Joanna Domańska, one of the Szymanowski Competition jurors in the Piano category, has created a transcription of Szymanowski's famous ballet Harnasie in a version for two pianos.
The ballet arrangement by Karol Szymanowski was created based on three sources: the score of the ballet, the arrangement on the last scene together with an epilogue for violin and piano by Paweł Kochański, entitled Danse paysanne and the version for piano four hands prepared by Grażyna Bacewicz.
This is a work for stage performance. The parts of both pianos are treated equally. The edition contains almost all the texts of the score, in the original version for solo tenor, mixed choir and orchestra. Only those endings of the scenes are omitted which the composer planned to present in concert version.
The arrangement for two pianos allowed for supplementing many parts that could not be included in the version for four hands and were omitted or included fragmentarily in Bacewicz’s arrangement. It also makes it easier to perform complicated rhythmic figures more precisely. The richness of Szymanowski’s score – in the arrangement from 1935 frequently reduced to long values – was therefore reinforced. This decides on the value of the arrangement in terms of timbre and virtuosity.
Music material characterized by a dense texture, rhythmic richness, maximum reproduction of the richness of the orchestral sound on two pianos - intended rather for professional pianists.
The transcription is to buy at the website of our Strategic Partner - PWM.
source text: PWM
Symphonie concertante op. 60 for piano and orchestra, which has a lot of common features with piano concerto, was composed in 1932. Szymanowski intended to write a piece for piano and orchestra for years, and when he finally started composing… it took him less than 4 months to finish it. The piece was dedicated to a great pianist and friend of Szymanowski - Artur Rubinstein. Yet, all along, Szymanowski also planned to include the composition in his own repertoire.
The world premiere of Symphonie concertante op. 60 took place in Poznań on 9th October, the same year. The piece was performed by Szymanowski and Orchestra of the City of Poznań conducted by Grzegorz Fitelberg.
Later the same month, Szymanowski wrote to Zofia Kochańska:
“my piano ‘debut’ with the concerto in Poznań on the 9th. You can imagine what an évenement this was for me! Everything went superbly, so much so that I had to play the whole finale as an encore! Don’t laugh at me – I suppose I really treat my ‘pianism’ as a joke, but I give you my word, people were totally amazed at how I can play like that. I don’t really understand how I managed to get to the point where I could play reasonably correctly in general, and even with some éclat.”
In September this year, participants of the 2nd Szymanowski Competition will perform Symphonie concertante op. 60 in the legendary music hall of NOSPR.
We know who’s qualified for the Competition! After tumultuous deliberations of the Qualifying Committees, which lasted for a whole month, the best ones have been chosen.
In the performance competition in September, the following ones will participate:
Piano:
Kaho Araishi
Daniel Aulak
Michał Basista
Jung Chanyeon
Kevin Chow
Darya Dadykina
Thomas Gaspard
Derek Hartman
Adrian Hodor
Carter Johnson
Otal Josquin
Francesco Maccarrone
Robert Maciejowski
Jeffery Andy Macsim
Nao Mieno
Diana Ostrolutska
Lily Phee
Zuzanna Pietrzak
Bella Schütz
Natalie Schwamová
Riito Shimata
Mikołaj Sikała
Menshikova Sofya
Kim Sunah
Aleksandra Świgut
Mateusz Tomica
Krzysztof Wierciński
Paul Williamson
Angela Szu-Hsuan Wu
Boyang Wu
Kacper Żaromski
Director of the Competition's consent to qualify more participants than was established in the rules.
Violin:
Sherzod Abdiev
Yurina Arai
Elise Bertrand
Wonbeen Chung
Manuel De Almeida-Ferrer
Sara Dragan
Helene Freytag
Karolina Górny
Matthew Hakkarainen
Qianru Elaine He
Hyeon Hong
Alena Hove
Elvin Hoxha Ganiyev
Russell Iceberg
Hyojin (Ellen) Kim
Krystof Kohout
Abigel Kralik
Issei Kurihara
Sofia Manvati
Mira Marton
Seina Matsuoka
Julia Mirzoev
Wojciech Niedziółka
Bjørg Pas
Dongyoung Jake Shim
Jakub Staszel
Aleksandra Maria Steczkowska
Șimonca-Oprița Ștefan
Adam Suska
Kristóf Tóth
Piirsalu Triinu
Eimi Wakui
Maya Wichert
Barbara Żołnierczyk
Director of the Competition's consent to qualify more participants than was established in the rules.
