Mazurka in C sharp minor Op. 41 No. 4
Ballade in F minor Op. 52
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
Eric Lu
United States of America
20:20
Programme:
Barcarolle in F sharp major Op. 60
Polonaise in B flat major [Op. 71 No. 2] (WN 17)
Mazurka in B major Op. 56 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 56 No. 2
Mazurka in C minor Op. 56 No. 3
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
Stage III Day II
15.10.2025
Morning session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Xiaoxuan Li
China
10:00
Programme:
Mazurka in G sharp minor Op. 33 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 33 No. 2
Mazurka in D major Op. 33 No. 3
Mazurka in B minor Op. 33 No. 4
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Scherzo in C sharp minor Op. 39
Tianyao Lyu
China
12:00
Programme:
Mazurka in A minor Op. 59 No. 1
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 59 No. 2
Mazurka in F sharp minor Op. 59 No. 3
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Berceuse in D flat major Op. 57
Evening session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Vincent Ong
Malaysia
17:00
Programme:
Variations in B flat major on a theme from Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’
(‘Là ci darem la mano’) Op. 2
Mazurka in E minor Op. 41 No. 1
Mazurka in B major Op. 41 No. 2
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 41 No. 3
Mazurka in C sharp minor Op. 41 No. 4
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
Piotr Pawlak
Poland
18:00
Programme:
Rondo à la Krakowiak in F major Op. 14
Mazurka in B flat major Op. 17 No. 1
Mazurka in E minor Op. 17 No. 2
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 17 No. 3
Mazurka in A minor Op. 17 No. 4
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
Yehuda Prokopowicz
Poland
19:25
Programme:
Mazurka in G sharp minor Op. 33 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 33 No. 2
Mazurka in D major Op. 33 No. 3
Mazurka in B minor Op. 33 No. 4
Scherzo in E major Op. 54
Berceuse in D flat major Op. 57
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Miyu Shindo
Japan
20:20
Programme:
Mazurka in B major Op. 56 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 56 No. 2
Mazurka in C minor Op. 56 No. 3
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat major Op.
22
International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
Stage III Day I
14.10.2025
Morning session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Yang (Jack) Gao
China
10:00
Programme
Berceuse in D flat major Op. 57
I was immediately struck by the seductive, aesthetically attractive sound he produced from this superb Shigero-Kawai. The work was full of innocence and tenderness, as one might feel as a father contemplating his newborn son or daughter.
This work can surely be considered ‘music of the evening and the night’. The Chopin Berceuse is possibly the most beautiful lullaby in absolute music ever written. The manuscript of this cradle-song masterpiece belonged to Chopin's close friend Pauline Viardot, the French mezzo-soprano and composer.
Perhaps this innocent, delicate and tender music was inspired by his concern with her infant daughter Louisette. George Sand wrote in a letter ‘Chopin adores her and spends his time kissing her on the hands’ Perhaps the baby caused Chopin to become nostalgic for his own family or even reflect on a child of his own that could only ever remain an occupant of his imagination.
Gao's interpretation contained a poignant poetry replete with the purity of innocence. The work hovers hesitatingly between piano and pianissimo.
The Berceuse, composed and completed at romantic Nohant in 1844, appears to constitute a distant echo of a song that Chopin’s mother sang to him: the romance of Laura and Philo, ‘Już miesiąc zeszedł, psy się uśpiły’ [The moon now has risen, the dogs are asleep]. (Tomaszewski). In view of this tender genesis of infancy, it is well known Chopin loved children and they loved him.
For me the work does speak of a haunted yearning for his own child, a lullaby performed in his sublimely imaginative mind, isolated and alone. No, not a common feeling about the work and possibly over-interpreted on my part, but what of that ...
Impromptu in G flat major Op. 51
A pleasant lively reading of this work. The title Impromptu originated with the Bohemian composer Václav Tomášek and was brought to Vienna by his pupil Jan Voříšek around 1818. The term described rather easy and light characterful pieces for cultivated amateurs to perform. Schubert adopted this title for this collection, not originally assigned to these works by him but by his publisher Haslinger.
The Chopin Impromptu with Gao possessed an improvisational aspect but I was not moved a great deal musically for some reason.
Mazurka in G sharp minor Op. 33 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 33 No. 2
Mazurka in D major Op. 33 No. 3
Mazurka in B minor Op. 33 No. 4
Around 1835, Chopin began working on two new sets of mazurkas, which were published as Op. 30 and Op.33. In each of the sets, he placed four mazurkas; and in each, the last mazurka, closing the opus, brought an atmosphere breath of grand music – the dance miniatures grew into dance poems. Gao made a largely successful attempt to make these wonderful pieces danceable. I liked this interpretative Polish thorny bush with Gao very much
One needs to examine the nature of dancing in Warsaw during the time of Chopin. Almost half of his music is actually dance music of one sort or another and a large proportion of the rest of his compositions contain dances.
Dancing was a passion especially during carnival from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday. It was an opulent time, generating a great deal of commercial business, no less than in Vienna or Paris. Dancing - waltzes, polonaises, mazurkas - were a vital part of Warsaw social life, closely woven into the fabric of the city. There was veritable 'Mazurka Fever' in Europe and Russia at this time. The dancers were not restricted to noble families - the intelligentsia and bourgeoisie also took part in the passion.
Chopin's experience of dance, as a refined gentleman of exquisite manners, would have been predominantly urban ballroom dancing with some experience of peasant hijinks during his summer holidays in Żelazowa Wola, Szafania and elsewhere. Poland was mainly an agricultural society in the early nineteenth century. At this time Warsaw was an extraordinary melange of cultures. Magnificent magnate palaces shared muddy unpaved streets with dilapidated townhouses, szlachta farms, filthy hovels and teeming markets.
By 1812 the Napoleonic campaigns had financially crippled the Duchy of Warsaw. Chopin spent his formative years during this turbulent political period and the family often escaped the capital to the refuge of the Mazovian countryside at Żelazowa Wola. Here the fields are alive with birdsong, butterflies and wildflowers. On summer nights the piano was placed in the garden and Chopin would improvise eloquent melodies that floated through the orchards and across the river to the listening villagers gathered beyond.
Of course he was a perfect mimic, actor, practical joker and enthusiastic dancer as a young man, tremendously high-spirited. He once wrote a verse describing how he spent a wild night, half of which was dancing and the other half playing pranks and dances on the piano for his friends. They had great fun! One of his friends took to the floor pretending to be a sheep! On one occasion he even sprained his ankle he was dancing so vigorously!
He would play with gusto and 'start thundering out mazurkas, waltzes and polkas'. When tired and wanting to dance, he would pass the piano over to 'a humbler replacement'. Is it hardly surprising his teacher Józef Elzner and his doctors advised a period of 'rehab' at Duszniki Zdrój to preserve his health which had already begun to show the first signs of failing. This advice may not have been the best for him, his sister Emilia and Ludwika Skarbek, as reinfection was always a strong possibility there. Both were dead not long after their return from the 'cure'.
Many of his mazurkas would have come to life on the dance floor as improvisations. Perhaps only later were they committed to the more permanent art form on paper under the influence and advice of the Polish folklorist and composer Oskar Kolberg. Chopin floated between popular and art music quite effortlessly.
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
This sonata is one of the greatest masterpieces in the canon of Western piano music. Gao opened the sonata dramatically but without the driving power I have come to expect. The opening Allegro maestoso was definitely dramatic but I yearned for more poetry and lyricism at times. One should feel that Chopin was embracing the cusp of Romanticism, yet at the same time hearkening back to classical restraint - le climat de Chopin as his favourite pupil Marcelina Czartoryska described it. The Trio had a legato cantabile that made the piano sing.
The Scherzo could have revealed more with an increase in glistening articulation. Energetic definitely but there could have been more lightness perhaps with the Mendelssohnian atmosphere of Queen Mab. The Trio displayed a warm Chopin cantabile.
The transition to the Largo was not sufficiently expressive and Gao made a rather heavy transition. Here, we begin with an exquisite extended nocturne-like musical voyage taken through a night of meditation and introspective thought. This great musical narrative, an emotional landscape we travelled through, is an extended and challenging harmonic structure, partly presented as a poem of the reflective heart and spirit. I wanted to be transported by spiritual introspection, enveloping me in a mellifluous dream world. This did not always happen although lyricism was certainly present.
The Finale. Presto ma non tanto is a tremendously powerful expression in its headlong flight though the threats and obstacles that life heartlessly throws up before us. Gao approached this movement with virtuosity which benefitted its emotional impact, not unlike a rhapsodic narrative Ballade in character.
Again Tomaszewski cannot be bettered in his description of this movement:
Thereafter, in a constant Presto (ma non troppo) tempo and with the expression of emotional perturbation (agitato), this frenzied, electrifying music, inspired (perhaps) by the finale of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony…’
Eric Guo
Canada
11.00
Ballade in A flat major Op.
47
The opening form Guo was
untroubled by emotion and a proper narrative in music emerged. The most
expressive phrasing evolved with much evidence of polyphony and dynamic
variation.
The Ballade in
A flat major Op. 47 (1841) possesses a 'narrative' musical force and the
feeling of a miniature opera being played out in absolute music. The
work contains some of the most magical passages in Chopin, some of the greatest
moments of passionate fervour culminating in other periods of
shattering climatic tension.
In the music of the A
flat major Ballade, which unfolds a dizzying array of events, attempts have
been made to discern and identify the separate motifs, characters and moods.
Two possible sources of inspiration have been inferred. Interestingly, they can
be reduced to a common, supremely Romantic, denominator. Schumann was
captivated by the very ‘breath of poetry’ emanating from this
Ballade. Niecks heard in it ‘a quiver of excitement’. ‘Insinuation
and persuasion cannot be more irresistible,’ he wrote, ‘grace
and affection more seductive’. In the opinion of Jan Kleczyński, it is the
third (not the second) Ballade that is ‘evidently inspired by Adam Mickiewicz’s
Undine. That passionate theme is in the spirit of the song “Rusalka.”
The ending vividly depicts the ultimate drowning, in some abyss, of the fated
youth ‘in question’.
A different source is
referred to by Zygmunt Noskowski: ‘Those close and contemporary to
Chopin’, he wrote in 1902, ‘maintained that the Ballade in A flat
major was supposed to represent Heine’s tale of the Lorelei – a supposition
that may well be credited when one listens attentively to that wonderful
rolling melody, full of charm, alluring and coquettish. Such was surely the
song of the enchantress on the banks of the River Rhine’, ends Noskowski,
‘lying in wait for an unwary sailor – a sailor who, bewitched by the
seductress’s song, perishes in the river’s treacherous waters’.
This was a fine
interpretation and moving on many levels. It revealed his experience playing
period pianos of Chopin's day which can be highly instructive to the modern
pianist. Tone colour, timbre and touch were impeccable. There was far less
dynamic exaggeration as too often occurs in the other Ballades.
Mazurka in A minor Op. 59
No. 1
Mazurka in A flat major Op.
59 No. 2
Mazurka in F sharp minor
Op. 59 No. 3
I have already written above [Yang (Jack) Gao] about the dance passion that gripped Europe in Chopin's day -
Mazurka fever. Here in the Op.59 set we were drawn into the world of Chopin's
nostalgic and poetic dreams in an affecting rendition of these ‘most
beautiful sounds that it is possible to produce from the piano’ (Ludwig
Bronarski).
Let me allow the great
Polish musicologist Mieczysław Tomaszewski describe the third of these Mazurkas
in F sharp minor which 'drags one into the whirl of a Mazurian dance
from the very first bars, with its sweeping, unconstrained gestures, its verve,
élan, exuberance, and also, more importantly, the occasional suppressing of
that vigour and momentum, in order to yield up music that is tender, subtle,
delicate...'
Guo at first took us on a
long nostalgic journey and then into the robust heart of Mazovia. The sublimated
countryside rhythms were beautifully controlled. His experience on
period instruments broadened his abilities allowing allowed a far more colourful expressivity
which never ventured into dynamic wildness.
Scherzo in B flat minor Op.
31
Here we have another great
narrative drama, an eruption of dramatic force that leads almost to its own
destruction. Chopin knew the Shakespeare play Hamlet and the opening
triplets are meant to indicate existential questions. He insisted his pupils
achieved a correct execution of this and they were required to repeat them many
times before he was satisfied.
Hamlet
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them.
However, Guo did not
overplay the work with a pleasing variety of dynamic. A perfect example of 'Chopinian
dynamic romanticism' with fine melodic lines building the dramatic sense. His
lyrical and singing cantabile Trio at a pianissimo transported us to a
dreamlike Arcadian garden from which were almost brutally dragged away until
the demolishing power of the mighty coda.
Impromptu in G flat major
Op. 51
I feel this work carries an
atmosphere of elegance, refinement and the grace of another age, possibly that
of the Parisian salons Chopin inhabited – yet is not in the slightest degree
superficial. The title ‘Impromptu’ tends to suggest invention ‘on the spot’. Guo
presented it in a delightfully joyful manner with alluring phrasing and
breaths. The tempo he chose was lively yet reflective at times.
André Gide, who was also a
fine pianist as well as a writer, wrote affectingly of the impromptus in
his Notes on Chopin :
‘What is most
exquisite and most individual in Chopin’s art, wherein it differs most
wonderfully from all others, I see in just that non-interruption of the phrase;
the insensible, the imperceptible gliding from one melodic proposition to
another, which leaves or gives to a number of his compositions the fluid
appearance of streams.’
I liked the whimsical feeling
Guo gave to the work and the improvisational atmosphere that overlaid his
conception.
Sonata in B flat minor Op.
