PL
Home/
Competition

About Competition

Honorary Committee Previous editions Contact

Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition is an opportunity for outstanding young artists. An opportunity to broaden the scope and increase the momentum of their career. An opportunity to get international recognition and to win a great prize.

The competition takes place every five years in four performing disciplines: piano, violin, string quartet and voice. The fifth, special category is the composing competition, taking place a year ahead of the performing competition.

In each category, the participants are judged by a jury made up of the most outstanding personalities of the musical world and listened to by influential critics, agents, media, and warmly supportive audiences. The total prize money of nearly 300,000 € as well as guaranteed record issues and invitations to perform in concerts mean that winning the competition might become a transformative moment in each participant’s life.

The repertoire, selected with great consideration, encourages one to discover music, moving beyond canons and fossilized habits. It is a tribute to the phenomenon of Karol Szymanowski and other exquisite artists, ones equally uncompromising as him. It is a tribute to music as the spiritual language of the whole humanity.

The participants find great allies in the amazing concert halls of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, boasting unique acoustic properties. Another factor of no mean significance is the unique atmosphere of Katowice, a city bustling with surprises and contrasts, successfully redefining its post-industrial identity through music.

The competition is organised by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage; the City of Katowice; Polish Radio; Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice; and the Karol Szymanowski Music Society in Zakopane. The Strategic Partner of the competition is Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne PWM. The Media Partner is Polish Music Information Centre.

Director

Dyrektor konkursu - Ewa Bogusz-Moore
Director

Ewa Bogusz-Moore
Dyrektor konkursu - Ewa Bogusz-Moore

Director

Ewa Bogusz-Moore

Ewa Bogusz-Moore – general director of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. In April 2019 she was invited to join the European Concert Hall Organization.


She started her musical career as a cellist. Before taking the position in NOSPR Ewa Bogusz-Moore acted as a deputy director at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute where she was entrusted with developing the strategy of promoting Polish classical music throughout the world. Her business model of the “Polska Music” programme encouraged international cooperation, e.g. with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, Berliner Philharmoniker, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Opera House, or Cité de la Musique. On behalf of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, she coordinated the celebrations of Witold Lutosławski’s Year and was the manager of I, CULTURE Orchestra, an educational orchestral project supporting development in Eastern Europe.


Ewa simultaneously combines orchestral management, creating and supporting musical projects with prominent organizations around the world. Her passion for the transformative power of arts together with business acumen allows her to deliver effective programs across the arts and education sectors.

Honorary Committee

Komitet honorowy - Sir Simon Rattle
Honorary Committee

Sir Simon Rattle
Komitet honorowy - Eugeniusz Knapik
Honorary Committee

Eugeniusz Knapik
Komitet honorowy - Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa
Honorary Committee

Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa
Komitet Honorowy - Andrzej Jasiński
Honorary Committee

Andrzej Jasiński
Piotr Beczała
Honorary Committee

Piotr Beczala
Komitet honorowy - Sir Simon Rattle

Honorary Committee

Sir Simon Rattle

Sir Simon Rattle was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal Academy of Music.

For some years Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdam and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, in 1980 he became Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, stepping up to Music Director from September 1990 until August 1998.  He is also Founding Patron of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and since the early 1990s, has been a Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

In September 2002 Sir Simon became Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmoniker, where he remained until June 2018.

In September 2017, Simon took up the position of Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Komitet honorowy - Eugeniusz Knapik

Honorary Committee

Eugeniusz Knapik

From 1970 to 1976, Eugeniusz Knapik studied at the State Higher School of Music (now the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music) in Katowice, tutored by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (composition) and Czesław Stańczyk (piano). In 1976, he was granted a scholarship from the French Government, enabling him to undertake composition studies with Olivier Messiaen in Paris.

He has been continuously performing as a soloist, as well as in duos and ensembles, both in Poland and abroad. He rose to fame as the first Polish performer of O. Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus (Twenty Contemplations on the Infant Jesus) cycle; the recording of the piece, made in 1979 (published by the DUX label in 2011), won the Fryderyk 2012 and the Diapason d’Or 2012 awards. Eugeniusz Knapik has given multiple performances during the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music.

He has won numerous prizes in composing competitions. His pieces have twice represented the Polish Radio at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Paris. He has also won the Polish Composers’ Union’s annual prize and the Minister of Culture and Arts prize. In 1999, he won the President of the City of Katowice Award, while in 2005 he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Polonia Restituta order, the Commission of National Education Medal, and the Medal for Merit in Culture ‘Gloria Artis’. In 2009, he was created a honorary member of the Polish Composers’ Union. In 2014, he won the Lutosławski Medal.

In 1988, commissioned by the director of the Théâtre de la Monnaie, he began work on The Minds of Helena Troubleyn opera trilogy. In recent years, he reached for monumental works, including: Up into the Silence, Moby Dick, Beauty Radiated in Eternity, Concerto of Song Offerings.

Eugeniusz Knapik serves as head of the Composition and Theory of Music Department at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. From 2002 to 2008, he served as the Academy’s rector.

Komitet honorowy - Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa

Honorary Committee

Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa

Born in Gdynia on 28th May 1949, Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa has been living in Krakow since she was five.  It was also there that she graduated from the State Music High School (diploma in piano theory, also attending violin and oboe classes).  She studied at the Academy of Music in Kraków, in the conducting and composition class (1974 graduate, tutored by professor K. Penderecki). She continued her education in conducting masterclasses with professor H. Swarovsky (Austria, 1971-72). She completed her opera internship at the Silesian Opera in Bytom in 1973. From 1973 to 1974, she was the musical director of the Teatr Ludowy in Nowa Huta, and from 1977 to 1979 she held the same post at the Stary Theatre in Kraków.  Since 1974, she has been a lecturer at the Academy of Music in Kraków and member of the Department for Analysis and theory of Music.  She has participated in numerous seminars and scientific sessions. She has published both articles for general press and scientific texts (including several publications on Zygmunt Konieczny’s theatre works).  As a conductor, she participated in important international festivals (Warsaw Autumn, Oregon Bach Festival). 

In 1991, she won the competition for the post of General Director of the State Philharmonics in Kraków. She contributed significantly to rebuilding the Philharmonics’ seat after a fire (11.12.1991).  She achieved the concert hall being reintroduced into use in less than half a year and the whole building in a year after the fire. The renovation of the building was an example of extraordinary efficient organisation and funds management.

While preparing concert programmes for the Kraków Philharmonics, she ensured a special place for Polish music. She was particularly invested in the programme of musical education for the youth.  She was consultant for the Programme Council of the Kraków 2000 Festival and member of the Villa Decius society.

She became Minister of Culture and Arts, recommended by the Unia Wolności party.  She served at the post from 30.10.1997 to 25.03.1999. During her term in office, she was an ardent supporter of the development of national minorities’ culture. As minister, she actively participated in significant international fora: a global UNESCO conference on culture in Stockholm (Multiculturalism of societies); a global meeting of ministers of culture in Canada (Our creative diversity), and a meeting of ministers of culture of the European Union countries. In December 1998, she was head of the Polish delegation to an international conference on asset restitution for the victims of the Holocaust held in Washington.

From 2000 to 2018, she served as general and programme director of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. She was the initiator and originator of every project of the Orchestra: Maraton twórczości Góreckiego (Górecki’s Works Marathon), Pociąg do muzyki Kilara (Feeling Kilar), Muzyczne Podróże Morskie (Musical Sea Journeys), Dzień Kilara (Kilar Day), Noc Kilara (Kilar Night), Festiwal Górecki-Penderecki w 75. rocznicę urodzin (The Górecki-Penderecki Festival on the 75th birthday), and the biennial Festiwal Prawykonań - Polska Muzyka Najnowsza (Festival of Premieres - Polish New Music). 

Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa’s music for theatre is a significant part of her composing work (including the music for Eugène Ionesco’s Exit the King, Molier’s The Misanthrope at the Stary Theatre, William Shakespeare’s Richard III at the Wybrzeże Theatre, Gombrowicz’s Operetka at the Horzyca Theatre in Toruń), alongside her music for television theatre (including Słowacki’s Sen Srebrny Salomei [The Silver Dream of Salomea], classified within the TVP’s Theatre’s golden hundred). She has also arranged music for a number of TV plays (including ones directed by  Kazimierz Kutz: Kolacja na cztery ręce [Four-handed Supper], Antygona w nowym Jorku [Antigone in New York], Emigranci [The Emigrants], Wujaszek Wania [Uncle Wania], and Ziarno zroszone krwią [A seed sprinkled with blood]).

