Tag: Chopin

Art, Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , ,

Applications available for the Kosciuszko Foundation’s Chopin Piano Competition

The Kosciuszko Foundation’s Chopin Piano Competition was established in 1949, in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Frederic Chopin. Over the years, many outstanding musicians have been associated with the competition including Van Cliburn, Ian Hobson, and Murray Perahia. Today, the Kosciuszko Foundation’s Chopin Competition continues to encourage gifted young pianists to further their studies and to perform the works of Polish composers.

Required Repertoire

1. Chopin:

a) One Mazurka of the contestant’s choice

b) Two works chosen from Etudes, Nocturnes, Waltzes, Impromptus, Preludes, and miscellaneous works

c) One major work chosen from the following: Ballades, Scherzi, Sonatas; F-sharp minor Polonaise; A-flat major Polonaise-Fantasy; Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise; Barcarolle; F-minor Fantasy; Introduction and Rondo, Op.16; Allegro de Concert, Op. 46

2. Szymanowski: Two works of the contestant’s choice, including at LEAST one Mazurka

3. A major work by J.S. Bach or two Preludes and Fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier

4. A complete sonata by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, or Schubert

5. A major 19th or early 20th century work (before 1950 including Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, etc., but excluding those in 4. Above)

6. A contemporary work (after 1950) by an American or Polish composer

*All works are to be complete and played from memory

Eligibility

The Competition is open to citizens and permanent residents of the United States, Polish citizens, and to international full-time students with valid U.S. student visas. Applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 26 as of October 24, 2014.

Application Process

Complete the application [pdf] and submit it along with all required materials noted below by October 3, 2014 to:

Chopin Piano Competition
Kosciuszko Foundation
15 East 65th Street
New York, NY 10065
Fax: (212) 628-4552

1. Biography or curriculum vitae. Include education, experience, honors or competitions won, public recitals or performances with orchestra. Include official event name or competition title, sponsoring organization, and date.

2. Two letters of recommendation emphasizing artistic ability and achievement, one from a current teacher and one from another source, sent directly to The Kosciuszko Foundation.

3. A typewritten copy of your program from the required repertoire (see p. 3) Please give complete information, (including key & opus number, etc.) and movement titles. Retain a copy.

4. A copy of an official document with proof of age.

5. One black and white photo of yourself suitable for reproduction, no smaller than 3″ x 5.”

6. A non-refundable application fee of $50 (payable by check or money order to The Kosciuszko Foundation).

Competition Schedule

Preliminaries: Friday, October 24, 2014 at 10 AM, KF House
Finals: Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 10 AM, KF House

attachment_1

Current Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , ,

Violin Recital of Ania and Piotr Filochowski

The Consulate General of Poland in New York cordially invites you to attend the violion recital of Ania and Piotr Filochowski accompanied by Jeeyoung Hong, piano on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 5 PM. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Seating is limited. First-come, first-served. Latecomers will not be admitted during the performance.

Ania and Piotr Filochowski will be performing the works of: Ludwig van BEETHOVEN, Felix MENDELSSOHN, Johann Sebastian BACH, Niccolò PAGANINI, Eugène YSAYE, Fryderyk CHOPIN, Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART, and Piotr TCHAIKOVSKY. Of note, the program will include several beautiful transcriptions of Chopin’s works in celebration of the anniversary of Chopin’s 200th Birthday this March.

The Consulate General of Poland in New York
233 Madison Ave.
Jan Karski Corner
New York, NY 10016

If you have any questions about the event, please contact the Consulate at: (646) 237-2112 or by E-mail.

Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , , , ,

Chopin’s 200th

2010 marks the 200th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s birth. In honor of the occasion iTunes is highlighting Alice Sara Ott’s album of Chopin waltzes. You can take a sample listen at the iTunes website.

Fryderyk Chopin was born March 1, 1810 at the village of Żelazowa Wola, in the Duchy of Warsaw. He was regarded a child-prodigy pianist. He left Poland for good on November 2, 1830 for a trip to Italy. The outbreak of the Polish November Uprising seven days later, and its subsequent suppression by Russia, led to Chopin’s becoming one of many expatriates of the Polish Great Emigration.

Settling in Paris, Chopin worked as a composer and piano teacher, while giving few public performances. Chopin remained an ardent Polish patriot throughout his short life. For the greater part of his life Chopin suffered from poor health; he died in Paris on October 17, 1849 of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Chopin’s compositions, of which there are over 230, were written primarily for the piano as solo instrument. Though technically demanding, they emphasize nuance and expressive depth rather than sheer virtuosity. Chopin invented musical forms such as the instrumental ballade and was responsible for major innovations in the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, nocturne, polonaise, étude, impromptu and prélude.

Alice Sara Ott, a German-Japanese pianist, was born in Munich in 1988. Her second compilation, noted above, is a series of complete waltzes by Frederic Chopin.

The following is Piosenka litewska from Chopin’s Polish Songs, Op. 74