35
The great Polish
musicologist Tomaszewski describes the opening movement of this
sonata Grave. Doppio movimento perceptively: ‘The Sonata
was written in the atmosphere of a passion newly manifest, but frozen by the
threat of death.’ A deep existential dilemma for Chopin speaks from
these pages written in Nohant in 1839. The pianist, like all of us, must go one
dimension deeper to plumb the terrifying abyss that this sonata opens
at our feet.
Grave-doppio movimento
The 'Grave'
indication at the outset was not cursorily executed but set an appropriate tone
of grief for the entire work through extended duration and deliberation. One
felt it was the disturbed mind facing the reality of death.
The doppio
movimento contained within immense dark thoughts and żal, confronting
us with our demise. żal is an untranslatable Polish word in
this context, meaning melancholic regret leading to a mixture of passionate
resistance, resentment and anger in the face of unavoidable fate. Here we are
occupied in musical imagination with a moderate yet horrified contemplation
that was profoundly atmospheric in its contrast of dreams and grim reality -
much the way life presents itself.
Guo had a fine sense of
structure, dynamics and rhythm as a 'rider' of life, such as ourselves, galloping
along a forest track to his inevitable doom. Remember, movement in Chopin's day
was restricted to horse, carriage or walking. He could not luxuriate in our
variety of travel methods when considering movement.
Scherzo
Guo's cantilena was
lyrical and attractive in the sheer nature of the beautiful sound he produced.
Nostalgic reveries abounded. 'In the midst of life we are in death' emerged
as an undiminished sentiment, a message only temporarily assuaged by the lyric
and poetic contrasting nature of the Trio. One felt a certain psychological
instability here.
Marche funébre
The dark emotions and
implications, about to be unfolded before us, were not quite mysterious or
melancholic enough for me but then I am so much older than this pianist and
have suffered many bereavements. Death was a familiar companion in Chopin's
day. The deliberate tempo gave existential weight, avoiding the customary
inflated dynamics that often create crude, operatic effects. With Guo the
lyrical cantabile certainly 'sang' as it should to recall former
lyric experiences with the loved one. It possessed a true feeling of the
desperate reality of memory and dream.
Finale. Presto
I felt this movement more as a confused, panic of the mind, the disorientated mental reaction in the face of death. 'Wind over the graves' is far too prosaic an interpretation for this movement. More a musical stream of consciousness, the voices of grief, expressed in baroque counterpoint of superb virtuosity.
David Khrikuli
Georgia
12:25
Programme:
Mazurka in B major Op. 56 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 56 No. 2
Mazurka in C minor Op. 56 No. 3
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Impromptu in G flat major Op. 51
Waltz in A flat major Op. 42
Waltz in A minor Op. 34 No. 2
Scherzo in E major Op. 54
Evening session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Shiori Kuwahara
Japan
17:00
Programme:
Scherzo in C sharp minor Op. 39
Mazurka in G sharp minor Op. 33 No. 1
Mazurka in C major Op. 33 No. 2
Mazurka in D major Op. 33 No. 3
Mazurka in B minor Op. 33 No. 4
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
Hyo Lee
Republic of Korea
18:00
Programme:
Ballade in G minor Op. 23
Mazurka in A minor Op. 59 No. 1
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 59 No. 2
Mazurka in F sharp minor Op. 59 No. 3
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Scherzo in C sharp minor Op. 39
Hyuk Lee
Republic of Korea
19:25
Programme:
Impromptu in F sharp major Op. 36
Ballade in A flat major Op. 47
Mazurka in E minor Op. 41 No. 1
Mazurka in B major Op. 41 No. 2
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 41 No. 3
Mazurka in C sharp minor Op. 41 No. 4
Piano Sonata in B minor Op. 58
Tianyou Li
China
20:20
Programme:
Mazurka in A minor Op. 59 No. 1
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 59 No. 2
Mazurka in F sharp minor Op. 59 No. 3
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Variations in B flat major on a theme from Mozart’s ‘Don
Giovanni’ (‘Là ci darem la mano’) Op. 2
PARTICIPANTS QUALIFIED
FOR THE 3RD STAGE OF THE COMPETITION
Some personal reflections this morning (13 October, 2025) on Stage II
23.35 pm October 12, 2025
All the pianists and musicians from the outset and
in this round are beyond rational belief gifted. Miracles. It is all too easy to become blasé
as they follow one after another and we attempt to judge the quality.
On 12 October 2025, the second-round auditions
of the 18th Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition were completed.
Quite a few of the above listed pianists who most impressed me in Stage II
reached Stage III but as always there were exclusions and inexplicable omissions. I 'achieved' 15 out of 20. No 'achievement' for me in that!
Judgments
on the nature of music as a high art of the fertile human imagination, that moves
the heart as well as the mind and fingers, seems all too often absent from the
competition. But then the sensibility of our age has changed or transformed
itself exponentially from the le climat de Chopin observed by Marcelina
Czartoryska, Chopin's best student, friend and guardian.
The auditions for the third round will begin on
14 October at 10:00 am and last until 'close of play' on the evening of 16 October.
There is some poetic justice then in this world by the exquisite poetry revealed by some candidates, superb pianists of immense refinement and talent, who took part in this competition. The subtlety and gem-like refinement of a few of them is clearly lamentably lost in large halls containing the jury. This was a problem for Chopin himself in concert on the pianos of his day.
The jury also have a set of arithmetical judgment parameters quite different to those reactions of the general 'Chopin-loving' audience.
In 2025 the online transmissions, technical adjustments to them, piano chosen and seating positions in the hall can alter the sound produced which is significant with artists of this calibre of sensitivity. Alternative impressions of an artist may be given to the jury and online audience. This goes some way to explaining apparent inexplicabilities.
According to the Competition rules and regulations, the jury – led by the great piano and musical artist Garrick Ohlsohn - admitted 20 participants to the 3rd round from 8 countries.
These comprised: 3 from Poland, 2 from South Korea, 2 from United States, 2 from Canada, 3 from Japan, 6 from China, 1 from Malaysia and 1 from Georgia. 80% come from Asia or are of Asian descent and 20% European. This says something multifaceted and relevant culturally, geographically and academically but what exactly, without causing deep offense to someone or other, is impossible, mired as we are in the cultural judgmental absurdities and so-called 'political correctness' of 2025. Draw your own conclusions. I will not be presenting anything remotely personal or divisive.
As I have often said 'poets' do not win piano
competitions and yet Chopin was unarguably a poet of the instrument and far more. However,
there are a few things I would like to venture that I actually like about piano
competitions. Apart from developing immense pianistic and musical stamina in
the candidate, one fundamental aspect is the challenge to received ideas
concerning the interpretation of works that
they stimulate. Different cultures conceive different cultural
priorities with musical interpretation, the music of Chopin in this case, as
the unifying factor. To paraphrase a remark made by Artur Schnabel concerning
great music he was interested in performing:
Chopin's music is greater than it can ever be
performed.
As the competition progresses I have became more
and more convinced that this is a rather idealistic although aesthetically provoking observation. Chopin belonged
to a Romantic generation of pianist-composers where the main intention was to
communicate the musical content of your own work to the audience. This cannot
be the case with the competitors in competitions. But then piano competitions
are about many other aspects of the music profession rather than the art of
music.
The great Polish pedagogue and pianist Theodor Leschetizky told his pupils:
You are not a pianist, you are a musician
I am beginning to wonder whether, judging by the
reaction of audiences to some of the playing, whether the ear of contemporary
listeners to classical music has also become unable to hear true art rather
than the unadulterated modern aesthetic of 'flawless' recorded reproduction of
'correct', or at the other extreme, 'sensationalist' celebrity interpretations.
This rather than becoming involved with the terrible risks, fears and spiritual
challenges involved in the recreation of immortal music, that you have not
written, as a conduit for the composer. Can audiences discern the difference
any longer? From my en passant conversations of impressions in the foyer
of the Filharmonia it appears not.
In judging performances as a listener both jury and audience unavoidably brings unique personal life experience and musical knowledge to the task. Hence the passionate variety of opinion.
We all have our own Chopin and defend it to the
death. I know of no other national composer that approaches this devotion
with such intensity.
On the part of the performer I feel that, except in the rarest cases, this is also the reason there is such variation in approach.
The inherently tragic vision of Chopin after leaving Poland contrasts enormously with his brilliantly sunny, fun-loving nature as a young man. This is the reason I feel many of these young artists play the early style brillante works and etudes so well and yet struggle for sufficient spiritual depth of interpretation with the profoundly tragic nature of his late style.
Following one late performance, the eminent American critic Jed Distler, who is writing and interviewing contestants for Gramophone magazine, identified what he regards as the first performance of the 'modern approach' of performing Chopin. 'You first heard it here!' he remarked to me enthusiastically after a solitary and unique standing ovation.
Such suffering as Poland experienced after the First Partition is way beyond the experience of most young people in 2025 (except perhaps South Koreans). This is surely a blessing in life but not perhaps in the struggle to recreate the complex psyche of Chopin in musical art. We are now a long way in creative human art terms from the source of his music. Many young pianists are not suited or fully understand the joy, pain and finally inaccessible mystery of Chopin.
My reviews below (when I have time to write them in detail!) will give a more accurate account of my feelings. But do consider everything I write as 'Emotion recollected in tranquility' in the seminal phrase defining Poetry by the great English poet William Wordsworth in the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads.
9-12 October 2025
Stage II Day IV
12.10.2025
Morning session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Yehuda Prokopowicz
Poland
10:00
Programme:
Ballade in F major Op. 38
The beauty of his scaled-down
sound spectrum was immediately attractive compared to much we have heard. His
alluring tone, refined touch and phrasing was affecting. He also possessed an
excellent sense of structure.
Mazurka in B flat major Op.
17 No. 1
One
of my favourite sets of Mazurkas are those
of Op.17. Tomaszewski writes of No.3: The Mazurka in A flat major is
not an easy work. The key to its interpretation would appear to lie in grasping
that atmosphere – somewhat surreal, on the boundary of dream and reality. He
gave a most poignant and emotionally touching account of Mazurka No.4
in A minor, an affecting farewell to the recalled dreams of life.
No.1 Excellent rhythm and
full of life
Mazurka in E minor Op. 17
No. 2
Just the right amount of sentiment with natural melodic lines
Mazurka in A flat major Op.
17 No. 3
Much welcome variety of
rhythmic approach. Understands the Mazurka genre, a controversial subject of some
amusement and passion.
Mazurka in A minor Op. 17
No. 4
I adore this Mazurka and
play it of course. As I said above, he was affectingly expressive in just the
right way
Rondo à la Mazur in F major
Op. 5
Excellent style
brillante appropriate for this early work. revealing and musical phrasing
for the mazurka as a central inspiration. The return of the main theme was so moving.
Am excellent performance of proper understanding.
Prelude in E flat major Op.
28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28
No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op.
28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28
No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28
No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28
No. 24
The attractive sound of
his playing rendered these fragments in a way inaccessible to others,
Polonaise in A flat major
Op. 53
Oddly not as impressed with this symbol as with his as performance of other works
Hao Rao
China
10:55
Programme:
Barcarolle in F sharp major
Op. 60
I did mot find the
sensuality and love I was looking for in this pianistally very fine performance.
The intense agitated sections were overdone for me
Prelude in F sharp major
Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op.
28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op.
28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op.
28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op.
28 No. 17
Prelude in F minor Op. 28
No. 18
Hao Rao is rather a
creature of extremes which meant 'micro management' of episodes leading to a
feeling not quite authentic. I do not share his emotional view of Chopin afraid
to say.
Scherzo in C sharp minor
Op. 39
A great deal of emotional urgency
lies here
Andante spianato and Grande
Polonaise Brillante in E flat major Op. 22
Finely executed style
brillante in this work with a
stylish approach and graceful elegance. Excellent.
Anthony Ratinov
United States of America
11:45
Programme:
Impromptu in A flat major
Op. 29
Light, graceful with and
alluring sense of improvisation
Impromptu in F sharp major
Op. 36
An interesting
'conversational' approach in the phrasing but I found his tone and touch not
essentially attractive
Polonaise in F sharp minor
Op. 44
A robust, not particularly
subtle although clearly virtuosic approach. Not a great deal of singing in the
central cantabile
Prelude in F sharp major
Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op.
28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op.
28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op.
28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op.
28 No. 17
Prelude in F minor Op. 28
No. 18
Not as riveting as I had
hoped. I find his powerful virtuosity rather lacking in character
Scherzo in C sharp minor
Op. 39
Similar feeling as above
Miyu Shindo
Japan
12:55
Programme:
Preludes Op.28
It would of course have been impossible for Chopin to have ever considered performing this complete radical cycle in his own musical and cultural environment (not least because of the brevity of many of the pieces). It is unlikely ever to have even occurred to him to do this, the way programmes were designed piecemeal at the time. In some of his programmes and others of the period, a few preludes are scattered randomly through them like diamond dust. Each piece contains within it entire worlds and destinies of the human spirit and deserves individual attention rather than being a brick in a monumental edifice.
Schumann famously and memorably referred to them as 'sketches, beginnings of Etudes, or, so to speak, ruins, individual eagle pinions, all disorder and wild confusion.'
A fine account in every way but I was yearning for more emotional abandonment
Gabriele Strata
Italy
13:45
Programme:
Bolero in A minor Op. 19
Some Latin warmth and culture brought into the cool post-communist hall. A happy dance piece, one of my favourite lighter Chopin works, the Boléro Op.19 (1833). The boléro was originally a lively and rather sensual Spanish dance in triple metre originating in the 18th century and popular in the 19th. The apparent inspiration for this Boléro was Chopin's friendship with the French soprano Pauline Viardot, whose father, the renowned Spanish tenor Manuel Garcia, had introduced boléros to Paris. It is rather a Polonized Spanish work in essence but full of energy and spicy rhythms, even termed by one observer a boléro à la polonaise.
