XIX Chopin Piano Competition

First of all, we would like to inform the Reader that this page will be updated, Deo favente, according to the Calendar dictated for the 19th International Fr. Chopin Piano Competition. For the moment, therefore, we will limit ourselves to some preliminary remarks concerning the repertoire, some Rules and the Jury. (Anyhow, we advise our Reader to read again what we wrote On the Margins of the XVI International Fr. Chopin Piano Competition of Warsaw, in particular the following chapters: Preliminary qualification, The new piano school, which Chopin longed for, and Programmes.)

The repertoire.

We were shocked to see that the Impromptus, the Rondos, the First Sonata and the Allegro de concert were excluded from the repertoire. Could it be the effect of the Spike protein?

In the previous edition, poor Chopin was given a mask, in this one they go even further: his corpus is mutilated! Are the organizers of the Competition music-cannibals? What is wrong with the Impromptus, the Rondos, the First Sonata and the Allegro de concert? What is wrong is probably in the brain of those who have carried out such mutilation.

Again, the only compositions for piano and orchestra admitted are the two Concertos. Perhaps they do not want the audience to have the chance to appreciate the splendid Variations dedicated to Tytus, the Krakowiak and the Fantasy on Polish Arias?

And let us forget about the choices imposed for the various rounds.

Finally, there is no mention of editions. In the past, space was given to any edition; this time, silence is preferred. Instead, each participant should declare in writing which edition has been used for each piece, since Jurors, not knowing all editions, tend to consider as errors the differences they can perceive between what they hear and the version they have studied.

Rules.

In Article XX.1.e, we read: "(Each Preliminary Round and Competition participant will) permit the Institute to use his/ her artistic performances, interviews, statements and images, in full or in part, to make adaptations, abridged versions, alterations and translations, and declare that such use of them will not be deemed to damage his/ her name; the participant will also grant leave to mark with his/her first and last name his/her artistic performances, statements, interviews and images specified under a) and b) above.”

Well, everyone knows that when entering the world of entertainment by contract, the weaker party is forced to renounce some fundamental rights. Whoever agrees, knows that he is about to enter an infernal pit and, therefore, that is his own lookout!

What, on the other hand, leaves one stunned is the expression “make adaptations” and above all “alterations”... In essence, whoever subscribes to such an unspeakable condition consents to the Institute altering his/her statements so much as to give them a meaning contrary to that expressed in the original version. No sensible person could accept such a condition and no true artist would!

Should we suspect that all participants are willing to suffer all sorts of humiliation, just to show off? If so, none of them would be a real artist, but a mere puppet without dignity,

The Jury.

When we saw the list of the members of the Jury, we felt a deep sense of pity for the most talented participants, because they will almost certainly all be eliminated at the Preliminary Round

None of Jurors applies the principles of the new piano school conceived by Chopin, based on Belcanto and the sound quality. Most of them have played many of Chopin's works, some even all the works, including the Rondos ... , but none of them has demonstrated the ability to sing through the keyboard as some pianists of the past have done; they were all different, but all great pianists, great performers, capable of producing their own sound and making the piano sing.

To assess how well these “outstanding” members of the Jury know Chopin, it would be enough to listen to their performance of the Etude in E flat minor from op. 10, according the metronome indicated by Chopin and without any pedal, as Chopin wanted. The result would be irrefutable proof of how far they are from Chopin.

The irony is that this Etude, which, if performed under the conditions dictated by Chopin, would put the performer to the most difficult test, is considered on a par with a Nocturne; in other words, its intrinsic technical value has never been understood. Whoever succeeds in executing such Etude well, can also tackle the Third Sonata...

However, in the absence of such proof, you can listen to the masterclasses on YouTube, at least those available, of such expert Jurors: you will hear a torrent of useless words, false praise, systematic lies and absolute emptiness, while the naive student, sitting or standing, stays there dazed, with an idiotic smile, nodding in agreement from time to time like a riding horse

We sincerely hope we are wrong, but the premises do not bode well. We shall see, or rather, hear...