Four pianists from Russia, two from Korea, two from Poland and one each from  Germany and Belarus have qualified to the semi-finals of the 8th International Paderewski Piano Competition which opens in Bydgoszcz today. 

Poland is represented by Aleksander Dębicz and Michał Szymanowski.

Prizewinners’ concerts will be held in Bydgoszcz on Sunday and in Warsaw on 24 November.

The event was entered by 40 pianists from 12 countries, who had  been chosen in the preliminary auditions held earlier this year in Warsaw, London, Moscow, New York, Hanover and Tokyo.

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 Świtała (Poland) and  Michail Voskresenskiy (Russia).

November 6 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the famous pianist, composer and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski, to whom the competition is dedicated. 

Founded in 1961, the competition is one of the youngest events of its kind in Poland but has already gained a wide reputation and is a member of the Geneva-based World Federation of International Music Competitions. (mk)