Strata gave us a stylish, delightfully Latin and spirited performance of this rarely performed, rhythmically exciting and youthful work of Chopin. One of the best performances I have ever heard was by Nikolay Khozyainov, the youngest finalist of the XVI International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in October 2010. The Polish pianist Piotr Banasik also has a uniquely 'Latin/Polish' feel for this remarkable work.
I cannot help reflecting on Julian Fontana, Chopin's much put upon amanuensis, visiting Cuba in 1844 where he wrote in 1847 the idiomatic Souvenirs de I’le de Cuba Op. 12. Although infectious rhythmically, I felt I wanted more sensual 'clipping' of the rhythmic figures - more garlic if you wish, which could not possibly have been Chopin's intention!
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| A Bolero Dancer by Antonio Cabral Bejarano (1788-1861) |
Prelude in A major Op. 28 No. 7
Prelude in F sharp minor Op. 28 No. 8
Prelude in E major Op. 28 No. 9
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 28 No. 10
Prelude in B major Op. 28 No. 11
Prelude in G sharp minor Op. 28 No. 12
A finely executed group of the Preludes. See my Prelude notes for Yumeka Nakagawa below
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
I felt that a Latin temperament imbued this intensely Polish work of resistance to oppression. This gave an unaccustomed 'romantic' ambiance to the cantabile section.
Nocturne in B flat minor Op. 9 No. 1
I have noticed that programming in the competition is sometimes quite imaginative. Here the Nocturne emerged as a luminous subconscious lyrical reversal of the darker side of coin of human nature contained in the polonaise.
Scherzo in B flat minor Op. 31
This was an exceptional account of the work. The existential question posed in the first triplet was raised 'To be or not to be ?'. Chopin was familiar with Shakespeare's Hamlet. The cantilena was so affecting, transformed into song. There were many varied scenes in this dramatic account resembling a musical Ballade. There was a narrative here of tremendous theatricality. The return of the longer triplet was full of accumulated memory in its associations. Wonderful performance.
Evening session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Tomoharu Ushida
Japan
17:00
Programme:
Rondo à la Mazur in F major Op. 5
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
The great Polish musicologist Tomaszewski describes the opening movement of this sonata Grave. Doppio movimento perceptively: ‘The Sonata was written in the atmosphere of a passion newly manifest, but frozen by the threat of death.’ A deep existential dilemma for Chopin speaks from these pages written in Nohant in 1839. The pianist, like all of us, must go one dimension deeper to plumb the terrifying abyss this sonata that opens at our feet.
This I felt Ushida in a passionate tempo accomplished this expressiveness, a movement that possessed both tragedy and menace. His great talent allowed the phrasing to breathe musically. An introspective and deeply angry discontent with the nature of mortality is present in Chopin here.
The Scherzo again put me in mind of Tomaszewski who commented: ‘…one might say that it combines Beethovenian vigour with the wildness of Goya’s Caprichos.' The beautiful cantabile Trio took us singing into the further dimension of ardent dreams which makes the Marche funèbre such a shocking emotional jolt of the force of destiny. I felt Ushida could have lightened the texture, tone and touch of the Scherzo and given more feeling for the inevitability of death in the cantilena.
The dark colours this funereal theme gives an immediate atmosphere of tragedy to the Marche funèbre. The tempo was slow, deliberate yet not heavy as the pall bearers proceed, swaying through the cemetery to the funeral plot. With Ushida the reflective Trio was sensitively a contrast of innocence, love and purity blighted by the reality of death (Chopin was terrified of being buried alive – often horrifyingly possible in those primitive medical times). He held the lyricism back slightly but it remained a moving recall of the joyful illusions life gives us. The return of the march was taken at a contemplative tempo. It remains sublime Chopin. The fragility of life and the ruthless pendulum of fate and death needs was feelingly communicated to us.
In the Presto Ushida communicated a feeling of the dark, soil of the grave engulfing the body forever in final deeply moving appearance of the funeral theme.
The Presto was virtuosic in performance style yet the baroque counterpoint, polyphony and harmonic complexities were clearly indicated to my rather Gothic imagination. This is the disturbing grief of an unhinged mind, the wind blowing autumn leaves over the grave or more simply the reverential remembrances of the departed in sotto voce conversation after the burial ... as does manifest itself at funerals.
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Cztery struny skrzypiec [Four Strings of a Violin] 1914
|
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
The Preludes were offered as highly accomplished fragments of life that gave rise to imaginative pictures in the mind. As Chopin observed: I only indicate. It is up to the listener to complete the picture.
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
An 'heroic' outstanding performance that led to a triumphant conclusion.
Zitong Wang
China
17:55
Programme:
Nocturne in F major Op. 15
No. 1
I adored this pianist in
Stage I.
Her extreme musical
sensitivity and refinement was clear from the first notes. She extracted the
most alluring sound from the Shigeru-Kawai.
Ecossaise in D major [Op.
72 No. 1] (WN 13 nr 3)
Ecossaise in G major [Op.
72 No. 2] (WN 13 nr 1)
Ecossaise in D flat major
[Op. 72 No. 3] (WN 13 nr 2)
These three Ecossaise were
absolutely full of grace and charm. Aspects of Chopin often neglected through
lack of affected, peaceful, fashionable period conception in 2025. Also full of
Scottish dance energy when required!
Andante spianato and Grande
Polonaise Brillante in E flat major Op. 22
Her sound really does
'sing' as it did in the superb Andante taken a perfect tempo. The smoothness and consoling
calm stilled any arrhythmia of the romantic heart. The Polonaise was essentially
transparent and clear with superlative glowing and glittering sound in style
brillante and what one might term a style galant. Unlike many I felt
she understood this work and its modish period elegance perfectly. A magnificent
performance.
Ballade in A flat major Op.
47
In this she employed many
deeply expressive dynamic variations and varieties of colour and texture with total
control of touch and tone. The harmonic transitions and development were in perfect
taste and balance. This was true expression organically from her heart. I find
her musical delicacy and musical poetry quite beyond words.
Presto con leggerezza in A
flat major (WN 44)
Prelude in E flat major Op.
28 No. 19
A remarkable mixture of
voices emerged
Prelude in C minor Op. 28
No. 20
The voices ....
Prelude in B flat major Op.
28 No. 21
Glorious pianissimos spoken
directly from the heart
Prelude in G minor Op. 28
No. 22
Simply perfect rendition
....
Prelude in F major Op. 28
No. 23
The faery realm of Elysium
beckoned to me painted in sound as in the Watteau painting 'L'embarquement pour Cythère'
Prelude in D minor Op. 28
No. 24
But the force of destiny erupted
over this dream as so often in the music of Chopin. Waves of yearning feeling
to attempt resistance to the dark abyss moved us towards a black conflagration
and fate. Each of the last three notes, the tolling of inevitable doom bell
three times - each at a different dynamic. Absolute musical inspiration.
Mazurka in F minor [Op. 68
No. 4] (WN 65)
And as a consummate
conclusion, the last composition of Fryderyk Chopin. His last mazurka is a
mournful and deeply personal piece of fervid nostalgia. He composed it near the
end of his life and the work was finished after his death by his amanuensis
Julian Fontana.
Without doubt the finest recital of the competition and perfectly in touch with the true soul and spirit of Chopin. For me an unforgettable, velvet-lined treasure box of gems.
Can poets win Chopin competitions ? I sincerely hope so...
Yifan Wu
China
18:45
Programme:
Prelude in F sharp major Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op. 28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op. 28 No. 17
Prelude in F minor Op. 28 No. 18
I found these a high level performance but conventional in expression
Fantasy in F minor Op. 49
I missed the nationalistic Polish metaphysical element that lies at the heart of this masterpiece in terms of the hymn-like chorale which acts as a prayer
Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat
major Op. 22
Charming Andante. A fine command of spirited style brillante in the Polonaise which sparkled along. However, I felt it all rather heavy overall and without period lightness,,charm, style or elegance which seems to me more authentically Chopinesque at this early stage in his lively life at that time
Miki Yamagata
Japan
19:55
Programme:
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
A brilliant performance but without a distinguishing feature or vision of Poland at the time by this lady
Preludes Op.28
Many were outstandingly beautiful which painted landscapes in my mind (No.3 in G major). Skylarks gliding and diving in the azure (No.10 in C sharp minor). I adore No.13 in F sharp major which offers to a yearning listener the promise of more than friendship. The beautiful cantilena of No.21 in B flat major was full of emotion and feeling. No.23 in F major is a walk in a sun-dappled painting in a glade by a mountain stream. Then the reality of No.24 in D minor, the 'key of death' as fate takes one by the throat in a fearful embrace down, down, down into the abyss
William Yang
United States of America
20:45
Programme:
Barcarolle in F sharp major
Op. 60
He opened the opening of romantic
excursion piano to set the gentle
atmosphere of love beginning in the barque leaving the wharf on prehaps an
Italian lagoon or the birth of the affections. One received a sense of the undulation
of the swell, a musical metaphor the for the growth of passion. Waves of
conflict arrive but the huge contrast that the pianist drew was really without
the charm to deal with a conflict of emotions as the argument subsides.
Nocturne in B major Op. 32
No. 1
Much of the smooth flow of atmospheric
and poignant gestures were interrupted rather too much and for too long for
expressive purposes. My heart began to move and then the internal emotional
flow-time of internal clock was disturbed.
Nocturne in A flat major
Op. 32 No. 2
Once his psyche was on the
move the Nocturne settled. However a certain amount of dynamic exaggeration
felt appliqué and not intrinsically
organic coming from the soul.
Andante spianato and Grande
Polonaise Brillante in E flat major Op. 22
In many ways the entire conception of this work evolved as a modern conception of Chopin performance. For anachronists such as myself, who find such phenomenon uncomfortable, the concentration on increased tempo, inflated dynamics, power and lack of all the qualities I associate with the charm and elegance of period were rather absent. The opening was quite violent with massive crescendos and even sforzandos. Possibly a 2025 definition of Chopin was being played out, interpreted as may well grow in popularity on a modern instrument.
Prelude in E flat major Op.
28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28
No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op.
28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28
No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28
No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28
No. 24
The Preludes were in a similarly
'modern' vein of velocity, granite deliberation, exalted dynamics, high colour
and as one might be imagined, No.24
casts one irremediably into the abyss of hell without the possibility of
redemption.
Is this magnificent display of pianism to be a growing definition of the modern Chopin style ? A seed planted of what is to come ?
Stage II Day III
11.10.2025
Morning session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Xiaoxuan Li
China
10:00
Programme:
Prelude in C major Op. 28 No. 1
Prelude in A minor Op. 28 No. 2
Prelude in G major Op. 28 No. 3
Prelude in E minor Op. 28 No. 4
Prelude in D major Op. 28 No. 5
Prelude in B minor Op. 28 No. 6
Prelude in A major Op. 28 No. 7
Prelude in F sharp minor Op. 28 No. 8
Prelude in E major Op. 28 No. 9
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 28 No. 10
Prelude in B major Op. 28 No. 11
Prelude in G sharp minor Op. 28 No. 12
Scherzo in B minor Op. 20
Barcarolle in F sharp major Op. 60
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
Zhexiang Li
China
10:55
Programme:
Scherzo in C sharp minor Op. 39
Variations in B flat major on a theme from Mozart’s ‘Don
Giovanni’ (‘Là ci darem la mano’) Op. 2
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
Berceuse in D flat major Op. 57
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
Eric Lu
United States of America
11:45
Programme:
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
Prelude in A major Op. 28 No. 7
Prelude in F sharp minor Op. 28 No. 8
Prelude in E major Op. 28 No. 9
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 28 No. 10
Prelude in B major Op. 28 No. 11
Prelude in G sharp minor Op. 28 No. 12
Waltz in C sharp minor Op. 64 No. 2
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Philipp Lynov
Individual neutral pianist
12:55
Programme:
Ballade in A flat major Op. 47
Scherzo in C sharp minor Op. 39
Prelude in F sharp major Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op. 28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op. 28 No. 17
Prelude in F minor Op. 28 No. 18
Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat
major Op. 22
Tianyao Lyu
China
13:45
Programme:
Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat
major Op. 22
Rondo in E flat major Op. 16
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
Variations in B flat major on a theme from Mozart’s ‘Don
Giovanni’ (‘Là ci darem la mano’) Op. 2
Evening session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Ruben Micieli
Italy
17:00
Programme:
Nocturne in C minor Op. 48 No. 1
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
Scherzo in C sharp minor Op. 39
Ballade in A flat major Op. 47
Etude in C sharp minor Op. 25 No. 7
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
Nathalia Milstein
France
17:55
Programme:
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
Mazurka in A minor Op. 7 No. 2
Preludes Op. 28
Yumeka Nakagawa
Japan
18:45
Programme:
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
A fantastically authoritative, powerful performance but not particularly 'Polish'
Preludes Op.28
Without doubt one of the finest recitals of the competition. A pianist of superb touch, tone and passionate interpretative intensity.
Improvisation or 'préluder' before embarking on an extensive work in the same key was well established among composer-pianists of the day but has been largely abandoned except by those few knowledgeable performers on the period piano.
Chopin was a master of ambiguity and luring the listener into false expectations. He often performed the Preludes as separate pieces or in groups possibly arranged in pairs. One reads in his 1842 Parisian recital: 'Nocturnes, Préludes and Etudes'. In those days there was far less academic attention to Urtext numeric detail than today. "Movement by Mozart' might vaguely appear in a programme.
Some of the briefer Préludes do not finish with a full harmonic close which causes the listener to expect further elaboration or another work to follow on. Others such as No. 15 in D major 'The Raindrop' or the existentially blighted, fearsome No.28 in D minor (featured in the 1945 film adaption of Oscar Wilde starring Angela Lansbury and played by Lela Simone). These are clearly to be considered performance works in their entirety.
