Thursday is the last day of the first round of the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.

Two Poles – Marek Bracha and Gracjan Szymczak – are among the seven contestants performing in front of an international jury, the remaining ones coming from Austria, France, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Seventy eight pianists entered the competition. The names of forty of the them who qualified to the second round will be announced around 9.30 pm. Second-round auditions begin on Saturday.

The event has generated unprecedented interest not only among professional musicians. The Tokyo-based H.I.S. tourist agency, for instance, has brought to Warsaw a group of 150 music lovers for the entire, three-week long competition. (mk)