String quartet:
Erinys Quartet
Absalon String Quartet
AKELA
The Fluss Quartet
The Monbijou Quartet
Nerida Quartet
Neuma Quartet
Atenea Quartet
Quartet HANA
Quartet Infinito
Quartet Eos
Quiron Quartet
Turicum Quartet
Voice:
Karolina Augustyn
Aleksandra Blanik
Karolina Borodziuk
Justyna Bujak
Zuzanna Ciszewska
Colum Donovan-Paterson
Martin Filipiak
Magda Górniak
Tatiana Hajzušová
Catherine Hooper
Shanley Horvitz
Marta Huptas
Barbara Jop
Joanna Kędzior
Justyna Khil
Anna Koehler
Łukasz Kostka
Magdalena Lucjan
Aleksandra Łaska
Shaina Martinez
Ellada Mashynskaya
Stanisław Napierała
Dominika Noskiewicz
Alexandra Nowakowski
Hailing Piao
Artur Plinta
Natalia Płonka
Monika Radecka
David Roy
Swietlana Różycka
Grzegorz Rubacha
Barbara Skora
Anna Thun
Paweł Trojak
Johanna Will
Aleksandra Wittchen
Yilin Zhang
Jan Żądło
Congratulations to all qualified participants. To the artists who will not participate in this year's edition of the Competition: we thank you for your participation and strongly encourage you to watch the auditions and cheer on contestants. See you in September!
The Szymanowski Competition performing categories: Piano, Violin, String quartet, and Voice, have been opened. The repertoire is available here. In compliance with the rules, the artists perform pieces from memory. We do know that this leaves some terrified, which is why we would like to offer a few pieces of advice for developing your musical memory.
Before we move on to the subject matter, remember to make sure that, before beginning your practice, you are well-rested and hydrated, and that your room has been well-ventilated. Otherwise, you will quickly lose focus and become tired and annoyed.
A common cause of problems with musical memory is that musicians focus entirely on the musical notation, this rendering them unable to actually hear the melody.
Begin your practice with listening to the pieces while following the notes simultaneously.
Replay the piece several times. Eventually, you will not need the notes any more.
Will you now try to perform the piece from memory? If you do not succeed at the first attempt, do not give up. Practice makes perfect.
Another exercise is to play the same melody in all keys. It will fail no one. Finally, everyone will remember the piece to be played. Don’t be afraid, try to repeat a melody you’ve heard at a concert or in an ad. This exercise is amazing for developing your memory, imagination, and improvisation skills.
Do you want a warranty of success? Additionally, take care of:
• setting a goal - choose the pieces you find the most interesting among all those in the competition material
• motivation - think about the 25,000 euros you can win coming first in the Szymanowski Competition
• visualising the goal as achieved - we don’t know how well you can do it yourself, but as for us, we can imagine you at the NOSPR stage during the awards ceremony perfectly well
• organising your work - make a schedule of when you’re going to practise and stick to it
Last but not least, do not forget about a positive attitude. You’ll make it!
You have time to apply for the Competition until 31st January 2023.
The application form is available here.
The moment so many of us have been awaiting has arrived. The performing competition is now open!
Repertoire: Piano, Violin, String quartet, Voice
Entries: 1 November 2022 to 31 January 2023
Prizes: 300 000 EUR
Final concerts: NOSPR concert hall, September 2023
The list of qualifying committee and jury members will be available by the 15th of November.
It is your chance to meet the legends of the international music arena and bring your career to a new level.
What will you spend your prize on?
The winners of the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition in the Composition category are:
Piano:
I. Pablo Borrás (Argentina) - €3000
II. not granted
III. Hyunsu Kim (Republic of Korea) - €1000
Violin:
I. Amer Ali (Syrian Arab Republic) - €3000
II. Jinwook Jung (Republic of Korea) - €2000
III. Manolis Ekmektsoglou (Greece) - €1000
Voice:
I. Noemi Conti (Italy) - €3000
II. Alejandro Mata (Mexico) - €2000
III. Krystian Neścior (Poland) - 1000 €
String quartet:
I. Maria Vincenza Cabizza (Italy) - €4000
II. Hed Bahack (Israel) - €3000
III. Hyunsu Kim (Republic of Korea) - €2000
In addition, the Competition Director and Jury nominate 6 distinctions with financial prizes:
Piano:
Bartosz Witkowski (Poland)
Michał Janocha (Poland)
€300 each
String quartet:
Dario Michelon (Italy)
Andrea Mattevi (Italy)
€400 each
Violin:
Andrea Nassivera (Italy)
Pasquale Punzo (Italy)
€300 each
It was quite a challenge to choose the best compositions, yet the deliberations were truly inspiring. Sincere congratulations to the winners and a great thank you to all the participants.
The winning pieces are included in the repertoire of the performance competition, which will open tomorrow! We encourage you to participate in the following categories: Piano, Violin, String quartet, and Voice.
