Chopin outreach programme hailed as success in Poland

Poland’s culture ministry and the National Chopin Institute have praised the results of The Chopin Effect, a classical music outreach programme held last year alongside the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.

Polish Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska.

Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak

The programme aimed to bring the music of composer Fryderyk Chopin to new audiences, including performances at cultural centres, schools, libraries, museums and nursing homes.

Concerts were held in medium-sized towns such as Łomża, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Pszczyna and Chełm, as well as in villages with populations of about 1,500.

Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska called the initiative "an unprecedented undertaking" that built on the global reach of the Chopin Competition.

Speaking at a news conference in Warsaw, she said performances by more than 120 musicians, including Chopin Competition prizewinners, attracted nearly 60,000 people.

Tysiące słuchaczy i setki wydarzeń - podsumowaliśmy projekt „Efekt Chopina”

386 wydarzeń, ponad 400 godzin koncertów i niemal 58 tysięcy słuchaczek i słuchaczy w każdym wieku - to podsumowanie jednego z największych programów koncertowych i edukacyjnych ostatnich lat. Projekt… pic.twitter.com/MapScOAarX

— Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego (@kultura_gov_pl) January 15, 2026

"Thanks to The Chopin Effect, we were able to bring live classical music to communities that previously had little or no access to high culture," Cienkowska said.

(mk/gs)

Source: PAP