Having retired, in 2018, she began composing more intensively. The year 2020 marked 47 years from her composing (National Philharmony in Warsaw) and conducting (Kraków Philharmonics) debuts.

Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa has been awarded multiple honours and prizes, including The Gold Cross of Merit (2005), Silver (2005) and Gold „Gloria Artis” Medals, Honorary Award of the Polish Composers’ Union (2009), Knight’s Cross (2011) and Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2018), Gold Medal of Merit for National Defence, The „Kobieta Humanitas” [Woman Humanitas] prize in the Culture category (2015), Gold Medal for Protector of Places of National Memory, The „Meritorious Activist ofCulture ” honorary badge, 3rd-degree Minister of Culture and Arts’ Award for Educational Activity, Honorary Coryphée of Polish Music (2018), ZAiKS’ Award for the Centennary of the Society(2018), and the Lithuanian Darius and Girėnasa Medal (1998).  In 2021, she was made Honorary Citizen of Katowice.

Komitet Honorowy - Andrzej Jasiński

Honorary Committee

Andrzej Jasiński

Andrzej Jasiński was born in Częstochowa in 1936. In 1959, he graduated with honours from the State Higher School of Music in Katowice in professor Władysława Markiewiczówna’s class. A year later, he won the Grand Prix of the M. Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona, and subsequently completed his studies in Paris (1960-1961) with professor Magda Tagliaferro. He made several tours around the former USSR. He has also performed in Europe, Japan, Brazil, and Uruguay. He has performed in every philharmony in Poland. He participated in numerous music festivals, including seven performances at the Polish Piano Festival in Słupsk. He made archive radio recordings, including ones with the WOSPR. He has performed and recorded an album with the NOSPR wind quintet.

Since 1962, he has been teaching at the Academy of Music in Katowice. He has been head of the Piano Department for many years (since 1973). His active teaching work resulted in educating a number of performing pianists and teachers. From 1979 to 1982, he taught at the Higher School of Music in Stuttgart. He has taught piano courses in multiple countries, including ones given regularly for 30 years at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He continues intensive collaboration, both as a teacher and a juror, with musical institutions in Japan and in China. Since 1975, he has been a juror of numerous piano competitions worldwide, including the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, M. Longue, A. Rubinstein, P. Tchaikovsky, F. Busoni, and van Cliburn competitions.  He has been juror of the Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw nine times and chair of its jury three times.  He has received multiple high state honours for his artistic and educational activity, including the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Gloria Artis Medal.  He was awarded honorary doctorates from the Katowice, Warsaw and Lviv academies of music.

Piotr Beczała

Honorary Committee

Piotr Beczala

Piotr Beczala is one of the most renowned and sought-after tenors of our time and a constant guest in the world’s leading opera houses. The Polish-born artist is acclaimed by audiences and critics alike not only for the beauty of his voice, but also for his ardent commitment to each character he portrays.

Since his debut as Duca in Rigoletto by Verdi in 2006, Piotr Beczala is a regular guest at the Metropolitan Opera New York. Here, he has performed in a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin opposite Anna Netrebko, Prince in Dvorak’s Rusalka, Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème, as well as in the title roles of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and Faust. In 2011, he accompanied the MET on a tour to Japan, singing Rodolfo and Edgardo. 2012 saw Piotr Beczala make his role debut as Chevalier des Grieux in Laurent Pelly’s new production of Massenet’s Manon, alongside Anna Netrebko as the eponymous heroine, conducted by Fabio Luisi. The production was part of the “HD live” series by the MET and was broadcast live in cinemas throughout the US and over 50 countries worldwide. It was released on DVD, as was his interpretation of the Duke in a new production of Rigoletto, alongside Diana Damrau in January 2013, for which he received the ECHO Klassik Award “Singer of the Year” in 2014. In the 2015/16 season he was making his highly acclaimed debut in the title role of Wagner´s Lohengrin opposite Anna Netrebko at the Semperoper Dresden.

In addition to his operatic work, he has sung many of the great choral and orchestral vocal works with the world’s most distinguished orchestras and maestri. Celebrating his 20th stage anniversary Piotr Beczala gave a concert at Theatre Wielki in Warsaw in 2012. Also in 2012, he sang the New Year’s Eve concerts at the Semperoper Dresden for the second consecutive year. The concerts, which were led by Christian Thielemann, were broadcast on TV and released on CD and DVD by Deutsche Grammophon. In 2014 he joined a spectacular group of colleagues for Le Concert de Paris, an annual concert event and celebration at the Eiffel Tower with an estimated live audience of more than half a million people.

Piotr Beczala’s is represented on dozens of CDs in a vast array of works, ranging from staples of the repertory, including Faust live from Vienna (Orfeo) and La Traviata from Munich (Farao), which was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award, to such rarely-heard works as Szymanowski’s Król Roger and Offenbach’s Rheinnixen (Accord) and - Strauss II’s Simplicius (EMI). In addition, Piotr Beczala sings on a recording of Lucia di Lammermoor with Natalie Dessay in the title role and Valery Gergiev leading the Mariinsky Opera on the Company’s own label.

Piotr Beczala was born in Czechowice-Dziedzice in Southern Poland and received his initial vocal training at the Katowice Academy of Music, where he was given instruction by such illustrious singers as Pavel Lisitsian and Sena Jurinac. His first engagement was at the Landestheater Linz and in 1997 he became a company member of the Zürich Opera. The Zurich audience could hear him as Alfredo in La traviata, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, the title role of Faust, Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Elvino in Bellini’s  La Sonnambula, and also as the soloist in orchestral songs by Richard Strauss, Riccardo in Verdi’s Un Ballo in maschera as well as Rodolfo in La Bohème.

Composition

Entries: 1.07-30.09.2022

The composition competition is a tribute to Karol Szymanowski, a great master craftsman of composing, who could use his art to lead a spiritual dialogue with the world of current affairs, simultaneously creating works of timeless value. Such are the works we are awaiting: ones belonging to the current times and universal, touching upon matters of significance for us today, simultaneously reaching beyond the horizon of this-worldiness.

We await works in one of the four disciplines: piano, violin, voice, or string quartet. The composition competition takes place a year ahead of the performing competition so as to enable the inclusion of the winning pieces as obligatory in its repertoire.

In addition to being awarded monetary prizes, the winning pieces will be published and included in the repertoire of the performing competition in 2023. Furthermore, all the prize-winning compositions will be recorded and published on a CD.

The prizes for the awarded compositions in the piano, violin and voice disciplines:
1st prize      3,000 €
2nd prize    2,000 €
3rd prize     1,000 €

The prizes for the awarded compositions in the string quartet discipline:
1st prize       4,000 €
2nd prize     3,000 €
3rd prize      2,000 €

Francesco Filidei przewodniczącym jury Konkursu
Chairman

Francesco Filidei
Agata Zubel

Agata Zubel

Daniel Cichy
Yann Robin jurorem Konkursu

Yann Robin
Rozalie Hirs jurorką Konkursu Szymanowskiego

Rozalie Hirs
Helena Tulve

Helena Tulve
Francesco Filidei przewodniczącym jury Konkursu

Chairman

Francesco Filidei

An organist and composer of international renown. He graduated from the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in Florence and from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. 

Filidei’s music is very expressive but, at the same time, unobtrusive. He is a master of building up tension and deftly manoeuvring orchestration.

He has mastered the exceptional capability of employing sounds of any kind in his compositions. Not only that, but he can also create a beautiful piece with the use of animal sounds, mechanic ones, or silence.

Filidei is a laureate of such prestigious awards as: Siemens Förderpreisträger, Abbiati Award, Les Grands Prix Internationaux du Disque - Académie Charles Cros, or the Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation’s 2018 Commande awarded by the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Filidei has also been composer-in-residence for numerous ensembles and music festivals. 

He has been played with a number of world-class orchestras, including WDR, SWR, RSO Wien, ORT, RAI, the Tokyo Philharmonic, Bayerischen Rundfunk, LaVerdi, and numerous modern music ensembles. 

Filidei also teaches composition. He has taught at the Royaumont Foundation’s Voix Nouvelles program, the University of Iowa, Takefu, the International Academy in Tchaikovsky City, Darmstädter Ferienkurse, and many other distinguished institutions worldwide.