We recommend our newsletter and social media profiles to stay up to date and fully celebrate this extraordinary time.
Exactly 140 years ago, the world welcomed one of the greatest artists in history - Karol Szymanowski. It is heart-warming to see his music (and through the music, the composer himself) still alive after this many years, still admired and performed around the world by either the older and the younger generations of musicians. We are delighted that we can celebrate this event with you, with people who share the same values and admire art. There is no better way to celebrate Szymanowski's birthday than participating in the Competition. Very soon we will find out the winners of the Composition. To sweeten this waiting for result time, we have prepared a few options that will help us celebrate today's holiday fully.
Thank you for being with us. It’s wonderful to celebrate this extraordinary month with you. We encourage you to follow the Competition’s events. Very soon we will find out the first winners and move on to the performing competition.
As you know, the entries in the Composition category of the Szymanowski Competition are already being accepted and we'll keep collecting them until 30th September. We are excited to see the works submitted by each and every single one of you, and for those who feel a little dubious or are struggling with composer’s block, we’ve prepared a few tips and tricks that might help you create the masterpiece of your life. Feel free to take notes and share the article with your friends!
Young composers often try to use everything they have learnt and put all the coolest effects they have heard in one piece they’re writing. The result can be too much. Try to pick only one technical aspect and one inspiration from one piece of music at a time. Then, move on to another composition and choose another set of techniques you will focus on. Trust us, less really is more. You’d rather master one technique at once than blend them all into one work.
Yes, all musicians listen to music all day long. After all, there are more sounds, artists, musical pieces, and songs that keep us inspired than we can count. But don’t underestimate works that stand opposite to your taste, and listen more. Explore the music genres that you really don’t like. Analyse what it is that makes you dislike them and what would make them better. Then, all you need to do is to turn something you hate into something you will love. Combining this and the previous point will help you define your own unique style.
3. A little bit of stealing never hurt nobody
They say that a good composer borrows, while a great composer steals. This is as true as off it sounds. That’s how great artists used to learn their craft ages ago, and how it still works. Choose a few works that you admire, analyse them deeply and critically, and think of what makes them so good, and what you would change. Write down every thought that occurs to you, and then, basing on these notes… Try to write your own work!
Practice takes time, so why don’t you compose a small piece every day? Look for inspiration in everything you hear, or try to create a little background melody to a scene you saw while walking with your dog… Inspiration can be found anywhere. Every day is a good day to try out a new technique… So, give everything a try and keep composing. Do we have any plan freaks or daily routine fans? Great, because planning a few things here or there might be helpful! You might want to:
Perhaps you have someone who could take a look at some of your works, or even play them, and share their insight with you?
Speaking of showing your works to others… Joining a community dedicated to music composers is a brilliant way to exchange ideas, critical opinions, support, and then… improve. After all, who will understand you better than a fellow composer? There are numerous groups on the Internet and social media to choose from. Don’t be shy, go for it!
Do you know what another great idea is? Yes, you’ve guessed! Taking part in the Szymanowski Competition! We invited true masters of the music arena and the most brilliant composers to join our Qualifying Committee and Jury! Wouldn’t it be great to show them your work? Take your chance!
The winning works will be released on CDs and included in the repertoire for the further Competition categories. Besides the cash prize, obviously 😉
Composition Category ends on 30th September!
NOSPR, the main organizer of the Competition, is currently at the Japan tournèe! The event was inaugurated by a press conference, during which the Szymanowski Competition received tremendous attention! We are really happy about the success of the Competition in such distant corners of the globe. The event was highlighted by the performance of a Japanese superstar - Hayato Sumino Cateen, and a chamber concert of the extraordinary NOSPR musicians. The Competition gained a lot of interest from our Japanese friends, which makes us extremely happy and proud.
Meanwhile, we root for NOSPR during the tournèe. Follow their photo-reports on NOSPR’s social media.
Don’t forget the first Competition Category - Composition is coming to an end. You can submit your work only until the 30th of September!
Fot. Maciej Komorowski
Karol Szymanowski — an outstanding Polish composer of global fame. Some call him a second Chopin, others claim that his fame would have grown even greater had he lived in different times.
An unusually colourful personality, he deserves recognition and commemoration. It is for persons who want to come as close to Szymanowski as possible during the second edition of the Competition, that we prepared a series of short articles focusing on particular stages of the composer’s life. We want to gather all facts, myths, and trivia together. We will do our best to make your reading not only fascinating, but pleasurable as well.
Meanwhile, we would like to invite instrumentalists to follow our social media channels and invite composers to take part in your category of the Competition.
See you soon at another Szymanowski 101 lesson!
