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III International Chopin Piano Competition

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The Third International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
Date21 February – 13 March 1937 (1937-02-21 – 1937-03-13)
VenueNational Philharmonic, Warsaw
Hosted byWarsaw Music Society [pl]
WinnerSoviet Union Yakov Zak
← 2nd · Chopin Competition · 4th →

The III International Chopin Piano Competition (Polish: III Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 21 February to 13 March 1937 in Warsaw. It was the last competition before the outbreak of World War II, and the competition would not be held again until 1949.

80 pianists from 22 countries took part in the competition, including two participants from Japan. Contestants could choose between pianos manufactured by Bechstein, Bösendorfer, Pleyel and Steinway. Soviet pianist Yakov Zak was awarded the first prize.

Awards

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Władysław Korsak, Deputy Minister of the Interior, giving the inaugural speech in the Warsaw Philharmonic
Yakov Zak, winner of the first prize, during the competition
Laureates of the competition: Yakov Zak, Rosa Tamarkina, Witold Małcużyński and Lance Dossor

Out of 80 pianists in the elimination stage, 21 were admitted to the final, where they performed two consecutive movements of one of Chopin's two piano concertos with the Warsaw Philharmonic.[1]

The two female Japanese pianists Miwa Kai [jp] and Chieko Hara [jp] received great acclaim among critics and the public. When news broke that Hara, who reached the final, was not among the prize-winners and was merely awarded an honorable mention, a commotion broke out. Fearing that the frenzied crowd would cause damage to the Philharmonic, industrialist Stanisław Meyer sponsored a special award for Hara.[2]

16-year-old Evi Wächter from Austria was the first pianist to perform in the elimination stage

The following prizes were awarded:[1]

Prize Winner
1st 5,000zł Yakov Zak  Soviet Union
2nd 2,500zł Rosa Tamarkina  Soviet Union
3rd 2,500zł Witold Małcużyński  Poland
4th 2,000zł Lance Dossor  United Kingdom
5th 2,000zł Agi Jambor  Hungary
6th 1,000zł Edith Axenfeld  Germany
7th 1,000zł Monique de La Bruchollerie  France
8th 500zł Jan Ekier  Poland
9th 500zł Tatiana Goldfarb [ru]  Soviet Union
10th 500zł Olga Iliwicka [pl]  Poland
11th 500zł Pierre Maillard-Verger  France
12th 250zł Lélia Gousseau  France
13th 200zł Halina Kalmanowicz [pl]  Poland
HM Jan Bereżyński  Poland
Maria Bilińska-Riegerowa [pl]  Poland
Márta Blaha  Hungary
György Faragó [ru]  Hungary
Colette Gaveau  France
Zbigniew Grzybowski  Poland
Chieko Hara [jp]  Japan
Natalia Hornowska-Pęzińska  Poland
Nina Jemelianowa  Soviet Union
Helena Landau  Poland
Fryderyk Portnoj  Poland
Paulina Szmukler  Poland
Viktorie Švihlíková [cs]  Czechoslovakia
Marie Aimée Warrot [Wikidata]  France
Jozsef Weingarten  Hungary

Two special prizes were awarded:

Special prize Winner
Best Performance of Mazurkas 250zł Yakov Zak  Soviet Union
Best Performances of a Sonata 500zł Lance Dossor  United Kingdom

Jury

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The jury consisted of:[1]

The final of the competition. The jury sits on the left.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "III International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition". Fryderyk Chopin Institute. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  2. ^ Marczyński, Jacek (21 October 2000). "Salon odrzuconych". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). No. 247 (5717) (wydanie specjalne) [special issue]. Warsaw. p. 4.

Further reading

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