Agata Zubel

Agata Zubel

A composer and vocalist. As an artist, she breaks down stereotypes and enjoys international recognition, both as a creator of her own music and as an interpreter of the most challenging works of the vocal repertoire. 

She delivers a fascinating blend of the 50s’ and the 60s’ musical means with contemporary electro-acoustic elements. The New York Times has called her one of the greatest composers and vocalists in the world.

She has worked with multiple prestigious philharmonics, such as Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Musikgebouw in Amsterdam, Musikverein Wien, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Philharmonie in Berlin, in Cologne, Luxembourg, Moscow, Essen, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall in London, Casa da música in Porto, National Sawdust in New York, Seattle Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, L’Opéra de Reims, National Philharmonic in Warsaw, and many more.

Her discography consists of more than a dozen titles, including the “Fryderyk” Award-winning Cascando and Apparition, Dream Lake, Blots on the Sun, Not I, or Poems with her vocal interpretations of songs by Copland, Berg and Szymański.

The artist has been honoured with such prestigious awards as: “Passport” Award of the “Polityka”, Coryphaeus of Polish Music, European Composer Award, Erste Bank Kompositionspreis, “Gloria Artis” Medal, and many more. 

Agata Zubel is also active in teaching, she is a lecturer of the Academy of Music in Wroclaw. What’s more, she and Cezary Duchnowski perform as the ElettroVoce duet.

Daniel Cichy

A musicologist and director-editor-in-chief of the PWM Edition.

He graduated from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, where he also obtained his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Alicja Jarzębska, and Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg. 

He worked at the Institute of Music at the Silesian University in Cieszyn. Currently, he is a lecturer at the Institute of Musicology at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.

Daniel Cichy is a laureate of the Ray E. & Ruth A. Robinson Musicology Award, the Deutscher Musikrat and Ernst-von-Siemens-Musikstiftung scholar, and other recognized awards.

In 2009 he released his book Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik w Darmstadcie. Dzieje, rola i znaczenie w myśli teoretycznej, praktyce kompozytorskiej i życiu muzycznym drugiej połowy XX wieku.

Moreover, he is active as a music critic and journalist. 

The PWM is our strategic partner, preparing editions of the awarded compositions for performances in the performing part of the Competition.

Yann Robin jurorem Konkursu

Yann Robin

A composer and artistic director of the Ensemble Multilatérale. He actively promotes modern music, e.g. by organizing Controtempo Festival in Rome. 

The artist simultaneously studied jazz at CNR in Marseille and composition and analysis at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse, and later he continued education at IRCAM Institute.

His compositions have been performed by such ensembles and orchestras as: Klangforum Wien, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Seattle Symphony, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, and more.

His albums are well recognized with such awards as: Diapason d'Or, "Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik" and "Coup de Cœur" Académie Charles Cros. 

He has composed for numerous institutions like: Ircam, Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Casa Da Musica w Porto, and festivals like Aix-en-Provence.

An important part of his work is education. He is often invited to various conferences, courses, or master classes worldwide.

Rozalie Hirs jurorką Konkursu Szymanowskiego

Rozalie Hirs

A composer and a poet. She graduated from Columbia University and the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague. Moreover, she holds a degree from Twente University, where she studied Chemical Engineering.

Her art works, both literature and music, are imagination stimulating. They are described as lyrical and experimental. She creates vocal, orchestra, and electronic compositions, often blending traditional instruments with electronic sounds. 

Hirs’s compositions have been performed by such ensembles as: Amsterdam Sinfonietta, ASKO|Schönberg, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Klangforum Wien, Musikfabrik, and the artist herself as she performs at international festivals. 

She has been invited by the Nieuw Ensemble to develop a program for the OpenMusic and contemporary compositional techniques course, which later she ran at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She has also worked at Columbia University and has given guest lectures at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Helena Tulve

Helena Tulve

An Estonian composer. She studied at the Tallinn Secondary Music School, the Estonian Academy of Music, and the Conservatoire Superieur de Paris.

Drawing inspiration from Gregorian chant, oriental melodies, spectral music, and the avant-garde experiments of IRCAM, Tulve creates compositions that perfectly reflect the cultural richness of her country of origin. The sonic center of her works is not only timbre, but also intonation tensions, harmonic structures or melodic shapes, and the axis of her entire oeuvre - the constant transformation of life energy, which takes many forms and contains within itself numerous contradictions.

The composer has participated in Darmstadt International Summer Course for New Music, International Bartók Festival in Szombathely, and electronic music course at IRCAM in Paris.

Currently, she is a professor of composition at the Estonian Academy of Music and art director of the Estonian Music Days. The artist has been honoured with the Estonian Order of the White Star and French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Szymon Bywalec - przewodniczący komisji kwalifikacyjnej
Chairman

Szymon Bywalec
Joanna Freszel w komisji kwalifikacyjnej Konkursu

Joanna Freszel
Emilia Sitarz - komisja kwalifikacyjna Konkursu Szymanowskiego

Emilia Sitarz
Anna Kwiatkowska w komisji kwalifikacyjnej Konkursu

Anna Kwiatkowska
Grażyna Draus w komisji kwalifikacyjnej Konkursu

Grażyna Draus
Andrzej Kwieciński komisja kwalifikacyjna Konkursu Szymanowskiego

Andrzej Kwieciński
Karol Nepelski komisja kwalifikacyjna Konkursu Szymanowskiego

Karol Nepelski
Szymon Bywalec - przewodniczący komisji kwalifikacyjnej

Chairman

Szymon Bywalec

Joanna Freszel w komisji kwalifikacyjnej Konkursu

Joanna Freszel

Emilia Sitarz - komisja kwalifikacyjna Konkursu Szymanowskiego

Emilia Sitarz

Anna Kwiatkowska w komisji kwalifikacyjnej Konkursu

Anna Kwiatkowska

Grażyna Draus w komisji kwalifikacyjnej Konkursu

Grażyna Draus

Andrzej Kwieciński komisja kwalifikacyjna Konkursu Szymanowskiego

Andrzej Kwieciński

Karol Nepelski komisja kwalifikacyjna Konkursu Szymanowskiego

Karol Nepelski

01.07.2022 beginning of the call for entires
30.09.2022 deadline for entries
31.10.2022 announcement of the results of the competition

 

Apply: https://szymanowski-competition.appassimo.com

Rules of the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition - composition

The most important rules:

  1. We accept chamber pieces for one of the following instruments: violin (solo or with piano), voice (solo or with piano), piano, and string quartet.
  2. The violin, piano, and voice pieces ought to be from 3 to 5 minutes long.
  3. The string quartet pieces ought to be from 5 to 8 minutes long.
  4. The age limit for participants is 40.
  5. We accept entries from 1st July 2022 to 30th September 2022 through the online form which will be made available on the Competition website on 1st July.
  6. The voice pieces ought to be one of the following voice types: high, middle or low.
  7. The pieces submitted may have lyrics in any language. If you are using a language different from English, please provide a working translation into English, so that the jurors are able to comprehend your piece better.
  8. You may enter any number of pieces for the Competition. Entering each piece requires an entry fee of €25/110zł.
  9. The pieces you wish to enter for the Competition must not have been published anywhere else before.
  10. In each category, the pieces must be possible to perform with an instrument in standard tuning and without any modifications. If you win, your piece will become part of the Competition repertoire in the performing disciplines. This is why the way the instrument is used in your piece must not make it difficult for the participants to perform the remainder of the programme.

The above are only some of the most important rules of the Competition. Please read the complete Rules.

