About Competition

The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, inaugurated in 1927, is one of the oldest musical events of its kind in the world. Over the past century, it has undergone constant refinement. This evolution has influenced the number of stages, the programme, ways of evaluation, prizes, and even the ways audiences can experience the competition recitals. Only two crucial elements have remained unchanged since its inception: Chopin’s music and the enduring interest of both pianists and audiences. We now stand on the threshold of another chapter in this century-long tradition. The Competition is organised by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.

Chopin Competition: A Century of Tradition

The establishment of the Chopin Competition in the late 1920s was a response to the waning interest in classical music and, surprisingly as it may seem today, the relatively limited recognition of Fryderyk Chopin’s works. The Chopin Competition exceeded all expectations: its second edition in 1932 attracted over 200 pianists from all around the globe. However, the outbreak of the Second World War made it impossible to organise the Competition for several years. The tradition was revived in 1949. By the 1950s, the event had achieved a truly international level, with its jury including celebrities of the time, including past winners of the competition.

The 1960s and 1970s marked a golden era for the Competition, with illustrious winners such as Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, and Arthur Moreira Lima. The year 1970 proved particularly significant for American and Japanese pianism, thanks to Garrick Ohlsson winning the competition and Mitsuko Uchida being its runner up. Five years later came the Polish triumph as Krystian Zimerman became the first Polish winner in two decades. With time, the prestige of the Competition grew, eclipsing other artistic events related to Chopin. A steadily increasing number of young pianists from all continents began to throng to Warsaw.

The 21st century posed new challenges, shaped by cultural and social shifts driven by modern media, before the organisers and winners of the Chopin Competition. Both have risen to the occasion. Yundi Li, the winner of the Competition in 2000, became a superstar, while recent winners Seong-Jin Cho (2015) and Bruce Liu (2021) are in constant high demand internationally. The videos on their social media platforms garner views counted in hundreds of millions.

The Chopin Competition: The World’s Most Widely Broadcast/Media-Friendly Musical Contest

During the 2021 Chopin Competition, the content shared on the Chopin Institute’s YouTube channel enjoyed the greatest audience engagement. In October alone, the channel received an astonishing 37.5 million views, equating to almost 8 million hours of watch time, that is over four times more than the result of the previous edition!
According to a 2015 report by Press Service, online, print, radio, and television publications about the 17th Chopin Competition reached the record number of nearly 5 billion people. The c. 65,000 diverse pieces of coverage about the 18th Chopin Competition published globally in 2021 brought an advertising value equivalency (AVE) of approximately USD39.3 million. The studies pointed out that, remarkably, none of the reports were negative.

19th Chopin Competition: When the World Lives and Breathes Chopin

The 19th Chopin Competition is slated to begin on 2 October 2025 with an inaugural concert by the past winners. The application form will be made available more than a year before the event so that applications can be submitted from 1 October to 15 December 2024. Based on these applications, the Jury will select approximately 160 pianists, who will gather in Warsaw for the Preliminary/Qualifying Round of the Competition in April/May 2025. Only around 80 artists from this group will qualify to the Competition held in October. The October performances last for three weeks, and on 20 October the name of the new winner of the Chopin Competition – an artist thus becoming part of the history of piano music – will be announced. The awards ceremony with the first of the three concerts by the prize-winners will take place on the following day.

The rules and regulations of the upcoming 19th Competition contain several significant changes. In their wake, in the successive stages we shall hear the following repertoires:

1. Stage 1: selected études, nocturnes, waltzes, ballades, and either the Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Op. 60, or Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49
2. Stage 2: selected polonaises, Preludes Op. 28, the Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise in E-flat major, Op. 22, and one piece for solo piano of the participant’s choice
3. Stage 3: Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35, Sonata in B minor, Op. 58, a selected cycle of mazurkas, and one piece for solo piano of the participant’s choice
   Final Stage: The Polonaise-Fantasy, Op. 61, and one of Chopin’s two piano concertos (in E minor, Op. 11, or in F minor, Op. 21).

Where to Listen to the Chopin Competition

Following the practice of the previous edition, all stages of the Competition (that is nearly 2,000 interpretations of Chopin’s works) will be streamed in 4K quality through multiple platforms:

1. Theofficial 19th Chopin Competition website: https://chopincompetition.pl
2. The Chopin Competition mobile app
3. The Chopin Institute’s YouTube channel
4. The Chinese social platform Weibo
5. TV broadcasts on TVP Kultura
6. Radio broadcasts on Polish Radio 2 and Radio Chopin
7. The Fryderyk Chopin Institute’s social media (including Weibo, Instagram and Facebook in six languages).

Partners and Sponsors of the Competition

The Chopin Competition could not take place in such a spectacular format without the support of its partners and sponsors. Those supporting the Chopin Competition include leading Polish and international entities of global reach. The main patron of the Chopin Competition and the Chopin Institute is the Polish energy giant PKN Orlen, while Totalizator Sportowy is the main partner, Google – the technological partner, and LOT Polish Airlines – the official carrier. The Chopin Competition is cofunded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.