The group includes six pianists from Poland, five from Japan, three from Italy, and two each from Canada, Russia and South Korea.
In the competition's third round, which begins on Thursday, participants will perform a recital lasting between 45 and 55 minutes and consisting of Chopin's Sonata in B-flat minor op. 35 or Sonata in B minor op. 50 or his cycle of Preludes op. 28; in addition to a full set of mazurkas selected from one of eight opuses, and any other piece or pieces by the composer.
Forty-four pianists took part in the second stage of the competition. Poland’s Marcin Wieczorek withdrew at the last minute due to ill health.
The prizewinners will be announced on October 20. The top winner will receive the Gold Medal and EUR 40,000 in prize money.
The competition jury, chaired by Polish pianist Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń, features prominent pianists and past laureates of the Warsaw competition, including Dang Thai Son, Nelson Goerner, Adam Harasiewicz, Krzysztof Jabłoński, Kevin Kenner, Arthur Moreira-Lima, Piotr Paleczny, and Dina Joffe, alongside British musicologist and Chopin scholar John Rink.
(mk/gs)