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Warsaw in Chopin Fever

Canadian Bruce Xiaoyu Liu triumphs at the Chopin Competition

It was 2am in the morning at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw, when competition director Artur Szklener finally announced the winners of the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition to more than 100 waiting journalists and another 100 patiently waiting fans outside: the first prize and Gold Medal 2021 goes to the Canadian Bruce Xiaoyu Liu.

Before the finals even began, it was clear that the jury would not have an easy time: the level of performance was outstanding, and the group of 12 included winners of other major competitions as well as former Chopin finalists. This explains also the large number of prizes. Bruce Xiaoyu Liu, a 24-year old Canadian, played last in the final and received a standing ovation from the audience for his captivating performance of Chopin´s e-minor concerto. Not an easy task, as the 40-minute work had already been played 8 times during the 3-day final round.

Alexander Gadjiev (26, from Italy-Slovenia), recent First Prize-winner of the Sydney intl. Piano Competition shared the second prize with Kyohei Sorita (26, Japan), while Third Prize was awarded to Martin Garcia Garcia (24, Spain), winner of the 2021 Cleveland intl. Piano Competition. 

Record Numbers

Besides the special prizes, there were eight main prizes- a record number. But then, it had been a record competition: more than 500 applications, 164 in the preliminaries, 87 in the main competition, and 12 finalists. The Ministry of Culture had to especially approve this number as it meant four Chopin Concertos every night for three days in a row- a huge challenge for jury, orchestra, and the audience. The number of TV cameras present at the hall pointed to the extraordinary attention which the Chopin Competition received online- hundreds of thousands of viewers watched the monthlong livestream from all around the world.

 

Main Prizes

1st Prize – Mr Bruce (Xiaoyu) Liu, Canada
2nd Prize ex aequo – Mr Alexander Gadjiev, Italy/Slovenia
2nd Prize ex aequo – Mr Kyohei Sorita, Japan
3rd Prize – Mr Martin Garcia Garcia, Spain
4th Prize ex aequo – Ms Aimi Kobayashi, Japan
4th Prize ex aequo - Mr Jakub Kuszlik, Poland
5th Prize – Ms Leonora Armellini, Italy
6th Prize – Mr J J Jun Li Bui, Canada

Special Prizes:

The Polish Radio Prize for the best performance of mazurkas  – Mr Jakub Kuszlik, Poland

The Warsaw Philharmonic Prize for the best performance of a concerto – Mr Martin Garcia Garcia, Spain

The Krystian Zimerman Prize for the best performance of a sonata – Mr Alexander Gadjiev, Italy/Slovenia
 

According to Artur Szklener, it had been harder than ever not only to manage all the logistics, but also to keep up with the Covid restrictions imposed by the Polish government. But in the end, every seat in Warsaw was occupied, and statistics showed that more than 98% of the audience were vaccinated- an impressive figure.

The audience in Warsaw reflected the large number of Asian participants: there were 22 pianists from China, 14 Japanese and 7 from South Korea.

The next Chopin Competition will take place in 2025.

www.chopin2020.pl   ©Wojciech Grzędziński / NIFC  ©WFIMC