Piano

Pablo Borrás
1st place

Pablo Borrás
not granted
2nd place

not granted
Hyunsu Kim
3rd place

Hyunsu Kim
Bartosz Witkowski
distinction

Bartosz Witkowski
Michał Janocha
distinction

Michał Janocha
Pablo Borrás

1st place

Pablo Borrás

not granted

2nd place

not granted

Hyunsu Kim

3rd place

Hyunsu Kim

Bartosz Witkowski

distinction

Bartosz Witkowski

Michał Janocha

distinction

Michał Janocha

Violin

Amer Ali
1st place

Amer Ali
Jinwook Jung
2nd place

Jinwook Jung
Manolis Ekmektsoglou
3rd place

Manolis Ekmektsoglou
Andrea Nassivera
distinction

Andrea Nassivera
Pasquale Punzo
distinction

Pasquale Punzo
Amer Ali

1st place

Amer Ali

Jinwook Jung

2nd place

Jinwook Jung

Manolis Ekmektsoglou

3rd place

Manolis Ekmektsoglou

Manolis Ekmektsoglou

Andrea Nassivera

distinction

Andrea Nassivera

Pasquale Punzo

distinction

Pasquale Punzo

String quartet

Maria Vincenza
1st place

Maria Vincenza
Hed Bahack
2nd place

Hed Bahack
Hyunsu Kim
3rd place

Hyunsu Kim
Dario Michelon
distinction

Dario Michelon
Andrea Mattevi
distinction

Andrea Mattevi
Maria Vincenza

1st place

Maria Vincenza

Hed Bahack

2nd place

Hed Bahack

Hyunsu Kim

3rd place

Hyunsu Kim

Dario Michelon

distinction

Dario Michelon

Andrea Mattevi

distinction

Andrea Mattevi

Voice

Noemi Conti
1st place

Noemi Conti
Alejandro Mata
2nd place

Alejandro Mata
Krystian Neścior
3rd place

Krystian Neścior
Noemi Conti

1st place

Noemi Conti

Alejandro Mata

2nd place

Alejandro Mata

Krystian Neścior

3rd place

Krystian Neścior

Violin

Entries: 1.11.2022-31.01.2023

In Karol Szymanowski’s music, the violin is a symbol of friendship and love. The composer was a long-time close friend of the ingenious virtuoso Paweł Kochański, who became a professor at the New York Juilliard School after leaving Poland. Kochański inspired Szymanowski and accompanied him on his way to creating his two phenomenal violin concertos.

Love was what Szymanowski felt for his ‘chosen people’, as he would call the Górale people of the Podhale region. It is the violin that reflects the echoes of their music best. The Karol Szymanowski competition searches for violinists who are able to express the sense of such love and friendship best.

Rules of the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition

Rules for the Qualifying Committee

Rules for the Jury

Appendix No4 - Competition Repertoire in the violin discipline

  1. The Competition is open for performers of any nationality, performing on a professional level, satisfying the following age criteria:
    1. instrumentalists: born from 1991 to 2006
    2. string quartet: born from 1991 to 2006
    3. vocalists:
      1. ladies: born from 1991 to 2003
      2. gentlemen: born from 1988 to 2003
  2. The Participants' age must be compliant with the criteria on the day of deadline for entries, i.e. on 31.01.2023.
  3. Each Participant may only participate in one competition discipline. No Participant shall participate in a given discipline more than two times.
  4. The application fee is €100. It shall be paid for each person entered for the Competition, hence in the case of a quartet, from each ensemble member. The cost of the bank transfer shall be paid by the sender.
  5. In the case of a string quartet, one quartet member completes an application on behalf of the entire team. The remaining members of the quartet receive an e-mail from the application form, in which they are required to accept the regulations. The quartet's application is considered complete if all documents and approvals are complete.
  6. The Organiser shall provide the Participants with pianos, practice rooms, and a pianist-cameralist. A Participant may bring their own pianist.
  7. In the finals, the Participants will be accompanied by the Organiser's Orchestra. Except for the string quartet discipline.
  8. Except for the string quartet discipline, Participants shall perform their programme from memory.
  9. The list of persons and ensembles qualified for the Competition shall be made public by 01.03.2023.

The winners will receive high monetary prizes and the title of a laureate will surely open up new artistic opportunities before them.

1st prize      25,000 €
2nd prize    18,000 €
3rd prize     10,000 €

Special prize for the best performance of a piece by Karol Szymanowski: 6,000 €.

Honourable mention for the best accompanying pianist: 2,000 €.

Repertoire PDF

The winning compositions:

PDF Amer Ali - Poem

PDF Jinwook Jung - Plan à vol de corbeau, Poème n°4

PDF Manolis Ekmektsoglou - Motion, in Two

Selection stage:

  • a video recording made from 15.11.2022 to 15.01.2023, sent to the Organiser by 31.01.2023.
  • the participant is free to choose the repertoire; the performance must be violin with piano accompaniment, duration no longer than 20 minutes.

· the recording must contain

- no fewer than 2 stylistically varied pieces, composed in different epochs, but no earlier than in the year 1800;

- solo violin pieces are allowed, provided that they do not exceed 50% of the total time of the recording

·  the image must be captured with one camera, without any cuts during the performance of a given piece; the image must show the violinist’s complete silhouette from a distance no greater than 5 metres.

·  acceptable file format of video: mp4, .mov, .webm, link from youtube

·  File-size limit for videos: up to 5GB with a choice whether to upload the file natively (up to 5GB) or paste a youtube link.

·  it is permissible to perform the repertoire while recording from notes or memory

The Competition programme must be performed from memory.
The following pieces are exceptions from the above restriction:
- Ludwig van Beethoven’s piano and violin sonatas to be performed in the 1st stage (point 1) - piano and violin sonatas to be performed in the 2nd stage and
- Witold Lutosławski’s Partita for violin and piano

For sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Johannes Brahms, we recommend using urtext editions, such as G. Henle Verlag or Bärenreiter-Verlag,

Competition Repertoire:

1st Stage / 20-30 minutes

1. second movement of any sonata for piano and violin by Ludwig van Beethoven except for the Violin Sonata in A major op. 47 (The Kreutzer Sonata)

  1. to be chosen from Karol Szymanowski’s works –
    1. Mythes (Myths) three poems op. 30 for violin and piano - one part of the cycle
    2. Romance in D major op. 23
  2. one violin sonata to be chosen from Eugène Ysaÿe’s 6 violin sonatas op. 27 (1924)
    1. Violin sonata in G minor op. 27 No 1
    2. Violin sonata in A minor op. 27 No 2
    3. Violin sonata in D minor op. 27 No 3
    4. Violin sonata in E minor op. 27 No 4
    5. Violin sonata in G major op. 27 No 5
    6. Violin sonata in E major op. 27 No 6

 

2nd Stage / 45-60 minutes

  1. one piece to be chosen from the following

a. Karol Szymanowski – Violin sonata in D minor op. 9

b. Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin sonata in A major op. 47 (The Kreutzer Sonata)

c. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy – Violin sonata in F major (1838)

d. Maurice Ravel – Violin sonata in G major

e. Franz Schubert – Violin sonata in A major D. 574

f. Johannes Brahms -     Violin sonata No 1 in G major op. 78

g.                                    Violin sonata No 2 in A major op. 100

h.                                    Violin sonata No 3 in D minor op. 108

i. Robert Schumann – Violin sonata No 2 in D minor op. 121

j. Gabriel Fauré – Violin sonata in A major op. 13

k. César Franck – Violin sonata in A major M.8

l. Richard Strauss – Violin sonata in E flat major op. 18, TrV 151

m. Ottorino Respighi – Violin sonata in B minor

 

2. one virtuoso piece to be chosen from the following

a. Ernest Chausson – Poème for violin and orchestra op. 25, arr. for violin and piano

b. Maurice Ravel - Tzigane, rapsodie de concert for violin and piano

c. Camille Saint-Saëns – Introduction et rondo capriccioso in A minor for solo violin op. 28

d.                                     Havanaise in E major for solo violin op. 83

e. Pablo de Sarasate – Fantasy on themes from Georges Bizet’s Carmen opera

f. Karol Szymanowski – Nocturne and Tarantella for violin and piano op. 28

g. Henryk Wieniawski – Fantaisie brillante sur (...) „Faust” de Gounod op. 20

h.                                     Thémé original varié op. 15

i.                                      Polonaise Brillante in A major op. 21

j. Franz Waxman – Fantasy on themes from Georges Bizet’s Carmen opera for violin and orchestra, arr. for violin and piano

k. Eugène Ysaÿe / Camille Saint-Saëns - Caprice d'après l'Étude en forme de valse de Saint-Saëns

l. Béla Bartók – Rhapsody No.1 for violin and piano BB 94a

m.                      Rhapsody No.1 for violin and piano BB 96a

n. Arnold Schönberg – Fantasy for violin and piano op. 47

o. Witold Lutosławski – Partita for violin and piano

3. any miniature for violin and piano / duration3-5minutes
4. one of the three pieces awarded in the composition competition [its performance time does not count in the performance time for the remainder of the programme to be performed in the 2nd stage]

3rd Stage

  1. one of the following violin concertos by Karol Szymanowski –
    1. Violin Concerto No. 1 op. 35
    2. Violin Concerto No. 2 op. 61
  2. one of the following violin concertos (alphabetical order of the composers’ names):
    1. Béla Bartók – Violin Concerto No. 2 BB 117
    2. Krzysztof Penderecki – Violin Concerto No. 1
    3. Sergei Prokofiev – Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major op. 19Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor op. 63
    4. Mieczysław Weinberg – Violin Concerto in G minor op. 67
1.11.2022-31.01.2023 entries
1.03.2023 announcement of the list of participants who have qualified for the competition
4.09.2023 performance order draw
5–7.09.2023 1st stage
9–10.09.2023 2nd stage
16,20.09.2023 final
22.09.2023 laureates' concert

 

Piano

Entries: 1.11.2022-31.01.2023

Is it possible to imagine Karol Szymanowski’s world without the piano? Absolutely not! The piano was his confidant and inseparable companion at times of creative reveries. It was the instrument which enabled him to express himself not only as a composer, but also as a performer.

