Poland in Greece

About the exhibition 

The exhibition for the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, prepared by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute presents historical facts on all the competitions that have been held starting from the very first held in 1927 in the Concert Hall of the Warsaw Philharmonic up to the competition that was scheduled to take place in 2020. The preliminary auditions were initially scheduled to take place in April 2020 and eventually are rescheduled to be held in October 2020. 

The International Chopin Piano Competition is very well known for its incredible power to turn unknown prodigies into pianists of global standing. Other than the actual prize, the young competing artists win a schedule packed with concerts in the most prestigious halls worldwide and an opportunity to bask in the spotlight for decades. It is a fact that almost every winner sooner or later has proved to be a distinguished artist and one of the world’s leading pianists. Some of the most memorable and accomplished winners are:

Maurizio Pollini, who at the age of 18, being the youngest of 89 competitors.  won the 6th edition of the Chopin Competition in 1960;

Martha Argerich, won the 7th edition of the Chopin Competition in 1965 at the age of 24; 

Krystian Zimerman, won the competition in 1975 and was the youngest pianist to be awarded the first prize along with all of the special awards for best performance of polonaise and mazurkas. 

Rafał Blechacz, won the 15th edition of the Chopin Competition in 2005 walking away also with all the special prizes but also very importantly the jury was so taken by his performance that no one was awarded the second place. 

The present-day status of these amazing artists goes undoubtedly beyond any scale of prestige, respect and admiration. 
Reviewing the exhibition, you can get to know many interesting facts and important information as well as rich photographic material, posters created for each event and lists of the pianists who were distinguished.