Yumeka was particularly refined and delicately coloured in No. 14 in E flat minor. An excellent, magnificently moving performance of the so-called 'Raindrop' prelude No. 15 in D flat major. Pianissimo opening and then the appearance of skeletons. In No 17 in A flat major I was reminded of the literary quotation 'Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.' We are all interconnected in death. It comes from the 1624 work Devotions upon Emergent Occasions by the poet John Donne, and was popularized by Ernest Hemingway's 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls.
The L.H. counterpoint in No.18 in F minor was most movingly expressive as was the transparent polyphony and colored texture of No.19 in E flat major. The cantabile in No.21 in B major was poignant in its 'singing'. I found the impressionistic characteristics of No.23 in F major visually arresting and even 'French' or 'Debussyian' in emotional feeling and timbre. As the cycle closed with No.24 in D minor with desperate passion faced by Chopin in recognition of his inevitable death, the power of inflexible destiny to icily determine our path in life
The Préludes seem now well established by structuralists, pianists and Bach scholars as a complete and symmetrical work, a masterpiece of integrated yet unrelated ‘fragments’ (in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century sense of that aesthetic term).
James Huneker approved of Arthur Friedheim playing them as a cycle in New York in 1900. James Methuen-Campbell attributes the popularization of all twenty-four to performances by Busoni and Cortot. One scholar has even demonstrated a perfect key design symmetry between the the 24 major and minor keys of Preludes and Fugues that make up Bach's Well Tempered Clavier and Chopin's Préludes. As is well known, Chopin adored Bach and practiced the WTC as preparation for recitals of his own work. He took an edition of the ‘48’ to Mallorca where he completed the Preludes.
To my mind, each Prélude can of course stand on its own as a perfect miniature landscape and world of emotional feeling and tonal climate. Although it is now well established as a complete work, a masterpiece of integrated ‘fragments’ or 'ruins' (in the nineteenth century picturesque garden sense of that aesthetic term).
‘Why Préludes? Préludes to what?’ as Andre Gide asked rather gratuitously. I think it unnecessary and superfluous to actually answer this question. One possible explanation is the the practice of préluding. This was an improvisational activity of preparation set in the same key, immediately before a large keyboard work was to be performed. The activity was well established in Chopin’s day but has been abandoned in modern times. We must turn to Chopin’s love of Bach to at least partially understand them.
The Préludes surely extend the prescient Chopin remark ‘I indicate, it’s up to the listener to complete the picture’.
Their 'Prélude egos' should retain an intimacy of meaning and communication which waxes and wanes fleetingly and poetically until that final passionate utterance in D minor of No. 24, traditionally the 'key of death'. The last three notes (the lowest D on the piano) for me visually gave expression to those lines by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in his poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, lines which could apply to the spirit of the cycle as a whole:
Some renowned performers of the cycle (Sokolov, Argerich, the greatest historically to my mind by Alfred Cortot) give one the impression of an integrated 'philosophy' or spiritual narrative which I felt was present here. They were written in a period of great emotional upheaval for Chopin. I have always felt a Pleyel in the right hands is the perfect instrument for a poetic and mystical rather than virtuosic interpretation of the Préludes. After all he had a Pleyel pianino sent to Valldemossa. Performance on a Pleyel pianino is not a popular contemporary manner of rendering them in today's cavernous concert halls....
Chopin's Piano: A Journey thorough Romanticism by Paul Kildea (Allen Lane, 2018) is a fascinating historical study of his pianos on Majorca and the evolution of the
Such comparisons with great musical artists are desperately unfair and invidious to level at any young pianist with such a precocious talent and glowing pianistic future ahead as does Yumeka Nakagawa. Life stretches ahead and the tigers of experience begin their work ... as we all know...
Vincent Ong
Malaysia
19:55
Programme:
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
Preludes Op.28
Piotr Pawlak
Poland
20:45
Programme:
Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat
major Op. 22
Prelude in C major Op. 28 No. 1
Prelude in A minor Op. 28 No. 2
Prelude in G major Op. 28 No. 3
Prelude in E minor Op. 28 No. 4
Prelude in D major Op. 28 No. 5
Prelude in B minor Op. 28 No. 6
Prelude in A major Op. 28 No. 7
Prelude in F sharp minor Op. 28 No. 8
Prelude in E major Op. 28 No. 9
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 28 No. 10
Prelude in B major Op. 28 No. 11
Prelude in G sharp minor Op. 28 No. 12
Fantasy-Impromptu in C sharp minor [Op. 66] (WN 46)
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 45
Allegro de concert in A major Op. 46
Stage II Day II
10.10.2025
Morning session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Eric Guo
Canada
10:00
Programme:
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
Etude in E flat minor Op. 10 No. 6
Mazurka in B flat major Op. 17 No. 1
Mazurka in E minor Op. 17 No. 2
Mazurka in A flat major Op. 17 No. 3
Mazurka in A minor Op. 17 No. 4
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 45
Barcarolle in F sharp major Op. 60
Xiaoyu Hu
China
10:55
Programme:
Prelude in F sharp major Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op. 28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op. 28 No. 17
Prelude in F minor Op. 28 No. 18
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
Ballade in A flat major Op. 47
Rondo in E flat major Op. 16
Zihan Jin
China
11:45
Programme:
Prelude in C major Op. 28 No. 1
Prelude in A minor Op. 28 No. 2
Prelude in G major Op. 28 No. 3
Prelude in E minor Op. 28 No. 4
Prelude in D major Op. 28 No. 5
Prelude in B minor Op. 28 No. 6
Prelude in A major Op. 28 No. 7
Prelude in F sharp minor Op. 28 No. 8
Prelude in E major Op. 28 No. 9
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 28 No. 10
Prelude in B major Op. 28 No. 11
Prelude in G sharp minor Op. 28 No. 12
Prelude in F sharp major Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op. 28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
Scherzo in E major Op. 54
Adam Kałduński
Poland
12:55
Programme:
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
Prelude in C major Op. 28 No. 1
Prelude in A minor Op. 28 No. 2
Prelude in G major Op. 28 No. 3
Prelude in E minor Op. 28 No. 4
Prelude in D major Op. 28 No. 5
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Prelude in B minor Op. 28 No. 6
Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op. 28 No. 17
Prelude in A major Op. 28 No. 7
Prelude in F sharp minor Op. 28 No. 8
Prelude in F minor Op. 28 No. 18
Prelude in E major Op. 28 No. 9
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 28 No. 10
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in B major Op. 28 No. 11
Prelude in G sharp minor Op. 28 No. 12
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F sharp major Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
Prelude in E flat minor Op. 28 No. 14
David Khrikuli
Georgia
13:45
Programme:
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
Prelude in C major Op. 28 No. 1
Prelude in A minor Op. 28 No. 2
Prelude in G major Op. 28 No. 3
Scherzo in C sharp minor Op. 39
Evening session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Shiori Kuwahara
Japan
17:00
Programme:
Preludes Op.28
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
One of the truly great performances of this familiar polonaise.
Barcarolle in F sharp major Op. 60
Fantasy in F minor Op. 49
Hyo Lee
Republic of Korea
17:55
Programme:
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
Sonata in C minor Op. 4
Hyuk Lee
Republic of Korea
18:45
Programme:
Prelude in A major Op. 28 No. 7
Prelude in F sharp minor Op. 28 No. 8
Prelude in E major Op. 28 No. 9
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 28 No. 10
Prelude in B major Op. 28 No. 11
Prelude in G sharp minor Op. 28 No. 12
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35
Scherzo in B flat minor Op. 31
Kwanwook Lee
Republic of Korea
19:55
Programme:
Prelude in F sharp major Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op. 28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op. 28 No. 17
Prelude in F minor Op. 28 No. 18
Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat major Op. 22
Ballade in F minor Op. 52
Impromptu in A flat major Op. 29
Tianyou Li
China
20:45
Programme:
Prelude in F sharp major Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op. 28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op. 28 No. 17
Prelude in F minor Op. 28 No. 18
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
Sonata in C minor Op. 4
Stage II Day I
09.10.2025
Morning session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Jacky Zhang
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
10:00
Programme:
Polonaise in C sharp minor Op. 26 No. 1
A noble opening and the cantabile at the centre was beautiful in the manner of an operatic aria. I felt more lyrical expression could have been utilized in the cantilena of this work.
Polonaise in E flat minor Op. 26 No. 2
I felt the phrasing could have been more 'heroic' in the spirit of the polonaise and there was somewhat of a rush in parts
Preludes Op.28
The pianist is very exposed in these brief Preludes. Zhang has fine articulation and an excellent cultivation of the different expressive needs within this cycle. I cannot examine each preelude in detail here but many were outstanding interpretations. His quite remarkable finger dexterity and sensibility was in evidence.
Piotr Alexewicz
Poland
10:45
Programme:
Preludes Op.28
I found his entire recital musically mature and immensely satisfying. However the 'technical' or finger dexterity is of a different texture and ambition.
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
This interpretation had much true Polish qualities of heroism and valiant resistance. Qualities rarely present in other performances. He highlighted an interesting tolling of a bell just before the return of the main theme. A fine performance.
Jonas Aumiller
Germany
11:30
Programme:
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 45
An unsentimental approach entirely without sentimental kitch which tempts all too many pianists to excessive melancholy. Fine understanding of the structure with a sensibility readily approachable.
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
He performed this rather 'straight' in an almost Beethovenian or Brahmsian style. This was an entirely consistent pint of view. The cantilena was moving but bereft of the usual sentimental gestures.
Prelude in F sharp major Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op. 28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op. 28 No. 17
Prelude in F minor Op. 28 No. 18
Waltz in A flat major Op. 64 No. 3
I felt this could have been far lighter, stylish and with the dancing grace of the period.
Fantasy in F minor Op. 49
Here the psychological and physical drama was constrained within limits that gave the work a different type of power to the conventional emotional trauma and heroic suffering.
Yanyan Bao
China
12:45
Programme:
Polonaise in C sharp minor Op. 26 No. 1
Her entire programme was one of the greatest highlights of the entire competition so far for me. This polonaise is dear to me. Her cantilena at the centre of the work was profoundly moving and replete with the most beautiful glowing sound. The opening note and its sound drew tears.The work was transparent with intensely revealed polyphonic structure. The subtle dynamic variations raised the emotions which made the pendulum that swings from dream to reality all the more eloquent.
Polonaise in E flat minor Op. 26 No. 2
This polonaise was also magnificent with a marvellous sense of urgency and forward drive. Such drama of sound gave rise to pictures and paintings of histrionic events in the mind's eye. We were taken across a chiaroscuro battlefield. Magical. Another emotionally febrile cantilena with arabesques of feeling. Rising in power gradually like a true volcano of literate meaning. A truly sublime musical experience both polonaises.
Prelude in F sharp major Op. 28 No. 13
Prelude in E flat minor Op. 28 No. 14
Prelude in D flat major Op. 28 No. 15
Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
Prelude in A flat major Op. 28 No. 17
Prelude in F minor Op. 28 No. 18
This choice of preludes allowed the expression of profound disturbance of the soul, emotional penetration, poetry of extreme lyricism and rich surges of sensibility.
Waltz in A minor Op. 34 No. 2
A true musician astonishingly transformed this waltz with the pain of recollection.
Ballade in F minor Op. 52
Again this sensitive musician took us on an extraordinary life journey in pure music - wandering in intensely controlled metaphorical fashion through the emotional extremes of the opera of life. The audience erupted in enthusiasm.
She will go far in this competition unless there is something inexplicable on the horizon
Kai-Min Chang
Chinese Taipei
13:30
Programme:
Nocturne in C minor Op. 48 No. 1
Her deliberate, slow tempo was contrived imaginatively to elicit 'feelings'. A return to life after psychologically leaving it took place. The story of a return to passion that has faded with time.
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
These preludes were in turn blithe, rhapsodic, ethereal and dramatic. Quite wonderful
Sonata in C minor Op. 4
The Allegro maestoso could have had more style brillante and expression as the dynamics were rather unvaried. The Menuetto. Allegretto had an infectious rhythm. The Larghetto was full of lyricism but I wished for more ! The Finale Presto could have been lighter and more exuberant again in a style brillante glitter so familiar to the aspiring young Chopin
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
I must say the repeated cavalry hoofs in gallop that we all know were quite remarkable! Despite this I felt a need for a feeling of national heroism and valiant resistance and struggle.
Evening session | Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Kevin Chen
Canada
17:00
Programme:
Prelude in A major Op. 28 No. 7
Prelude in F sharp minor Op. 28 No. 8
Prelude in E major Op. 28 No. 9
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 28 No. 10
Prelude in B major Op. 28 No. 11
Prelude in G sharp minor Op. 28 No. 12
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
Etudes Op.10
Everything in this programme was so exceptional on every level of musicianship I find it churlish and not in the nature of a constructive music critic, to make any trivial points of which there were a few. The Etudes Op.10 played by this miraculous pianist and prodigious musician were an experience on rarely has in lifetime of concert going.
Xuehong Chen
China
17:45
Programme:
Barcarolle in F sharp major Op. 60
The piano opening to the work is so rare that sets the tone and sensitive atmosphere at the beginning of this romantic journey across possibly a lagoon in Venice or Lake Como. The sound he produce was fine indeed as was the glorious tone and elegant touch.The ardent cantabile set my romantic imagination aflame. Here was a romantic history with all its fluctuations without hysterical exaggeration. A superb performance to my mind.
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 45
Moderate in tempo and dynamic it was not at all 'kitchy' which it can often be presented. The structure, tone and touch, timbre and texture absolutely perfect - the sensibility of young, yearning nostalgia.
Ballade in G minor Op. 23
The story unfolded in music and I reflected that it would have meant a great deal to the people of the day fortunate enough to hear it.