In Tymoszówka, the Szymanowskis’ family estate, the piano was virtually a member of the family. The story of its alleged destruction – by being thrown into a pond – is at the same time a story of an end of an era, also an era in the history of music. Yet, history goes on. In the competition, we search for pianists who are able to find the meaning of Szymanowski – here and now.

Rules of the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition

Rules for the Qualifying Committee

Rules for the Jury

Appendix No3 - Competition Repertoire in the piano discipline

  1. The Competition is open for performers of any nationality, performing on a professional level, satisfying the following age criteria:
    1. instrumentalists: born from 1991 to 2006
    2. string quartet: born from 1991 to 2006
    3. vocalists:
      1. ladies: born from 1991 to 2003
      2. gentlemen: born from 1988 to 2003
  2. The Participants' age must be compliant with the criteria on the day of deadline for entries, i.e. on 31.01.2023.
  3. Each Participant may only participate in one competition discipline. No Participant shall participate in a given discipline more than two times.
  4. The application fee is €100. It shall be paid for each person entered for the Competition, hence in the case of a quartet, from each ensemble member. The cost of the bank transfer shall be paid by the sender.
  5. In the case of a string quartet, one quartet member completes an application on behalf of the entire team. The remaining members of the quartet receive an e-mail from the application form, in which they are required to accept the regulations. The quartet's application is considered complete if all documents and approvals are complete.
  6. The Organiser shall provide the Participants with pianos, practice rooms, and a pianist-cameralist. A Participant may bring their own pianist.
  7. In the finals, the Participants will be accompanied by the Organiser's Orchestra. Except for the string quartet discipline.
  8. Except for the string quartet discipline, Participants shall perform their programme from memory.
  9. The list of persons and ensembles qualified for the Competition shall be made public by 01.03.2023.

The winners will receive high monetary prizes and the title of a laureate will surely open up new artistic opportunities before them.

1st prize      25,000 €
2nd prize     18,000 €
3rd prize     10,000 €

Special prize for the best performance of a piece by Karol Szymanowski: 6,000 €.

Repertoire PDF

The winning compositions:

PDF Pablo Borràs - Imita

PDF Hyunsu Kim - Sonata No.1 ‚Thanatos’

Selection stage:

  • a video recording made from 15.11.2022 to 15.01.2023, sent to the Organiser by 31.01.2023. 
  • a programme of the candidate’s choice, composed of stylistically varied pieces, containing a virtuosic piece, duration no longer than 30 minutes. Single movements of cyclic forms are allowed.
  • the image must be captured with one camera, without any cuts during the performance of a given piece; the image must show hand action and the pianist’s complete silhouette, right profile, from a distance no greater than 5 metres.
  • acceptable file format of video: mp4, .mov, .webm, link from youtube 
  • File-size limit for videos: up to 5GB with a choice whether to upload the file natively (up to 5GB) or paste a youtube link.
  • it is permissible to perform the repertoire while recording from notes or memory

The Competition programme must be performed from memory. 

The Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major op.21  (2nd stage) marked „* ” is an exception.

 

1st Stage  / 25-30 minutes

  1. two virtuosic études: one by Fryderyk Chopin and one by Franz Liszt  
  2. one étude by Karol Szymanowski, to be chosen from the following:

   Étude in G flat major op.4 No 2     or

   Étude in C major op.4  No 4

  1. one piece by Fryderyk Chopin to be chosen from the following:
    1. Ballade in G minor op. 23 
    2. Ballade in F major op. 38 
    3. Ballade in A flat major op. 47 
    4. Ballade in F minor op. 52 
    5. Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E flat major op. 22
    6. Polonaise in F sharp minor op. 44 
    7. Polonaise in A flat major op. 53 
    8. Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat major op. 61 
    9. Fantaisie in F minor op. 49 
    10. Barcarolle in F sharp major op. 60 
  2. two Mazurkas by Karol Szymanowski, to be chosen from op. 50 or op. 62
  3. should the programme prove not long enough to fill the time prescribed for the 1st stage: any composition by Karol Szymanowski  (other than those to be performed at any stage of the competition)

2nd Stage / 55-60 minutes

  1. one piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven except for the following:
    1. Sonata in C minor op. 10 No 1
    2. Sonata in E major op. 14 No 1
    3. Sonata in G major op. 14 No 2
    4. Sonatina in G minor op. 49 No 1
    5. Sonatina in G major op. 49 No 2
    6. Sonata in F sharp major op. 78
    7. Sonata in G major op.79
    8. Sonata in E minor op. 90
    9. Sonata in B major op. 106
  2. Karol Szymanowski’s works -  a repertoire of minimum 20 minutes’ duration; one piece to be chosen from the following is compulsory; in order to fill the time required (20 minutes), another piece chosen from the following or any piano composition by Karol Szymanowski, other than those performed in the 1st stage, must be performed
    1. one or more pieces from the Métopes, 3 Poèms op. 29 cycle  
    2. one or more pieces from the Masques (Masks), 3 Pieces op. 34 cycle
    3. Variations in B flat minor op. 3
    4. Variations on a Polish Folk Theme in B minor op. 10
    5. Fantasy in C major op. 14
    6. 12 Études op. 33
    7. Sonata No. 1 in C minor op. 8
    8. Sonata No. 2 in A major *
    9. Sonata No. 3 op. 36

 

  1. a piece or pieces by the following composers to fill the time of the 2nd stage (alphabetical order):

Grażyna Bacewicz [either 10 Concert Etudes for Piano (1957) or Piano Sonata No. 2 (1953)]

Béla Bartók

Claude Debussy 

Sofia Gubaidulina [either Chaconne (1962) or Sonata (1965)]

Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Maurice Ravel

Alexander Scriabin 

Igor Stravinsky

  1. one of the three pieces awarded in the composition competition [its performance time does not count in the performance time for the remainder of the programme to be performed in the 2nd stage], to be chosen by the participant

 

3rd Stage

  1. Karol Szymanowski – Symphony No 4 (Symphonie concertante) for piano and orchestra op. 60 
  2. one piece to be chosen from the following (alphabetical order of the composers’ names):

Béla Bartók – Piano Concerto No 3 

Krzysztof Penderecki –   Piano Concerto Resurrection

Sergei Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No 3 in C major op. 26  

Sergei Rachmaninoff –   Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor op. 18 

Maurice Ravel –   Piano Concerto in G major

 

 

 

1.11.2022-31.01.2023 entries
1.03.2023 announcement of the list of participants who have qualified for the competition
4.09.2023 performance order draw
5–7.09.2023 1st stage
9–10.09.2023 2nd stage
15,19.09.2023 final
23.09.2023 laureates' concert

 

String Quartet

Entries: 1.11.2022-31.01.2023

A string quartet is an intimate form. It is a most challenging form, both for the composer and for the performers. Karol Szymanowski’s two string quartets are true gems, world-class masterpieces of the genre.

Like light focused in a lens, Szymanowski’s quartets concentrate within themselves the essence of his musical language, his style, and his emotionality. To perform them convincingly, one needs perfect workmanship and wide cultural horizons. Yet, the Karol Szymanowski Competition does not look for convincing performers. It looks for arch-masters.

