Warsaw: SiltaNews – News Desk
Piotr Alexewicz, from the southwest city of Wrocław, was one of three Polish pianists to reach the third stage of the tournament but the only one to make it to the grand finale. The jury, chaired by American pianist Garrick Ohlsson, made an exception to its standard rule of selecting 10 finalists, admitting 11 this year after a tie between the 10th and 11th places.
Alongside Alexewicz, the final will feature three pianists from China, two each from Japan and the United States, and one each from Georgia, Canada, and Malaysia. The final round of the competition will see the finalists perform Fryderyk Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61, alongside a selected Piano Concerto with the accompaniment from the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.
Open to pianists under 30, the competition focuses solely on the works of Fryderyk Chopin, whose music is renowned for technical complexity and emotional depth. The final begins on Saturday at 6 p.m., and results will be announced on Monday, October 20. In the previous edition of the competition, which was postponed to 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, two Polish pianists reached the final. In 2015 – like this year – only one Pole made it through to the last stage.