The great Polish musicologist Mieczysław Tomaszewski paints the background to this competition work best:
'It was during those two years that what was original, individual and distinctive in Chopin spoke through his music with great urgency and violence, expressing the composer’s inner world spontaneously and without constraint – a world of real experiences and traumas, sentimental memories and dreams, romantic notions and fancies. Life did not spare him such experiences and traumas in those years, be it in the sphere of patriotic or of intimate feelings. [...] For everyone, the ballad was an epic work, in which what had been rejected in Classical high poetry now came to the fore: a world of extraordinary, inexplicable, mysterious, fantastical and irrational events inspired by the popular imagination. In Romantic poetry, the ballad became a ‘programmatic’ genre. It was here that the real met the surreal. Mickiewicz gave his own definition: ‘The ballad is a tale spun from the incidents of everyday (that is, real) life or from chivalrous stories, animated by the strangeness of the Romantic world, sung in a melancholy tone, in a serious style, simple and natural in its expressions’. And there is no doubt that in creating the first of his piano ballades, Chopin allowed himself to be inspired by just such a vision of this highly Romantic genre. What he produced was an epic work telling of something that once occurred, ‘animated by strangeness’, suffused with a ‘melancholy tone’, couched in a serious style, expressed in a natural way, and so closer to an instrumental song than to an elaborate aria.'
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
A magnificent performance in execution that one must ask Polish nationals about its extra-musical connections. I felt it was superior in some ways to that of Kevin Chen and that is saying something!
Zixi Chen
China
18:30
Programme:
Fantasy in F minor Op. 49
I felt a strong sense of solitary loneliness as the work opened and the simplicity of lonely reflections. I am sure this was an emotion not unknown to Chopin. Highly emotive and intense feelings were aroused as this extraordinary work unfolded its genius. The chorale section was truly meditative and the transition back to the original motifs sensitively accomplished. This was a highly emotionally committed performance that moved me greatly.
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
Rondo in C minor Op. 1
Here we had a true style brillante approach indicating Chopin as an exuberant young man, a lively optimistic genius of wit and humour. Sparkling and delightful. It sounded particularly well on the Shigeru-Kawai and I was appropriately reminded of Hummel who influenced Chopin a great deal in youth
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
I did not feel this performance had any particularly outstanding qualities.
Yubo Deng
China
19:45
Programme:
Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
A strong and noble beginning. He brought a significant amount of the Polish resistance, courage and valiant behaviour to Russian domination.
‘The polonaise breathes and paints the whole national character; the music of this dance, while admitting much art, combines something martial with a sweetness marked by the simplicity of manners of an agricultural people…….Our fathers danced it with a marvellous ability and a gravity full of nobleness; the dancer, making gliding steps with energy, but without skips, and caressing his moustache, varied his movements by the position of his sabre, of his cap, and of his tucked-up coat sleeves, distinctive signs of a free man and a warlike citizen.’
(The 19th century Polish poet and critic Casimir Brodziński)
Ballade in F major Op. 38
Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
Prelude in C minor Op. 28 No. 20
Prelude in B flat major Op. 28 No. 21
Prelude in G minor Op. 28 No. 22
Prelude in F major Op. 28 No. 23
Prelude in D minor Op. 28 No. 24
Variations in B flat major on a theme from Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’ (‘Là ci darem la mano’) Op. 2
Yang (Jack) Gao
China
20:30
Programme:
Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53
Preludes Op.28
Jury decision on candidates from Stage I who will pass to Stage II
1 Piotr Alexewicz Poland
2 Jonas Aumiller Germany
3 Yanyan Bao China
4 Kai-Min Chang Chinese Taipei
5 Kevin Chen Canada
6 Xuehong Chen China
7 Zixi Chen China
8 Yubo Deng China
9 Yang (Jack) Gao China
10 Eric Guo Canada
11 Xiaoyu Hu China
12 Zihan Jin China
13 Adam Kałduński Poland
14 David Khrikuli Georgia
15 Shiori Kuwahara Japan
16 Hyo Lee South Korea
17 Hyuk Lee South Korea
18 Kwanwook Lee South Korea
19 Xiaoxuan Li China
20 Zhexiang Li China
21 Tianyou Li China
22 Eric Lu USA
23 Philipp Lynov individual neutral pianist
24 Tianyao Lyu China
25 Ruben Micieli Italy
26 Nathalia Milstein France
27 Yumeka Nakagawa Japan
28 Vincent Ong Malaysia
29 Piotr Pawlak Poland
30 Yehuda Prokopowicz Poland
31 Hao Rao China
32 Anthony Ratinov USA
33 Miyu Shindo Japan
34 Gabriele Strata Italy
35 Tomoharu Ushida Japan
36 Zitong Wang China
37 Yifan Wu China
38 Miki Yamagata Japan
39 William Yang USA
40 Jacky Zhang Great Britain
Stage I Competition Reviews
3-7 October 2025
(Still to come in full)
* * * * * * * * * *
Stage I Day I
03.10.2025
Tremendous enthusiasm, cheering and applause from the audience greeted the first contestant as he entered the stage at the beginning of the competition.
Ziyr Tao (China - Fazioli) I felt him to be rather mannered towards Chopin in his opening Nocturne in B major Op.62 No.1. This over-considered yet perfectly accurate approach tending to the sentimental became common as the competition progressed. He possessed little authentic feeling for the Chopin waltz.
Chun Lam U (Hong Kong - China - Steinway) The conclusion to his Barcarolle was affecting but I was rather unmoved by his recital otherwise.
Tomoharu Ushida (Japan - Steinway) His Nocturne in B major Op.62 was rather emotionally indulgent for my taste. However, he performed a most expressive Barcarolle. Little idea of the Chopin waltz. It is more than a simple virtuoso exercise.
Zitong Wang (China - Shigeru Kawai). Extremely expressive playing of the Nocturne in F-sharp minor Op.48 No.2. The Etude in G sharp minor Op.25 No.6 had superb style brillante and glittered seductively. The Waltz in A-flat major Op.42 revealed her refined creation of texture, touch and tone. Subtle in expressiveness, conception of waltz rhythm and full of those minute hesitations and interruptions that mark the true artistic conception. Excellent conclusion. Her Fantasie in F minor had a haunting ballade-like opening drama. Melodies sang as they should. This pianist is naturally a deeply musical being. Authoritative but with a deeply affecting chorale central section and poetic conclusion.
Jan Widlarz (Poland - Shigeru-Kawai) There was much expressive playing here and a fine performance overall especially the waltz. Dancing is in the Polish blood and a passion in Chopin's day. Excellent technique on display in the Etude and a highly dramatic and narrative Ballade in F minor Op.52. So young a player with great promise in Chopin.
Andrzej Wierciński (Poland - Steinway). Brought a Polish feeling to the immortal narrative of life that comprises that masterpiece, the Ballade in F minor Op.52. He is a naturally musical artist and the hall fell silent in listening attention. A truly grand conception of this work. The Nocturne was a poem of sensitive, unsentimental, masculine, physical yearning as opposed to feminine sensitivity and vaporous illusions. His virtuosic Etude in A minor Op.25 No 11 presented Chopin appropriately as a grande maître of the instrument and the waltz was full of lively youthful energy.
Krzysztof Wierciński (Poland- Steinway). His tone was always fine and touch full of welcome dynamic graduation. The opening of the so-called 'Octave' Etude was picturesquely dark and suitably subterranean. The cantabile section sang with affecting legato. For me this Etude is the depiction of the tragedy of life painted in clear oils without dissimulation. Reality and dreams - a common feature of Chopin's inspiration and indeed life. The A-flat major Ballade Op.47 was most expressive in contrasts and polyphony with transparent articulation. His light, elegant and aristocratic touch in the Waltz possessed a fine waltz rhythm (rare in this competition) together with an ardent cantabile.
Victoria Wong (USA - Canada - Yamaha) A virtuosic 'pianistic' rather than expressive approach to much of her programme.
Maiqi Wu (China - Shigeru-Kawai) Here Nocturne in B major Op.62 No.1 had an eloquent tempo with alluring phrasing. I felt immediately her deep musicality. The fiorituras and trills were absorbed perfectly and seamlessly into the melodic line. A sensitive musical performance of he Ballade in F minor Op. 52 which was prominent in poignant, narrative phrasing with a rhapsodic although rushed conclusion. The Etude in A minor Op.25 No 11 possessed a haunting opening - virtuosic but expressive. Waltz slightly heavy, nevertheless ....
Fanze Yang (China - Shigeru-Kawai) His Nocturne in D-flat major Op.27 No.2 was eloquent in tempo with a most attractive tone and touch. Satisfyingly expressive and very musical in conception. His playing is most attractive and moving. In the 'Octave' Etude his excellent use of the pedal gave great clarity to this tragic argument of life which was in the competition too often inflated dynamically to meaninglessness. I received a feeling of being rushed at times.
William Yang (USA - Steinway) was an example, common to many of others, who have a distressing exaggeration in dynamic contrasts and increase in tempo to achieve expressiveness. This is an unsubtle way of going about musical matters, especially in Chopin.
Yuanfan Yang (Great Britain - Fazioli) I felt his entire programme was winningly romantic and pleasant in an undisturbed, rather lyrical manner and style. A degree of Anglo-Saxon restraint in his approach to Chopin or is this just my own temperament speaking ?
Yichen Yu (China - Steinway) A most sensitive performance of the magnificent and moving Chopin piece, the Etude in C-sharp minor Op.25 No 7. His Waltz in E-flat major Op.18 did sparkle and was absolutely delightful. One of the best so far in the competition. The Ballade in F - major Op.38 so dear in its imagined narrative for me (no revelations!) had excellent revealed polyphony with fine contrasts of mood, texture, colour and timbre. This pianist has immense potential.
Stage I Day II
04.10.2025
Yuewen Yu (China - Shigeru- Kawai) Etude in B minor Op.25/10 He brought a fine technique to this demanding work whose sound was not over-pedalled. The cantabile reflective section was expressive and in fine contrast to the grim darkness of reality. Dream vs Reality indeed ! The Waltz in A-flat major Op.42 had fine articulation and uplifting charm. Tempo slightly above the comfortable or indeed danceable (which many of Chopin's dances were in fact). The mood change into the interned brief minor was expressive, the whole work exuding clarity and winning melodic line. Tone an touch both tender and refined. His Nocturne was at a seductive tempo and most expressive. Yu created a beautiful sound from the Kawai. An entire emotional destiny was depicted here. with the greatest refinement of touch. A moderate tempo opened the Ballade in A major Op.47 narrative which was followed by marvelously expressive changes of scene and mood. Melodic lines were beautifully transparent. A true and rare narrative emerged as the work unfolded. This refinement of touch remains a miracle. He depicted fluctuating emotions with great command of colour, timbre and dynamics.
Andrey Zenin (Individual Neutral Pianist - Shigeru-Kawai) I had heard this pianist in competition at the Darmstadt Chopin Competition where he was a well placed third prize laureate. The 'Octave' study could have had more 'soul' perhaps but the cantabile was section was so moving in beautiful legato. The G minor Ballade Op.23 had quite a good internal monologue and a strong feeling of improvisation (he won the improvisation prize in Darmstadt) but perhaps I was looking for a more searching expressiveness at a deeper level.
The great Polish musicologist Mieczysław Tomaszewski paints the background to this competition work best:
'It was during those two years that what was original, individual and distinctive in Chopin spoke through his music with great urgency and violence, expressing the composer’s inner world spontaneously and without constraint – a world of real experiences and traumas, sentimental memories and dreams, romantic notions and fancies. Life did not spare him such experiences and traumas in those years, be it in the sphere of patriotic or of intimate feelings. [...] For everyone, the ballad was an epic work, in which what had been rejected in Classical high poetry now came to the fore: a world of extraordinary, inexplicable, mysterious, fantastical and irrational events inspired by the popular imagination. In Romantic poetry, the ballad became a ‘programmatic’ genre. It was here that the real met the surreal. Mickiewicz gave his own definition: ‘The ballad is a tale spun from the incidents of everyday (that is, real) life or from chivalrous stories, animated by the strangeness of the Romantic world, sung in a melancholy tone, in a serious style, simple and natural in its expressions’. And there is no doubt that in creating the first of his piano ballades, Chopin allowed himself to be inspired by just such a vision of this highly Romantic genre. What he produced was an epic work telling of something that once occurred, ‘animated by strangeness’, suffused with a ‘melancholy tone’, couched in a serious style, expressed in a natural way, and so closer to an instrumental song than to an elaborate aria.'
Jacky Zhang (Great Britain - Steinway) I liked this performer a great deal. His Nocturne sang with a yearning melody. The Waltz in E-flat major Op.18 was idiomatoc and lively with great 'waltz energy'. One must remeber in Chopin's day there was a strong sexual forbidden element considered as intrinsic to the waltz where the partners faced each other whilst dancing. My goodness! The Ballade in F major Op. 38 depicted graphically the nature of dreams disturbed, even destroyed by emotional turbulence. A most moving pianissimo emotional conclusion. The public loved Jacky!
Yonghuan Zhong (China - Steinway) Here a full on brilliant and dramatic, virtuoso keyboard wizard but for me rather bereft of those deeper meanings so vital in Chopin interpretation.
Hanyuan Zhu (China - Fazioli) Much the same observations as above. Youth dictated keyboard brilliance and virtuosity over understanding of style.
Jingting Zhu (China - Steinway) A most attractive Nocturne in B major Op.62 No.1 that possessed expressive polyphony (so important to perceive such lines in Chopin who adored Bach) and attractive changes of dynamic, texture and colour. His Barcarolle in F sharp minor Op. 60 was certainly a dream voyage. Fine sense of the strong LH counterpoint and complex structure. a most expressive interpretation. The Etude became a virtuoso display piece and the Waltz had style brillante in abundance. The audience Must have loved it.
