Forty musicians from twelve countries have entered the 8th International Paderewski Piano Competition which has opened in Bydgoszcz, northern Poland.

The musicians were chosen in the preliminary round which was organized earlier this year in Warsaw, London, Moscow, New York, Hanover and Tokyo. Russia and South Korea have the largest contingents (8 pianists each), followed by Poland (six entrants), and Ukraine, China, Japan, Belarus, Croatia, Germany, Syria and the United States (one pianist each).

The international jury, chaired by the Polish pianist Piotr Paleczny, brings together Alexander Braginsky (USA), Andrea Bonatta (Italy), Peter Frankl (Great Britain), Bernd Goetzke (Germany), Choong-Mo Kang (Korea), Heinz Medjimorec (Austria), Noriko Ogawa (Japan),  Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń and Wojciech Switała (Poland) and  Michail Voskresenskiy (Russia).

Prizewinners’s names will be announced on 20 November. First Prize winner will receive 30.000 euros.

The Paderewski Competition in Bydgoszcz – dedicated to the famous Polish pianist, composer and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) – was founded in 1961. Its subsequent editions were held in 1986, 1994, 1998, 2001,  2004 and 2007. In 2007 Second Prize went to Russia’s Yulianna Avdeyeva, the winner of last month’s Chopin Competition in Warsaw.

The Paderewski Competition is a member of the Geneva-based World Federation  of International Music Competitions. (mk)