An International Competition on the Life and Work of Chopin is to be held in Katowice on 16-17 October as part of Chopin Year 2010.

The competition - involving written and oral quizzes - is open to the citizens of any country over 16 years of age.

Musicologists, Chopin scholars and authors of books and studies on Chopin are not eligible to enter the competition.

The questions will be prepared in nine languages by the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute. In the first two stages of the competition on 16 October, the participants will take a written test. The final stage, a day later, will be a oral quiz broadcast live by Polish public television TVP. The subject matter covers Chopin’s biography and compositional legacy, Chopin festivals and competitions, works of literature and films inspired by Chopin and his music, as well as the historical and cultural context of Chopin’s oeuvre.

Applications can be made over the internet at chopin-katowice.pl. until 10 September.

The competition is one of the events of the Chopin Year 2010, the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. (mk)