Piotr Alexewicz
(Poland - Shigeru-Kawai) The Fantasie in F minor had a powerful
development after an introspective, personal introduction. he did fill justice
to the understanding of the work as supremely nationalistic and military. An
atmospheric pianissimo lead into the chorale-like prayer. A fully interpreted,
intellectual (but not cold) performance. The quality of his sound could be
worked on I felt. The Waltz as perfectly
acceptable on every level as a virtuoso
work but more could be given to style, charm, elegance and refinement. A dream
of a Nocturne in E major Op.62 was taken at a reflective moderate tempo,
with eloquent dynamic variation. The 'Octave' Etude had the darkness of a
rumbling subconscious contrasted with eloquent soulful reflective cantabile.
Jonas Aumiller (Germany - Shigeru-Kawai) The Etude in B minor Op.25 No.10 was replete with sensitive phrasing and utterly different in conception to many that Had gone before. It became a heart-breaking melancholic song from a tormented heart. Very fine indeed. The Barcarolle followed attacca which indicated he had a deep understanding of both works on many levels both pianistic and emotional. His control of polyphony was superb. He created some immortal poetry that is inherent in this work. His keyboard command showed immense authority with colour, tone, touch and emotive content. In the 'Octave' Etude he unfolded a chiaroscuro landscape of tragic perceptive picturesqueness. In the Waltz in E-flat major Op.18 expressed delight in the pleasures of life with its fine contrasts of mood and 'conversational' content. A wonderful recital altogether.
Yanyan Bao (China - Steinway) Her Nocturne in D flat major Op.27 No.2 was most expressive with its revealing LH counterpoint so rarely highlighted. The moderate tempo saved the work from sentimentality but I felt the dynamic contrasts were rather too great. Her 'Winter Wind' Etude revealed incredible, inexplicable, finger dexterity that is a feature of many of the Asian contestants keyboard command. The Waltz requires the pianist to visit museums in Paris and Vienna and learn the precieux attitudes and affected atmosphere of high society and aristocracy in those places at that time. This could apply to the vast majority of the contestants. The Ballade in G minor Op.23 was executed with stunning finger dexterity, conventional gestures of the dramatic but little expressive poetry.
Kevin Chen (Canada - Steinway)
The Nocturne in C minor Op.48 No.1 is expressive and suggestive of all the tender and heroic emotions. The musicologist Tadeusz Zielinski described the melody of the Nocturne in C minor as ‘sounds like a lofty, inspired song filled with the gravity of its message, genuine pathos and a tragic majesty’ and the writer Ferdynand Hoesick as: a true ‘Eroica’ among Chopin’s nocturnes.
This monumental, tragically majestic composition is a triumph of passion battling against constraint. The chorale opening is desperately moving in its dark nostalgia. Chen was deeply expressive as if recreating this piece. His tone and colour were superbly intense yet not aggressive in any way. His phrasing was exceptionally musical, taking us into unexplored realms of the spiritual and physical. He presented us with a rich inner emotional life. His sensitive rubato was affecting before the mighty winds subside into a type of eloquent spiritual resignation.
The Waltz in E flat major Op.18 was veined with an unbelievable transparency and articulation in repeated notes. His phrasing makes deeply musical sense as coherent and inspiring language. Tone and touch quite perfect. The Etude in G sharp minor Op.25 No.6 betrayed both extraordinary finger dexterity and expressiveness. I was even reminded at times of Horowitz ! Waves of the ocean washed over my brain. This was a true gem of a performance.
The nobility of the opening of the Fantasia in F minor Op.49 reduced the audience in the hall to pin-drop silence.The tone, timbre and profoundly musical phrasing maintained this atmosphere of reverence. So many subtle changes of texture, colour and mood.
The chorale entered in a dynamic of what one might call 'poetic pianissimo'. All the choral voices were clear. It truly became a transcendental prayer to God. The conclusion was triumphant in redemption after the imaginative prayer. The conclusion was pregnant with silence, just as powerful to affect one musically and spiritually as sound. The aura that was created was of consummate fulfillment. An astonishing recital on every imaginable musical level and one of the finest Fantasias I have heard.
Xuehong Chen (China - Steinway) Following Kevin Chen I imagined an anticlimax but quite the opposite occurred. The Nocturne in D flat major Op.27 No.2 was such a tonal contrast to Kevin Chen. An affecting and beautiful cantabile sang over a constant rocking LH accompaniment. Xuehong Chen has a most refined tone and touch which is hardly surprising if you know something of the deeper Chinese culture.
The Ballade in A flat major Op.47 was a remarkably picturesque performance in glowing tone and the imaginative imagery of water, lakes or oceans. Chopin wrote this work of immense narration at Nohant during the summer of 1841. The narrative is resplendent in contrasts from dark, even forbidding, elements to sun-bright sound and colour. The first theme is full of premonition. The second theme 'is dancing, coquettish, rhythmically wilful and constantly syncopating.' (Tomaszewski). A third theme 'spreads its charms all around, and then vanishes'
The receipt of the work historically diverting and is of great interest, so I will quote musically informed opinions here. Whether this might influence a pianist's interpretation is a moot point depending with whom you speak on this thorny question. The Chopin monographer Arthur Hedley summarized the action of the A flat major Ballade as follows: ‘The only tale that the A flat major Ballade tells is how [the opening theme] is transformed into [its ultimate shape]’.
Two possible sources of inspiration have been inferred. Interestingly, they can be reduced to a common, supremely Romantic, denominator. Schumann was captivated by the very ‘breath of poetry’ emanating from this Ballade. Niecks heard in it ‘a quiver of excitement’. ‘Insinuation and persuasion cannot be more irresistible,’ he wrote, ‘grace and affection more seductive’. In the opinion of Jan Kleczyński, it is the third (not the second) Ballade that is ‘evidently inspired by Adam Mickiewicz's tale of Undine. That passionate theme is in the spirit of the song “Rusalka.” The ending vividly depicts the ultimate drowning, in some abyss, of the fated youth in question’.
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| Undine Giving the Ring to Massaniello, Fisherman of Naples (1846) Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) The Tate Gallery (part of the Turner Bequest 1856), London. © The Tate Gallery |
A different source is referred to by Zygmunt Noskowski: ‘Those close and contemporary to Chopin’, he wrote in 1902, ‘maintained that the Ballade in A flat major was supposed to represent Heine's tale of the Lorelei – a supposition that may well be credited when one listens attentively to that wonderful rolling melody, full of charm, alluring and coquettish. Such was surely the song of the enchantress on the banks of the River Rhine’, ends Noskowski, ‘lying in wait for an unwary sailor – a sailor who, bewitched by the seductress’s song, perishes in the river’s treacherous waters’.
Chen made excellent use of the pedals. The exceptional innocence of this Ballade was made obvious in many ways. The emotional disturbance is like a freak gale creating formidable waves on the ocean.
His Waltz in A flat major Op.34 No.1 needed slightly more character and style but had brilliant execution, articulation and use of the pedal.
Zixi Chen (China - Shigero -Kawai) During the course of this first stage, I decided against a certain primitive 'post-colonial' resistance, that the Chinese pianists have a definite talent for the music of Chopin. The Nocturne in B major Op.62 No.1 was perfect in mood and execution. The Etude in C major Op.10 No.1 demonstrated once again the stunning finger dexterity of the Chinese. There was not a great deal of expression in this work but such an impressive bass emerged on the Shigeru-Kawai instrument.
The Ballade in A-flat major Op.47 gave me another image to that of Kevin Chen and his possible Polish observers. For me the opening was for a summer excursion by the Vistula river isolated in fields of wildflowers. Perhaps the company were on a picnic as the mood appeared pastoral and untroubled. Then came the shadows and finally the eruption of a typical Polish violent summer storm. Chen had superb articulation in this work.
Stage I Day III
05.10.2025
Yubo Deng (China - Steinway) The Etude in C sharp minor Op. 25 No.7 was featured with dynamic emphases and the balance of different melodic lines which was particularly alluring emotionally. Deng has a gentle rather tender tone and touch that was set free to become rhapsodic at times. I felt this to be a perfect Chopinesque introspective meditation. The Etude in C major Op.10 No.1 was highly impressive in terms of the finger dexterity displayed.
The Fantasia in F minor opened in a mood of thoughtful introspection. The difficulties in bringing together the fragmented nature of the work are well known. Carl Czerny wrote perceptively in his introduction to the art of improvisation on the piano ‘If a well-written composition can be compared with a noble architectural edifice in which symmetry must predominate, then a fantasy well done is akin to a beautiful English garden, seemingly irregular, but full of surprising variety, and executed rationally, meaningfully, and according to plan.’
At the time Chopin wrote this work, improvisation in public domain was declining. Deng brought together these disparate elements into an enviable unity of expressive intention with well-judged expressive rubato. With many of Chopin’s apparently ‘discontinuous’ works (say the Polonaise-Fantaisie) there is in fact an underlying and complexly wrought tonal structure that holds these wonderful dreams of his tightly together as rational wholes.
The feeling of improvised fantasy played like globes of mercury in the composer’s mind, sometimes merging and sometimes autonomous but never controllable. The sensitive, devotional and reflective chorale was affectingly played, followed by a passionate spontaneous eruption of emotion like a volcano of pent up energy released.
As I listened to this great revolutionary statement, fierce anger, nostalgia for past joys and plea for freedom, I could not help reflecting how the artistic expression of the powerful spirit of resistance in much of Chopin is so desperately needed today – not perhaps in the restricted nationalistic Polish spirit he envisioned but with the powerful arm of his universality of soul, confronted as we are by yet another incomprehensible onslaught of evil and barbarism. We need Chopin, his heart and spiritual force in 2025 possibly more than ever before.
An excellent highly emotive performance.
His Waltz in E flat major Op.18 displayed the style brillante of the day most certainly but with grace and civilized French refinement and some shadows of romance. All pianists should learn to dance !
Similar to the members of the jury, I would prefer to asses the most outstanding performances and pieces at the conclusion of Stage I and hopefully before the announcement of Stage II successes on the evening of October 8th. I do not wish to be influenced by conflicting opinions on a daily basis.
As William Wordsworth, the immortal English poet, said of Poetry in the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads : 'Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.'
Chopin is a distillation of poetry ..... and I prefer to recollect my strongest musical emotions after a little time has passed rather than give them the instantaneous gratification of words in that familiar contemporary surge of coup de foudre feeling.
In 2025 you have massive contemporary online and internet coverage of this competition in many different languages, a vast ocean of opinion. Many Chopin Competition performances have little to do with Art but are becoming something else yet to be clearly defined. In light of the panoramic technological spoken and filmed coverage, pianist's improved CV entries to attract engagements, serials to follow the documentary based on the movie Pianoforte, 'immersive' Chopin experiences in Warsaw, before and after interviews with contestants, commentary in real time or attacca (immediately after), in addition to streamed live broadcasts and podcasts, even a Warsaw tram fitted with a piano and pianist playing Chopin....
I am quite sure you will not really miss my written observations! Jed Distler's musically informed daily blog and interviews for Gramophone magazine make my modest remarks styled from another era of absorption, pale rather into a pianissimo rustle .....
My contribution is a modest one (and even written down). I am much constrained by the mechanics of life - eating, sleeping, writing, note taking during the long performance day and travelling from my home to the Warsaw Filharmonia from 10.00 am to 10 pm. There are two hours for lunch and aural rest from detailed and tiring analytical listening to these masterpieces performed by some of the most brilliant young pianists in the world today.
Matters were rather different when I began my detailed coverage of the competitions in 2000! I have been idly reading through my detailed accounts of the previous 2015 and 2021 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competitions in Warsaw. My general considered opinions, expressed during past competitions, of Chopin, pianists, performing and competitions as an activity have not changed a great deal. I repeat some as many will not have read these reflections.
It is interesting to speculate once again on the approach to the music of Chopin in 2025 as we drift in time further and further from the source of his music. Have my reflections changed? Well, not a great deal...but of course you may disagree completely.
We all have our own Chopin and will defend it to oblivion
It would make such an interesting debate to ascertain how young pianists in this technological age of constant distraction, conceive of the sensibility, period charm and cultural context of the music of Chopin. Has modern technology, however miraculous, suffocated the nineteenth-century romantic sensibility and love of classical poetry, painting, literature and the art of reading - the inspiration of so much music of the Romantic period ? We cannot leave everything to be determined by modern businessmen, academics and musicologists at conferences!
The National Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Poland is to be deeply thanked and congratulated in overcoming with courage and controlled risk, the almost insurmountable obstacles to organizing this extraordinarily complex international competition in light of the security threats now sweeping the planet.
As a serious writer I am not in the business of brief and comfortable comment. Some Facebook and Twitter comments, although an expression of the genuine enthusiasm of the moment, are rather fatuous and contribute little to our understanding of Chopin or the interpretation of his music. Especially when you consider the years of work, analysis, stress and sacrifice that has gone into each and every performance, each and every piece, bar by bar by bar. The competitors deserve more than a few words.
I stand in awe of all the competitors replete with natural musical gifts, having studied music seriously for years in London and tried myself to excel as a pianist and harpsichordist. I never reached anywhere near this level of accomplishment.
Unlike so many of you, I have grave doubts about the direction Chopin interpretation is taking today and over recent years. Perhaps I have simply read too many historical sources surrounding this music, its gestation and performance.
It seems to me that the Chopin aesthetic, that of intimacy, the quality referred to by the great Polish pianist Raoul Koczalski as 'lyrical impressionism', has been largely abandoned except in the rarest cases or at the very least, significantly distorted. Chopin is being forced into our own mass market twenty-first century aesthetic with a certain grim inevitability and this is not without significant spiritual loss.