Rules of the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition

Rules for the Qualifying Committee

Rules for the Jury

Appendix No5 - Competition Repertoire in the string quartet discipline

  1. The Competition is open for performers of any nationality, performing on a professional level, satisfying the following age criteria:
    1. instrumentalists: born from 1991 to 2006
    2. string quartet: born from 1991 to 2006
    3. vocalists:
      1. ladies: born from 1991 to 2003
      2. gentlemen: born from 1988 to 2003
  2. The Participants' age must be compliant with the criteria on the day of deadline for entries, i.e. on 31.01.2023.
  3. Each Participant may only participate in one competition discipline. No Participant shall participate in a given discipline more than two times.
  4. The application fee is €100. It shall be paid for each person entered for the Competition, hence in the case of a quartet, from each ensemble member. The cost of the bank transfer shall be paid by the sender.
  5. In the case of a string quartet, one quartet member completes an application on behalf of the entire team. The remaining members of the quartet receive an e-mail from the application form, in which they are required to accept the regulations. The quartet's application is considered complete if all documents and approvals are complete.
  6. The Organiser shall provide the Participants with pianos, practice rooms, and a pianist-cameralist. A Participant may bring their own pianist.
  7. In the finals, the Participants will be accompanied by the Organiser's Orchestra. Except for the string quartet discipline.
  8. Except for the string quartet discipline, Participants shall perform their programme from memory.
  9. The list of persons and ensembles qualified for the Competition shall be made public by 01.03.2023.

The winners will receive high monetary prizes and the title of a laureate will surely open up new artistic opportunities before them.

1st prize      38,000 €
2nd prize     26,000 €
3rd prize      14,000 €

Special prize for the best performance of a piece by Karol Szymanowski: 10,000 €.

Repertoire PDF

PDF Maria Vincenza Cabizza - Quartetto op. N

PDF Hed Bahack - Gravitating in space

PDF Hyunsu Kim - Meniere II

Selection stage:

  • a video recording made from 15.11.2022 to 15.01.2023, sent to the Organiser by 31.01.2023
  • the recording shall contain pieces other than those entered for the competition, duration no longer than 20 minutes.
  • the recording must contain two contrasting movements of any string quartet.
  • the image must be captured with one camera, without any cuts during the performance of a given piece; the image must show the musicians’ silhouettes from a distance no greater than 5 metres.
  • acceptable file format of video: mp4, .mov, .webm, link from youtube
  • File-size limit for videos: up to 5GB with a choice whether to upload the file natively(up to 5GB) or paste a youtube link.
  • it is permissible to perform the repertoire while recording from notes or memory

The Competition programme may be performed with the use of sheet music.

 

1st Stage

1. one of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 6 String Quartets op. 18 (1800):

  1. String Quartet in F major op. 18 No. 1
  2. String Quartet in G major op. 18 No. 2
  3. String Quartet in D major op. 18 No. 3
  4. String Quartet in C minor op. 18 No. 4
  5. String Quartet in A major op. 18 No. 5
  6. String Quartet in B major op. 18 No. 6

2. a first movement of a string quartet by Karol Szymanowski, other than in the 3rd stage:

  1. String quartet No. 1 in C major op. 37, 1st movement. Lento assai – Allegro moderato
  2. String quartet No. 2 op. 56, 1st movement. Moderato, dolce e tranquillo

2nd Stage

1. one string quartet by one of the following composers (alphabetical order):

Johannes Brahms

Alexander Borodin

Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Antonín Dvořák

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Robert Schumann

Bedřich Smetana

 

2. one piece from the following

  1. Aleksander Tansman – String quartet No. 6
  2. Grażyna Bacewicz – String quartet No. 5
  3. Tadeusz Baird – String quartet
  4. Witold Lutosławski – String quartet
  5. Henryk Mikołaj Górecki – String quartet No. 2 Quasi una fantasia op.64
  6. Paweł Szymański – Pięć utworów for string quartet
  7. Krzysztof Penderecki – String quartet No. 3 Kartki z niezapisanego dziennika

3. one of the three pieces awarded in the composition competition [its performance time does not count in the performance time for the remainder of the programme to be performed in the 2nd stage]

3rd Stage

  1. one of Karol Szymanowski’s string quartets
    1. String quartet No. 1 in C major op. 37
    2. String quartet No. 2 op. 56
  2. one of the following string quartets
    1. Claude Debussy – String quartet in G minor op. 10
    2. Maurice Ravel – String quartet in F major
    3. Carl Nielsen – String Quartet in F major op. 44
    4. Alban Berg – String quartet op. 3
    5. Alban Berg - Lyrische Suite for string quartet
    6. Béla Bartók – String quartet No. 2 op. 17 BB 75
    7. Béla Bartók – String quartet No. 3 BB 93
    8. Béla Bartók – String quartet No. 4 BB 95
    9. Zoltán Kodály – String quartet No. 2 op. 10
    10. Leoš Janáček – String Quartet No. 1 “Inspired by Tolstoy’s Kreutzer Sonata”
    11. Leoš Janáček – String quartet No. 2 Listy duvérmé
    12. Aulis Sallinen – String quartet No. 3 Aspekteja Peltoniemen Hintrikin Susumarssista
    13. Alfred Schnittke – String quartet No. 3
    14. Arnold Schönberg – String quartet No. 3 op. 30
    15. Benjamin Britten – String quartet No. 2 in C major op. 36
    16. Benjamin Britten – String quartet No. 3 op. 94
1.11.2022-31.01.2023 entries
1.03.2023 announcement of the list of participants who have qualified for the competition
4.09.2023 performance order draw
14–16.09.2023 1st stage
18–19.09.2023 2nd stage
21.09.2023 final
23.09.2023 laureates' concert

Voice

Entries: 1.11.2022-31.01.2023

The human soul expresses itself most directly through singing. While singing Szymanowski, one may touch upon the mysticism of the East, get lost in the mist of Młoda Polska poetry, stand against the spiritual titans of Modernism, wander among the rhymes of Tuwim’s Słopiewnie, as well as lose oneself in King Roger’s dilemmas and Roxanne’s sensual charm.

Karol Szymanowski’s sister, Stanisława, was a singer herself. It is singing that his music breathes with. We seek singers who will find a common breath with Karol Szymanowski.

Rules of the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition

Rules for the Qualifying Committee

Rules for the Jury

Appendix No6 - Competition Repertoire in the voice discipline

  1. The Competition is open for performers of any nationality, performing on a professional level, satisfying the following age criteria:
    1. instrumentalists: born from 1991 to 2006
    2. string quartet: born from 1991 to 2006
    3. vocalists:
      1. ladies: born from 1991 to 2003
      2. gentlemen: born from 1988 to 2003
  2. The Participants' age must be compliant with the criteria on the day of deadline for entries, i.e. on 31.01.2023.
  3. Each Participant may only participate in one competition discipline. No Participant shall participate in a given discipline more than two times.
  4. The application fee is €100. It shall be paid for each person entered for the Competition, hence in the case of a quartet, from each ensemble member. The cost of the bank transfer shall be paid by the sender.
  5. In the case of a string quartet, one quartet member completes an application on behalf of the entire team. The remaining members of the quartet receive an e-mail from the application form, in which they are required to accept the regulations. The quartet's application is considered complete if all documents and approvals are complete.
  6. The Organiser shall provide the Participants with pianos, practice rooms, and a pianist-cameralist. A Participant may bring their own pianist.
  7. In the finals, the Participants will be accompanied by the Organiser's Orchestra. Except for the string quartet discipline.
  8. Except for the string quartet discipline, Participants shall perform their programme from memory.
  9. The list of persons and ensembles qualified for the Competition shall be made public by 01.03.2023.

The winners will receive high monetary prizes and the title of a laureate will surely open up new artistic opportunities before them.

1st prize       25,000 €
2nd prize     18,000 €
3rd prize      10,000 €

Special prize for the best performance of a piece by Karol Szymanowski: 6,000 €.
Honourable mention for the best accompanying pianist: 2,000 €.

