Polish president attends closing gala of Chopin Competition

The president, who was the honorary patron of the event, funded the First Prize.

Handing over the Gold Medal and a cheque for EUR 30, 000 to South Korea’s Seong-Jin Cho, Duda said that he was enchanted by the artistic standard of the competition and congratulated all the prizewinners on their success.

“Through your performances, you make yourself better known and promote your own homelands,” he said.

“But considering that every note that Chopin wrote contains what is specifically Polish, what is the depth of Polish culture, you are also promoting Poland through your art. And for this I would like to convey to you my warmest thanks.

In his brief thank-you address, Seong-Jin Cho said that he still could not believe his success.

“It was a source of great joy for me to be able to play Chopin in Warsaw for a Polish audience”, he said.

Second Prize winner Charles Richard-Hamelin of Canada received the Silver Medal and EUR 25, 000 funded by the speaker of parliament and Third Prize winner Kate Liu of the United States the Bronze Medal and 20, 000 euros funded by the prime minister.

The award-presentation ceremony was followed by short recitals by the recipients of the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth prizes (Sixth Prize winner Dmitry Shishkin of Russia did not attend due to a health condition), and the performance of Chopin’s E minor Concerto by Seong-Jin Cho, with the Warsaw Philharmonic under Jacek Kaspszyk.

The 17th International Chopin Piano Competition was entered by 78 pianists from 20 countries. Inaugurated in 1927, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious music competitions. The next one is scheduled for October 2020. (mk/nh/rk)