Of course these young tyros have unimaginable musical talents (more than I could ever dream of or hope to achieve). However I feel in too many cases the execution bears rather faint resemblance to the way Chopin conceived of his own music and how it should be performed. The Stage I program included a Nocturne, an Etude, a Waltz and a grand work such as a Ballade, the Barcarolle or the Fantasy in F minor. His view can be gleaned from written descriptions by the composer, his pupils and contemporary listeners.
Liszt can tolerate a high degree of dynamic inflation and exaggerated tempi on the mighty Steinway, Fazioli, Bechstein, Shigeru-Kawai or Yamaha. But for me Chopin cannot tolerate too much of this without sacrificing at least some of his uniquely poetic musical essence. Many performances had exaggerated dynamic variation, sometimes a harsh forte tone, and what appeared to be 'learned' expressive gestures and tempo rubato rather than a natural organic flowering of sensibility from spontaneity and the heart.
These recitals are spectacular in pianistic terms, sometimes individualistic and charismatic. However, I would say musically speaking, overall in Chopin, I prefer to be moved rather than astonished, even during his periods of wildness and ferocity.
Chopin should be seen through the fine filter of Bach, Mozart and Hummel not in hindsight through the declamatory sound world of Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Prokofiev. But we are living in 2025. Time's winged chariot has separated us permanently and forever from the historical source of this music and the rather precieux society connected with a proportion of it.
In his teaching, Chopin concentrated intensely on the production and nature of sound as the essence of music. The creation of a beautiful tone and a touch of great refinement predominated. His ear was extraordinarily acute. These vital aspects of pianism seem somewhat neglected in young pianists today and yet great teachers such as Heinrich Neuhaus (teacher of Gilels and Richter) also concentrated immense work on the production of a beautiful, powerful, rich and alluring tone. In his illuminating book The Art of Piano Playing (London 1973) Neuhaus devotes an entire long chapter to tone production.
I suppose no composer divides opinion so passionately as Chopin. Everyone has their ‘own Chopin’ which may well be irreconcilable, including the 17 members of this distinguished jury. All bring to the interpretation of the music a different life and emotional destiny quite apart from the purely 'technical' musical considerations and knowledge. So many (of course not all) the modern interpretations we have just heard are astonishing in terms of finger dexterity and at times incandescent passion. However, with some obvious exceptions which I shall highlight, many lacked creative poetry, aristocratic sensibility, elegance, intimacy, true refinement of touch and tone, individual 'magic' and at times simple bon goût.
All these admirable qualities must be brought to bear on Chopin. The composer balanced his masculine and feminine natures in a unique manner. At least he has been fully liberated from the stigma of effeminate 'salon composer' which persisted for so long. He was a subversive political force certainly, however we seem to have moved too far in the opposite direction - at least as far as I am concerned.
‘My Chopin’ is not the hugely physical and even violent presence concert audiences and even professors seem to demand today. But then again, this violent world we live in adores physical prowess in sport, obsessively cultivates image over substance, is addicted to tumultuous special effects in the cinema, fights wars on computer games or makes war for real in the horrifying bloodbaths now taking place around the world.
This Zeitgeist is reflected in the arts and even subconsciously in the approach to interpreting this most inaccessible and introverted of composers known in his time as the Aeolian harp of pianists. He was not an exhibitionist and not fond of display. I look to musical art for the consolations of a more civilized world of beauty, tenderness or passionate resistance, seduced by sound not browbeaten by the expression of more violence with which I am now all too familiar.
Audiences in general tend to the sensational - perhaps this has always been the case. Playing the piano is often now in technological dynamic competition with social media, the entertainment industry and the internet. To shine as a performer and 'win' seems to involve for many a dynamic distortion of the music. The music of Chopin for some merely offers a celebrity platform for display and career opportunities rather than authentic interest in Chopin's true musical intentions.
Of course you cannot build a modern international concert career on the 19th century Pleyel that Chopin so adored, or even the more powerful Erard. I am not advocating a return to the past. But if you are sufficiently open-minded you can certainly learn a great deal about Chopin's original musical intentions and modify your approach on the modern instrument if you experiment, or have some familiarity with the earlier instruments and original scores. The absolute volume obtainable or sound ceiling of a smaller, wood-framed instrument is so much lower in absolute dynamic volume obtainable than on an immense Steinway, Yamaha or Kawai concert grand. Such instruments were designed to effortlessly fill a great concert hall to the absolute back row. The range of dynamics Chopin had in mind has been estimated at one degree lower than we assume from the music - Chopin's 'ff' was more likely 'f' in our time on a modern instrument.
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| Buchholtz (copy of the instrument from c.1825-26, NIFC collection) Chopin's beloved piano whilst a youth in Warsaw (fot.GRZEDZINSKI) |
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| The Bechstein concert grand in use during the competition |
Additionally, did you know Chopin's piano had subtly unequal temperament? The various keys posses a different colour and character and are associated with different moods or affects. This was well known to the French clavecinistes. Chopin belonged to a society of 'ancient music' and knew the music of Telemann and Handel.
Equal temperament was not considered possible to achieve or even desirable until around the turn of the nineteenth century. Chopin was in despair when his tuner Ennike for some reason drowned himself and he could not find another to tune his piano to the temperament he desired.
Chopin had an acute ear unsuited in its intimacy and sensitivity to the Lisztian onslaught of solo public concert performance that burgeoned after he died. This is the tradition which has persisted and which we have inherited. Much of the Chopin aesthetic effectively died with the composer except these second-hand, written reports from his students and some who heard the divine spark. Can we trust them as accurate? I agree the past style cannot be resurrected in its entirety but there should be some evidence in performance of having at least explored the historical and cultural context in which Chopin composed. Consider the two cholera pandemics and political revolutions he survived that devastated Paris.
(For more on this fascinating subject see Chopin in Performance: History, Theory, Practice NIFC Warszawa 2004 p.25-38 'Towards a Well-tempered Chopin' by Johnathan Bellman).
Chopin's directives and descriptions in letters and reported conversations are generally ignored in 2025 through pragmatic necessity. Because of the claims of a financially viable career both as student and professor, the expectations of the current classical music recording and concert market, rapacious musical agents and the expectations of a prospective paying audience hungry for sensational playing, there has arisen slowly but inexorably, a standardized ‘Chopin product’, even a 'Chopin brand'.
Do we not have an ethical and artistic responsibility to attempt to come as close to Chopin's intentions as possible?
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Chopin was a renowned teacher in Paris who actually began to write what became a stillborn piano method.
'I only indicate. It is up to the listener to complete the picture.' he commented to Wilhelm von Lenz. Understatement and sensitive restraint is hardly what we are hearing in many cases. Imitation not inspiration seems to rule too many of these young pianists from whatever country.
Where is the magic musical dust?
As Arthur Rubinstein used to comment to his young pupils - 'A brilliant performance but where is the music?'
Well we are now in a 'global village' as recognized in a prescient phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan in The Gutenberg Galaxy when I was a young man. The dangers of the emergence of an ubiquitous 'standard' Chopin style has been exacerbated by our miraculous technology. Inadequate, even wounding opinions of two or three words with no analytical depth flood the social media. A competition win or high placing on one's CV seems to have become a mandatory requirement for a successful pianistic career.
In terms of an individual voice, individual tone and touch, something unique to say, spontaneity, rethinking or communicating that inspired feeling of recreation of music in the moment – little is happening for me yet on that level in the competition. I feel expressive gestures unfortunately comes partly from exposure to the repetitive nature and the possibility of listening to 'flawless' recordings an infinite number of times.
A disturbing standardization seems to prevail rather than offering interpretations from their own inner musical convictions, intuition and knowledge of the composer which would lead to a living recreation of the music of Chopin. Piano competitions should not have the constraining nature of an academic examination. One never becomes a true artist by 'playing safe'!
Remember Evgeni Bozhanov, Yulianna Avdeeva and Daniil Trifonov in the 2010 competition? And for the lucky few, their performances at Duszniki Zdroj ? Three supremely creative pianists who thought for themselves and evolved unique interpretations full of nuance and individuality. I feel that the overall standard of the 2021 competition was somewhat higher musically but perhaps not 'technically' if you can actually make such a distinction. There is a notable difference of technical quality this year which is simply astounding, even miraculous on occasion. However, I feel much comes at the expense of profound musical expression which Chopin deserves.
The approach to training modern pianists in the interpretation of Chopin on the modern concert instrument of our day needs a revolutionary rethink. A journey of rewarding even exciting discovery lies in store for the interpretatively adventurous and perceptive pianist searching for his own true voice and what he considers to be that of the composer. Intuition strengthened with knowledge! Heart, intelligence and technique as Horowitz observed.
Naturally, there have been exceptions in the present competition to my possibly presumptuous generalizations. However, I highlight them with the greatest admiration. It is far too easy for critic and listener to become blasé about the tremendous achievements and utterly passionate dedication of these gifted and hugely talented young musicians. Often they have had to travel large and inconvenient distances at great expense to a foreign culture in order to participate.
Inaugural Concert 20.00 October 2nd 2025
The inauguration of the Competition (October 2nd 2025) is a special event – solemn and ceremonial, filled with a whole range of emotions heralding this unique and noble competition, which will captivate the entire music world for the next three weeks.
I find it hard to believe that this is coverage of my fourth Chopin Competition. Such excitement in the electrified air of the Filhamonia this evening as we prepared our conscious and unconscious minds and bodies for opening of the 19th.International Chopin Competition. Such an example of human cooperation even love as everyone smiled at each other in anticipation, even unknown faces greeted me as a fellow human about to share a rich experience. An extraordinary phenomenon in the present dark realities 'out there'.
In the past, this unique evening has been an opportunity to present outstanding works of Polish and world music literature interpreted by such great artists as Artur Rubinstein, Henryk Szeryng, Wanda Wiłkomirska, Nelson Freire, with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Witold Rowicki, Stanisław Wisłocki, Jerzy Katlewicz, Kazimierz Kord, Antoni Wit and Jacek Kaspszyk (only once did the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra perform, conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk). The inaugural concerts featuring Martha Argerich, the winner of the 1965 competition, have become legendary.
The 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition will be inaugurated by four of its winners, who will perform with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrzej Boreyko. Bruce Liu will perform Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, while Yulianna Avdeeva and Garrick Ohlsson will perform Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra. Yulianna Avdeeva, Bruce Liu, Garrick Ohlsson and Dang Thai Son will meet in the Concerto for 4 Pianos by Johann Sebastian Bach. The opening gala will begin with Fryderyk Chopin's Polonaise in A major in an orchestral version.
Programme
- Fryderyk Chopin - Polonaise in A major Op. 40 No. 1, in an orchestral version arranged by Grzegorz Fitelberg
I had my reservations concerning this choice of work having struggled to learn this polonaise as a 12 year old boy during the many weeks sailing from Australia to Italy (with my parents) on the Lloyd Trestino liner 'Oceania' in the early 1960s.
I need not have had worries ! The orchestrated version was a festive and glorious triumph of Polish polonaise energy, valour and national pride. Perfect in celebratory mood as an affirmation of life in opening this immortal competition. Andrzej Boryeko and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra gave the work an injection of fiery commitment. My spirit was completely lifted out of the present despondent international climate.
- Camille Saint-Saëns - Piano Concerto in F major No. 5 Op. 103
- Francis Poulenc - Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra in D minor
Composed in 1932 Poulenc wrote to the Belgian musicologist Paul Collaerof of this extraordinary, rather rarely performed work, "You will see for yourself what an enormous step forward it is from my previous work and that I am really entering my great period."
The dialogue between Avdeeva, Ohlsson and the orchestra was a joy to hear of this ensemble work.
The superb Yulianna Avdeeva and Garrick Ohlsson explored this uplifting work in terrific style The concerto's recurring moto perpetuo, modally inflected figurations were also inspired by Poulenc's encounter with the complex, involved rhythmic structure of the my beloved Balinese gamelan displayed at the 1931 Exposition Coloniale de Paris. Both pianists were aware and loved the gamelan. Unexpectedly perhaps we also detect the presence of Mozart in this work.
The charming and graceful simplicity of the Larghetto melody and tender accompaniment recalls the Romanze of Mozart's D minor Piano Concerto, K. 466. Poulenc admitted that he chose for the opening theme to go back to Mozart because "I have a veneration for the melodic line and because I prefer Mozart to all other composers".
With my own love of classic cars I feel I must quote this jolly passage by the music critic Roger Dettmer concerning this glorious work:
The opening has a sonata-form exposition and recapitulation along with bits of once-popular chansons (like croutons in salad) that complement the composer's own jaunty first and second subjects. The slow, sighing central section replaces a development group before Poulenc returns to the boulevards and boites.
The Larghetto pays homage to Mozart throughout... at one point Piano I leads in effect a musette, as if on a toy piano. The middle section becomes more impassioned, building to a sonorous climax before calm is restored.
Returning to the mood of the first movement, the finale begins with percussive flourishes before it takes off like an Alfa-Romeo in a Grand prix through the avenues and allées of day-and-night Paris, past marching bands and music halls. There is, however, an interlude lyrique et romantique when the Alfa stops for a bedroom tryst, where perfume and perspiration mix with the smoke from Gauloises, after which the race resumes, even more racily.
- Johann Sebastian Bach - Concerto for 4 pianos in A minor (BWV 1065)
This work presented all the most positive, galvanizing qualities of the incandescent technique and style brillante I remember of Bruce Liu when he won the previous Chopin competition. And yet his increasing expressive musical maturity was also in evidence in this enchanting, yet rather overwhelming work.