Repertoire PDF

PDF Noemi Conti - Inizio di pubertà

PDF Alejandro Mata - Delicado sonido etéreo

PDF Krystian Neścior - Niewola

Selection stage:

  • a video recording made from 15.11.2022 to 15.01.2023, sent to the Organiser by 31.01.2023.
  • the recording shall contain pieces other than those entered for the competition, duration time no longer than 15 minutes.
  • the recording must contain: 1 operatic aria of the candidate’s choice and 2 lieder in two different languages, different from one another and different from the language of the aria;
  • the image must be captured with one camera, without any cuts during the performance of the pieces, and show the singer’s silhouette en face from a distance no greater than 5 metres;

 

Persons who qualify for the competition are requested to perform the following by 30.06.2023:

  • send to the Organiser 2 copies of the sheet music entered for performance in the 1st and the 2nd stage.
  • provide the precise name of the publications which the participant wishes to use while performing their pieces selected for the 3rd stage.
  • acceptable file format of video: mp4, .mov, .webm, link from youtube
  • File-size limit for videos: up to 5GB with a choice whether to upload the file natively (up to 5GB) or paste a youtube link.
  • it is permissible to perform the repertoire while recording from notes or memory

 

1st Stage / 15 minutes

The jury reserves the right to choose the pieces to be presented in the 1st stage.

The set of pieces to be performed by each participant shall be announced by the Jury an hour before the participant’s performance.

The participant decides about the order the pieces are performed in.

1. an aria satisfying all the following conditions:

a. is part of an opera premiered from 1800 to 1840 (written by a composer of any nationality)

b. is representative of the belcanto technique

c. performance – in the original key

 

2. a piece by Witold Lutosławski in original key, to be chosen from the following

a. Lacrimosa version for soprano and organ / whole

b. Chantefleurs et Chantefables for organ and orchestra; words Robert Desnos, arr. for soprano and piano Eugeniusz Knapik / two songs to be chosen from the following

La belle-de nuit

La sauterelle

La Véronique

L’Eglantine, l’Aubépine et la Gycine

La torture

      La rose

L’alligator

L’Angélique

Le papillon

c. Lawina words A.S. Pushkin, trans. J. Tuwim – soprano or tenor

d. Nie dla ciebie words K. Iłłakowiczówna – soprano, mezzosoprano, or tenor

e. Pięć pieśni do słów Kazimiery Iłłakowiczówny for mezzosoprano and piano / two songs to be chosen from the following / performance by a countertenor is allowed

Morze Wiatr Zima

Rycerze

Dzwony cerkiewne
f. Paroles tissées for tenor and chamber orchestra; words Jean-François Chabrun, arr. for tenor and piano Edward Sielicki / one movement to be chosen

Un chat qui s’émerveille...

Quand le jour a rouvert les brances du jardin...

Mille chevaux hors d’haleine...

Dormez cette pâleur nous est venue de join ...

g. Tarantella for baritone and piano; words. Hilaire Belloc / performance by a countertenor is allowed

or

Wojciech Kilar – from F. Petrarca’s „Sonnets for Laura” cycle trans. Jalu Kurek in original key – 1 song

Benedetto sia'l giorno

Era il giorno

Soleasi nel mio cor

E mi par d'or in ora

or

A song by H.M. Górecki in original key to be chosen from the following:

a. from the „Trzy pieśni do sł. M. Konopnickiej” op. 68 cycle – 2 songs to be chosen from the following

Przez te łąki , przez te pola

Kiedy Polska

U okienka, u mojego

b. from the „Śpiewy do sł. Juliusza Słowackiego” op. 48 cycle – 1 song to be chosen from the following

We łzach, Panie ręce podnosimy do Ciebie

Panie, o którym na niebiosach słyszę

c. from the „Dwie pieśni do sł. F. G. Lorki” trans. M. Bieszczadowski op. 42 cycle – 1 song

Nokturn

Malagena

d. from the „Trzy fragmenty do sł. S. Wyspiańskiego” op. 69 cycle – 1 song to be chosen from the following

Jakżeż ja się uspokoję

Może z mętów się dobędzie

Poezjo!

e. from the „Błogosławione pieśni malinowe” op. 43 cycle – 2 songs to be chosen from the following

Błogosławione pieśni malinowe

Co ranek skoro ustępują cienie Litość

O! Boże

H. M. Górecki’s songs were published by Boosey & Hawkes in 2013

3. two songs satisfying all the following conditions / transpositions allowed (only if published)

a. sung in two different languages, different from the languages of the pieces presented previously

b. contrastive in mood

c. written by composers from early Romanticism to Neoromanticism

4. one song by Karol Szymanowski chosen by the participant, satisfying the following conditions

a. performance in the original key
b. must not be repeated in other stages of the competition

c. the language version may be a repetition of one of the language versions of the pieces presented in this stage (1st stage)

 

2nd stage / 20 minutes

Participants present the whole programme of the 2nd stage.
The participant decides about the order the pieces are performed in.

1. to be chosen from works by Karol Szymanowski no fewer than three songs, from any opus, or a whole cycle of songs, or a fragment of a cycle / performance in original keys

2. two songs in different languages chosen from the following composers’ works / in original keys (alphabetical order)

Grażyna Bacewicz

Béla Bartók

Alban Berg

Luciano Berio

Lili Boulanger

Benjamin Britten

John Cage

Aaron Copland

George Crumb

Claude Debussy / except for Nuit d’étoiles and Mandoline Artur Honegger

Jacques Ibert

Charles Ives

Leoš Janáček

Wojciech Kilar

Stefan Kisielewski

Zoltán Kodály

György Ligeti

Anna Mahler

Bohuslav Martinů

Olivier Messiaen

Paweł Mykietyn

Roxanna Panufnik

Hans Pfitzner

Poldowski [Irène Wieniawska]

Francis Poulenc

Prasqual

Sergei Prokofiev

Maurice Ravel

Ludomir Różycki

Arnold Schönberg

Igor Stravinsky

Georgy Sviridov

Dmitri Shostakovich

Paweł Szymański

Michael Tippet

Anton Webern

Mieczysław Weinberg

Alexander von Zemlinsky

Agata Zubel

3. one of the three pieces awarded in the composition competition [its performance time does not count in the performance time for the remainder of the programme to be performed in the 2nd stage]

 

3rd stage

1. one or more pieces arranged for voice and orchestra, duration time no longer than 8 minutes; (pieces different from those performed in the preceding stages)

a. Król Roger op. 46, libretto Karol Szymanowski and Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, one of the following fragments:

Roksana’s Uśnijcie krwawe sny króla Rogera... aria from Act 2 (soprano)

Mój Bóg jest piękny jako ja... Shepherd’s song from Act 1 (tenor)

Hymn to the sun (Roger): Edrisi, już świt!...Słońce! Słońce! Edrisi... from Act 3 (baritone)

b. Trzy fragmenty z poematów Jana Kasprowicza op. 5, instrumentation Grzegorz Fitelberg / 1 hymn to be chosen from the following, different from any performed in a preceding stage (mezzosoprano, baritone, soprano spinto or countertenor)

Święty Boże

Jestem i płaczę

Moja pieśń wieczorna (Błogosławioną niech będzie ta chwila)

c. Penthesilea op. 18 for soprano and orchestra, words Stanisław Wyspiański

d. Des Hafis Liebeslieder für Gesang und Orchester/ Pieśni miłosne Hafiza for voice and orchestra op. 26, words Hans Bethge, translated into Polish by Stanisław Barącz (soprano, mezzosoprano, tenor, countertenor) / a selection – maximum duration approximately 8 minutes (songs different from the ones performed in a preceding stage).

Wünsche / Życzenia

Der verliebte Ostwind / Zakochany wiatr

Tanz / Taniec

Die Perlen meiner Seele / Serca mego perły

Jugend im Alter / Wieczna młodość

Deine Stimme / Głos Twój

Trinklied / Pieśń pijacka

Das Grab des Hafis / Grób Hafiza

e. Pieśni księżniczki z baśni op. 31 words Zofia Szymanowska (soprano) / a selection – maximum duration approximately 8 minutes (songs different from the ones performed in a preceding stage).

Samotny księżyc

Słowik

Taniec

f. Pieśni muezina szalonego op. 42, words Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (mezzosoprano, tenor, coutertenor / a selection – maximum duration approximately 8 minutes (songs different from the ones performed in a preceding stage)

Allah, Allah Akbar

W południe miasto białe

O tej godzinie

Odeszłaś w pustynię zachodnią

g. Słopiewnie op. 46 bis, words Julian Tuwim (soprano) / a selection – maximum duration approximately 8 minutes (songs different from the ones performed in a preceding stage)

Słowisień

Zielone słowa

Święty Franciszek

Kalinowe dwory

Wanda

h. Trzy kołysanki op. 48, words Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (soprano or tenor)

instrumentation Jan Krenz

      Pochyl się cicho nad kołyską

Śpiewam morzu, gwiazdom i tobie

Biały krąg księżyca olbrzymi

2. one operatic aria or scene from an opera, to be chosen from the following list:

for sopranos

Samuel Barber – Vanessa, libretto Gian Carlo Menotti

Act 1, Vanessa: Do not utter a word, Anatol...

