1st Competition 1961
PADEREWSKI COMPETITION
1st All-Polish Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz, December 1 – 10, 1961
Henryk Sztompka wrote in the competition program:
“For the first time in the history of Polish music we are witness to a piano competition, which is unique thanks to its program, and includes compositions by Chopin, Paderewski and Szymanowski. Yet the highlight of this event is provided by the father of all music – Jan Sebastian Bach. Paderewski […] original and creative in his music, deserved at the hundred anniversary of his birthday, to rank among the greatest, at the very forefront of the history of music, among artists so prolific, and so distinct through their language. Due to these reasons the I. J. Paderewski competition is gaining importance all over Poland […] and thanks to its program, reverberates its greatness far beyond the Polish border.”
The organizers of the competition included: The Ministry of Culture and the Arts, the Committee for the Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Ignacy Jan Paderewski Birthday and the I. J. Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz. The competition was financed with the means from the Ministry of Culture and the Arts and took place from 1st till 10th of December, 1961, in the concert hall of the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz.
The students and alumni from the academic year 1960/61 of higher musical schools in Poland participated in the competition. Twenty seven candidates representing Katowice, Cracow, Łódź, Poznań, Sopot and Warsaw entered the contest. Eventually 17 participants reported for the audition. The most renowned Polish musicians sat in the jury. Today we may state that among the then members of the jury there were some today most renowned Polish pianists.
JURY of the 1st All-Polish Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz:
Henryk Sztompka – Chairman of the Jury
Wanda Chmielewska
Zbigniew Drzewiecki
Jan Hoffman
Natalia Hornowska
Gertruda Konatkowska
Wiktor Weinbaum
Maria Wiłkomirska
Bolesław Woytowicz
Jerzy Żurawlew
LAUREATES of the 1st All-Polish Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz:
1st place – Jerzy Maksymiuk, The State Higher School of Music (PWSM) Warsaw – 5.000 PLN.
2nd place – Maria Korecka, PWSM Cracow – 4.000 PLN.
3rd place – Piotr Lachert, PWSM Warsaw – 3.000 PLN.
Honorary mentions:
Maciej Małecki, PWSM Warsaw – 2.000 PLN.
Jacek Weiss, PWSM Cracow – 2.000 PLN.
Hanna Witt, PWSM Katowice – 2000 PLN.