This concerto is
nicknamed "The Egyptian" for two reasons. Firstly,
Saint-Saëns composed it in the temple town of Luxor while on one of his
frequent winter vacations to Egypt, and secondly, the music is among his most
exotic, displaying influences from Javanese and Spanish as well as
Middle-eastern music. Saint-Saëns said that the piece represented a sea voyage.
So appropriate to
express my nostalgic yearning for my own voyages and love of the
breath-taking gamelan on visits to Indonesia.
The Allegro animato first
movement reminded me of ocean waves in the tempestuous command of the piano's
sound and rhythmic potential. Liu melted expressively into the melancholy
subject that emerges. This exciting introduction to the second Andante movement
moves without hesitation into a thematic exposition based on a Nubian love song
that Saint-Saëns heard boatmen sing as he sailed on the Nile in a 'dahabiah' boat.
Lush and exotic, this is the primary manifestation of the Egyptian sounds of
the piece and probably the source of the nickname. Liu brought a quite dazzling
animation and creative drama as only he can to the final Molto
allegro movement. My imaginative voyage was concluded ....
This was a particularly entertaining and charming idea to assemble four of the world's great pianists to perform the Bach concerto for four harpsichords. To have four Chopin Competition prize winners performing Bach on the same stage can surely never be repeated! A unique experience given us by Yulianna Avdeeva, Bruce Liu, Garrick Ohlsson and Dang Thai Son.
Of course, four concert grand pianos were available for the Chopin Competition, so such a concerto could be offered without a great deal of organization. It was highly enjoyable and musical. Of course playing the harpsichord myself I far prefer the version with four of the original instruments but what of that on this celebratory occasion ?
The hall erupted into wild cheering and what appeared to be an endless standing ovation. All in all a wonderful opening concert designed by the Artistic Director of the National Chopin Institute, Stanisław Leszczyński.
Chopin Competition Press Conference
30th October 5.00pm
The inaugural conference of the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition was held at the Royal Castle on Tuesday 30th October at 5.00 p.m. It opened with a letter from the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, and speeches by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Marta Cienkowska, the chairman of the jury, Garrick Ohlsson, and the director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute and at once competition director, Artur Szklener. Aldona Machnowska-Góra, the Vice Mayor of Warsaw, as well as representatives of media partners – TVP Kultura and Polish Radio 2 – and the event's patrons, also spoke.
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[Lt. to Rt.] Rector of the Warsaw Music University Prof. dr hab. Tomasz Strahl, Prof. Piotr Paleczny, the Chair of the Jury, the great pianist Garrick Ohlsson, Director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute competition director, Artur Szklener, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Marta Cienkowska |
Many participants of this year's edition were present in the audience. An important moment of the conference was the drawing of a letter – participants with surnames beginning with this letter will be the first to perform in the first stage of the auditions.
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| The world media were present in force in that magnificent Merlini Ballroom of the Zamek Krolewski! |
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Director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute competition director, Artur Szklener, addressing the audience |
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| Director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute competition director, Artur Szklener and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Marta Cienkowska drawing the letter. The letter 'T ' was chosen by ballot So the first pianists to present in the Competition will be those whose names begin with the letter T. Auditions for the first stage of the 19th Chopin Competition begin Friday, October 3 at 10 am with a recital of Ziye Tao from China! According to the new rules, the following steps will be started by people whose names begin with a letter in 6 positions of the letter drawn, so that after 4 steps, all 24 letters of the Latin alphabet will be covered. |
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| Prof. Piotr Paleczny and Garrick Ohlsson in deep Chopinesque and physiological discussion before the conference Garrick Ohlsson and his conception of Chopin are presented in a fine portrait in this book published by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute Ohlsson The Pianist Conversations with Garrick Ohlsson Kamila Stępień- https://sklep.nifc.pl/en/produkt/76902-the-pianist-conversations-with-garrick-ohlsson |
The preliminary rounds of the 19th Chopin Competition concluded on 4 May at the Warsaw Philharmonic after 12 days of daily auditions. The jury, chaired by Professor Piotr Paleczny, selected 66 pianists, who will return to Warsaw in less than five months for the 19th Chopin Competition.
Additionally, 19 performers have been admitted directly to Stage I of the Competition without going through the preliminaries. These are laureates of selected piano competitions such as competitions in Leeds, Tel Aviv, Miami, Bolzano, Hamamatsu, the Paderewski International Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz, as well as the Fryderyk Chopin National Piano Competition in Warsaw.
In the first stage of the 19th Chopin Competition, we will hear 85 participants from 20 countries. The most represented countries are China, Japan, and Poland.
The Competition repertoire includes solely works by Fryderyk Chopin. Competitors may play pieces they presented on the video recording enclosed with the application. They can also play pieces they performed in the Preliminary Round ‒ except for the Etudes. However, the same piece cannot be played in the different rounds of the Competition.
in C major, Op. 10 No. 1
in A minor, Op. 10 No. 2
in G sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 6
in B minor, Op. 25 No. 10
in A minor, Op. 25 No. 11
• one of the following pieces:
Nocturne in B major, Op. 9 No. 3
Nocturne in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1
Nocturne in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2
Nocturne in G major, Op. 37 No. 2
Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1
Nocturne in F sharp minor, Op. 48 No. 2
Nocturne in E flat major, Op. 55 No. 2
Nocturne in B major, Op. 62 No. 1
Nocturne in E major, Op. 62 No. 2
Etude in E major, Op. 10 No. 3
Etude in E flat minor, Op. 10 No. 6
Etude in C sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 7
• one of the following Waltzes:
in E flat major, Op. 18
in A flat major, Op. 34 No. 1
in A flat major, Op. 42
• one of the following pieces:
Ballade in G minor, Op. 23
Ballade in F major, Op. 38
Ballade in A flat major, Op. 47
Ballade in F minor, Op. 52
Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60
Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49
The pieces may be performed in any order.
19–24
• one of the following Polonaises:
Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante in E flat major, Op. 22
Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op. 44
Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53
or both Polonaises from Op. 26
• any other solo piece or pieces by Fryderyk Chopin (the full Op. 28 is allowed).
Performance time in the second round: 40–50 minutes.
The pieces may be performed in any order (except Op. 26).
Should the contestant overrun the time limit, the Jury may stop his/her performance.
The exposition in the first movement of both Sonatas should not be repeated.
• a full set of Mazurkas from the following opuses:
17, 24, 30, 33, 41, 50, 56, 59
The Mazurkas must be played in the order in which they are numbered in the opus. In the case of Opuses 33 and 41, the following numbering applies:
Op. 33 No. 1 in G sharp minor Op. 41 No. 1 in E minor
No. 2 in C major No. 2 in B major
No. 3 in D major No. 3 in A flat major
No. 4 in B minor No. 4 in C sharp minor
• any other solo piece or pieces by Fryderyk Chopin (if the hitherto performed repertoire does not achieve the minimum performance time indicated below).
Performance time in the third round: 45–55 minutes.
The pieces may be performed in any order (except the Mazurkas). Should the contestant overrun the time limit, the Jury may stop his/her performance.
• One of the Piano Concertos: in E minor, Op. 11 or in F minor, Op. 21
- The Competition repertoire must be shown in the candidate’s Competition application.
- The Competition repertoire must be played from memory.
- The Competition Office should be notified in writing of any changes to the Competition repertoire no later than 21 August 2025.
Prizes
- The following main prizes will be awarded to the top six finalists:
- 1st prize - € 60 000 and a gold medal
2nd prize - € 40 000 and a silver medal
3rd prize - € 35 000 and a bronze medal
4th prize - € 30 000
5th prize - € 25 000
6th prize - € 20 000
The main prize-winners will be given the title ‘Laureate of the Nineteenth International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition’. - The remaining finalists will receive equal distinctions of € 8 000 each.
- Independently of the prizes listed above, the following special prizes may be awarded:
• for the best performance of a Concerto
• for the best performance of Mazurkas
• for the best performance of a Polonaise
• for the best performance of a Sonata
• for the best performance of a Ballade - Participants in the second or third round who failed to qualify for the next round will receive participation diplomas.
A record number of 642 pianists from around the world applied for the musical competition held at the turn of 2024 and 2025. Out of them, 171 were admitted to the Preliminary Round based on submitted recordings. Ultimately, 162 participants from 28 countries took part in the Preliminaries.
The official inauguration of the 19th Chopin Competition is scheduled for 2 October. The competition auditions will begin the following day and continue until 20 October. The competition will culminate in an awards gala and a concert by the laureates, which will take place on 21 October at the Teatr Wielkie—Polish National Opera. The winner of the Competition will receive a gold medal and a First Prize of 60,000 euros.
After the Chopin Competition concludes, a months-long concert tour will begin, during which the laureates will perform in prestigious concert halls across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The tour will be organized by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in collaboration with the Liu Kotow agency.
I am also not sure of the continued usefulness of my written commentaries, apart from being an historical record. Even then with YouTube, the original performances are easily accessible once again. I feel my observations have become rather redundant. Also, there is now a huge amount of technological coverage and musical analysis in print and on air by musically sensitive and vastly knowledgeable radio and TV presenters, music professors, established pianists, critics both domestic and international, musicologists and pure melomanes. One is in danger of being 'Chopined out', to invent an appropriate phrasal verb. After all I am not employed to write my personal impressions and have little idea of the readership outreach.
Also, online, real time, transmissions are now available to hear for listeners both at home and abroad. They can come to their own personal judgments without reference to me.
We all have our own Chopin
Some years ago when I began writing my assessments, it was rather different. I was one of the only detailed critical outlets in English of music in Poland. The usefulness of this activity has diminished if not passed. Now instant translations are available on mobile phones for criticism, even those written in perceptive Polish.
A journey of rewarding even exciting discovery lies in store during this 2025 competition for the interpretatively adventurous and perceptive pianist and listener. Those pianists are significant who search for their own true voice and what they consider to be that of the composer. Intuition and knowledge working as one!
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Chopin's autograph of Prelude No: VI in B Minor Op. 28. [Biblioteka Narodowa, Warszawa] Reviewer's unabridged Notebook for XVI, XVII, XVIII International Fryderyk Chopin Competitions from October 2010 - October 2021
The music of Chopin enters chambers of the heart and soul no other composer touches In the horrifying conflagration that approaches, faith, spiritual nourishment and emotional consolation is of utmost importance The music of Chopin has become once again profoundly meaningful for humanity (Michael Moran) * * * * * * * * * * The XVI International Fryderyk Chopin Competition Warsaw, October 2010 XVII International Fryderyk Chopin Competition Warsaw, October 2015 XVIII International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition Preliminary Round Warsaw, 12-23 July 2021 XVIII International Fryderyk Chopin Competition Warsaw, October 2021 |
On 19 September 2025, the global premiere of immersive exhibition “Romantic Chopin” took place at Fabryka Norblina in Warsaw. This was the first multimedia project in Poland of this scale dedicated to Fryderyk Chopin, produced by Art Box Experience in cooperation with the Fryderyk Chopin Institute. The project blends cutting edge technologies with classical artistic techniques, creating an extraordinary experience combining art, music, history and modern storytelling.
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| Opening Ceremony |
Romantic Chopin is a unique exhibition dedicated to Fryderyk Chopin, one of the most outstanding composers of all times.
Based on the composer's biography, work, and correspondence, the exhibition takes visitors through eight thematic spaces – from his childhood in Żelazowa Wola, through the salons of Warsaw and the turmoil of his life in Vienna, to the artistic bohemia of Paris, where Chopin created his most important works. Visitors will learn not only about his life and work, but also about the world that surrounded him – George Sand, Ferenc Liszt, Adam Mickiewicz, Eugène Delacroix, and Honoré de Balzac.
The exhibition does not leave viewers indifferent. It touches the soul, reveals fears, uncovers secrets, and points to the composer's musical inspirations. Not only those from the world of high art, but also those stemming from folk art. “Romantic Chopin” is music and at the same time a picture of a man thrown into the whirlwind of history, feeling the consequences of the November Uprising and the loss of his homeland. A man who absorbed his surroundings and poured his feelings into immortal works. A man who was loving yet restrained, consumed by his passion for composing and at the same time shining in Parisian salons.
The main part of the exhibition is an immersive space – a 30-minute show based on Chopin's letters and compositions, in which images and sounds guide the viewer through the emotional and artistic turning points in the composer's life. Modern technologies also allow for a deeper immersion into his world – through an interactive musical sculpture, virtual reality created by the Platige Image studio, and a unique interactive tree with Chopin's mentors and inspirations, which uses artificial intelligence to enable personal contact with figures from Chopin's inner circle.
Work on the exhibition lasted nearly two years. Artists, programmers, scenarists, interaction specialists and new technology experts took part. The project merges painting and the newest animation technologies with interactive techniques, placing it among the most advanced productions of its kind in Europe. The concept and implementation are led by Piotr Sikora — artistic director of “Romantic Chopin”, founder of Art Box Experience and co-founder of Platige Image; the substantive side is overseen by a team of experts from the Fryderyk Chopin Institute and Jakub Puchalski, a music critic and publicist, author among others of the small monograph “Chopin” (PWM Edition) and the texts for the exhibition.
Work on the exhibition lasted two years and was an interesting professional adventure for the employees of the Fryderyk Chopin Museum, as we used a completely new language of expression and a new way of building emotions. Our contribution concerned the substantive content of the script, the selection of iconography, and the creation of the musical path. We invite all viewers to the world of Chopin, shown through means of expression other than strictly museum-related ones.
Seweryn Kuter, curator of the Fryderyk Chopin Museum
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| Michael immersed in the virtual reality aspect of this event (Photo Alex Laskowski) |
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| Michael (far Rt.) immersed in the virtual reality aspect of this event The Piano Congress, Warsaw  http://www.michael-moran.com/2025/09/piano-congress-2025-discover-piano_27.html |
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