Leonard Bernstein – Candide, libretto Lillian Hellman and Richard Wilbur after Voltaire

Act 1, Cunegonde: Glitter and be gay...

Leoš Janácek – Její pastorkyňa JW I/4, libretto Leoš Janácek after Gabriela Preissovea

Act 2, Jenůfa: To je mamin ina jizba...

Erich Wolfgang Korngold – Die tote Stadt op. 12, libretto Paul Schott

image 2, Marietta: Glück das mir verblieb...

Gian Calro Menotti – The Medium, libretto

Act 2, Monica’s Waltz: Bravo! And after the theatre...

Krzysztof Penderecki – Paradise Lost, libretto Christopher Fry after John Milton

Act 1, Eve’s dream: Adam, glad I see thy face...

Giacomo Puccini - Turandot, libretto Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni

Act 1, Liú: Signore, ascolta...

Act 3, Liú: Tu, che di gel sei cinta...

Richard Strauss – Ariadne auf Naxos op. 60, TrV 228, libretto Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Zerbinetta: Grossmächtige Prinzessin... (pt 1)

Igor Stravinsky – The Rake’s Progress, libretto Wystan Hugh Auden and Chester Simon Kallman

Act 1, Anna: No word from Tom... (recitative, aria, cabaletta, recommended edition – Boosey & Hawkes)

Mieczysław Weinberg – Passażirka, libretto Jurij Łukin and Aleksandr Miedwiediew after Zofia Posmysz

image 6, Marta: Wurde er mich rufen... (nos. 12-18 / ed. Peermusic Classical)

for mezzosopranos and altos

Benjamin Britten – The Rape of Lucretia op. 37, libretto Ronald Duncan after André Obey

Act 2, Lucretia: Give him this orchid... (nos. 51-77 / ed. Boosey & Hawkes)

Gian Carlo Menotti - The Consul, libretto Gian Carlo Menotti

Act 2, Mother: I shall find for you...

Francis Poulenc – Dialogues des carmélites op. 159, libretto Georges Bernanos

Act 2, Madame de Croissy: Relevez-vous, ma fille...

Richard Strauss – Der Rosenkavalier op. 59, TrV 227, libretto Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Act 1, Octavian: Wie du warst!...

Richard Strauss – Ariadne auf Naxos op. 60, TrV 228, libretto Hugo von Hofmannsthal

prologue, Composer: Sein wir wieder gut...

Igor Stravinsky – The Rake’s Progress, libretto Wystan Hugh Auden and Chester Simon Kallman

Act II, Baba the Turk: As I was saying ... Scorned !..(nos. 152-187 / ed. Boosey &

Hawkes)

for countertenors

Benjamin Britten – A Midsummer Night’s Dream op. 64, libretto Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears after William Shakespeare

Act 1, Oberon: Welcome wanderer!... (nos. 45-53 / ed. Boosey & Hawkes)

Philip Glass – Akhnaten op. 3, libretto Philip Glass and others

Act 1, Akhnaten: Tut wu-a yeri enti...

for tenors

Samuel Barber – Vanessa, libretto Gian Carlo Menotti

Act 1, Anatol: Outside this house...

Leoš Janácek – Její pastorkyňa JW I/4, libretto Leoš Janácek after Gabriela Preissova

Act 1, Laca Klemeň: Vy, stařenko...

Carl Orff - Die Kluge: die Geschichte von dem König und der klugen Frau, libretto Carl Orfa after the Grimm brothers

      scene 6, Eselman: Weh mir, wie konnt’ mir das Geschehn

Giacomo Puccini - Turandot, libretto Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni

Act 3, The Unknown Prince (Calaf): Nessun dorma...

Igor Stravinsky – The Rake’s Progress, libretto Wystan Hugh Auden and Chester Simon Kallman

Act 1, Tom Rakewell: Here I stand... (nos. 27-46 / ed. Boosey & Hawkes)

 or

Act 2, Tom Rakewell: Vary the song... (nos. 1-26 / ed. Boosey & Hawkes)
Act 3, Selem: Ladies, both fair and gracious... (nos. 43-65 / ed. Boosey & Hawkes)

or

Act 3, Selem: Behold it, Roman... (nos. 68 - 97 / ed. Boosey & Hawkes)

for baritones

Samuel Barber – Vanessa, libretto Gian Carlo Menotti

Act 2, The Old Doctor: You rascal you I never knew you had a soul...

Gian Calro Menotti – The Consul, libretto Gian Calro Menotti

Act 1, The Footman: Mrs. Sorel, your husband has many friends...

Erich Wolfgang Korngold – Die tote Stadt op. 12, libretto Paul Schott

image 2, Fritz: Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen...

Sergei Prokofiev – War and Peace op. 91, libretto Sergei Prokofiev and Mira Mendelssohn after Leo Tolstoy

image 1, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky: Svetloje vesenneje nebo...

Igor Stravinsky – The Rake’s Progress, libretto Wystan Hugh Auden and Chester Simon Kallman

Act 2, Nick Shadow: Come, master, observe the host... (nos. 29 - 47 / ed. Boosey & Hawkes)

1.11.2022-31.01.2023 entries
1.03.2023 announcement of the list of participants who have qualified for the competition
4.09.2023 performance order draw
15–17.09.2023 1st stage
19–20.09.2023 2nd stage
22.09.2023 final
23.09.2023 laureates' concert

Previous editions

The first edition of the competition took place in 2018 and it was a truly pioneering event. The initiators were Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa, then director of NOSPR, and the authorities of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.

The competition took place merely four years after NOSPR had moved to its new seat, where the final auditions were run. Invitations to form the Honourable Committee were accepted by Sir Simon Rattle and Krzysztof Penderecki. The competition was divided into five categories: piano, violin, string quartet, voice, and composition.

The participants were judged by a jury composed of the following members:

Piano: Andrzej Jasiński (chair), Joanna Domańska, Olga Kern, Aviram Reichert, Martin Roscoe, Tamás Ungár.

Violin: Bartłomiej Nizioł (chair), Eszter Haffner, Laurent Korcia, Szymon Krzeszowiec, Alexander Trostiansky, Andreas Vierziger.

String Quartet: Valentin Erben (chair), Krzysztof Chorzelski, Tim Frederiksen, Tadeusz Gadzina, Arkadiusz Kubica, Mats Lidström.

Voice: Jadwiga Rappé (chair), Ewa Biegas, Hartmut Höll, Bruno Michel, Mitsuko Shirai, Elżbieta Szmytka.

Composition: Eugeniusz Knapik (chair), Jakob Kullberg, Krzysztof Penderecki, Martin Smolka.

The laureates of the 1st Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition were:

Piano:
• Tymoteusz Bies – 1st prize, special prize for the best performance of a piece by Karol Szymanowski
• Mateusz Krzyżowski – 2nd prize
• Seung Hui Kim – 3rd prize

Violin:
• Sławomira Wilga – 1st prize
• Roksana Kwaśnikowska – 2nd prize
• Maja Horvat – 3rd prize, special prize for the best performance of a piece by Karol Szymanowski:

Voice:
• Ewa Tracz – 1st prize, special prize for the best performance of a piece by Karol Szymanowski
• Sylwia Olszyńska – 2nd prize
• Agnieszka Jadwiga Grochala – 3rd prize

String Quartet:
• Eliot Quartett – 1st prize, special prize for the best performance of a piece by Karol Szymanowski
• Selini Quartet – 2nd prize
• New Music Quartet – 3rd prize

Composition:
• Giovanni Bonato – 1st prize
• Lim Youngjin, Daniele Gasparini, Eunho Chang – 3rd prize ex aequo

Honourable mentions for the best accompanying pianists:
Maurycy Stawujak – best accompanying pianist in the voice category
Radosław Kurek – best accompanying pianist in the violin category


Contact

Website by Noviki
Organizer
Co-organizers
Strategic Partner
bubblemagnifiercrosschevron-downarrow-upplus-circlecircle-minuschevron-left-circlechevron-right-circle linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram