The festival's artistic director, prominent Polish pianist Piotr Paleczny, told Poland's PAP news agency that this year's lineup includes acclaimed performers such as Poland’s Piotr Anderszewski and Krzysztof Jabłoński, American pianists Kate Liu and Eric Lu, and Israel’s Boris Giltburg, winner of the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels.
Other highlights include recitals by Canada’s Kevin Chen, one of the world’s most sought-after young pianists at just 20 years old; Kyohei Sorita of Japan, second-prize winner at the 2021 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw; and Polish pianists Krzysztof Wierciński and Mateusz Dubiel, both of whom are set to compete in the upcoming Chopin Competition in October.
In addition to more than 20 concerts and recitals, the programme features masterclasses for young pianists led by Ronan O’Hora of London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Claudio Martinez-Mehner, who teaches at conservatories in Basel, Cologne and Madrid.
First held in 1946, the International Chopin Piano Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój is the oldest music festival in Poland.
It commemorates Frédéric Chopin’s visit to the spa town—then called Bad Reinerz—in 1826. The 16-year-old composer gave an impromptu charity concert during his stay, with proceeds donated to a local orphaned family.
(mk/gs)