VI International Chopin Piano Competition

Sixth International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
Date22 February – 13 March 1960 (1960-02-22 – 1960-03-13)
VenueNational Philharmonic, Warsaw
Hosted byFryderyk Chopin Society [pl]
WinnerMaurizio Pollini (Italy)
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The VI International Chopin Piano Competition (Polish: VI Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 22 February to 13 March 1960 in Warsaw. The competition was won by Maurizio Pollini of Italy, becoming the first winner not from Poland or the Soviet Union.

Awards

Maurizio Pollini in 1975

The competition consisted of two elimination stages and a final with twelve pianists. Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini won first prize, with Arthur Rubinstein, honorary chairman of the jury, declaring "that boy can play the piano better than any of us".[1]

Audience favorite Michel Block failed to win a prize and only received an honorable mention.[2] Outraged, Rubinstein created a special prize bearing his name on the spot, and awarded it to Block.[3]

The following prizes were awarded:[2]

Prize Winner
1st 40,000zł Maurizio Pollini Italy
2nd 30,000zł Irina Zaritskaya Soviet Union
3rd 25,000zł Tania Achot-Haroutounian [pl] Iran
4th 20,000zł Ming-Qiang Li China
5th 15,000zł Zinaida Ignatyeva Soviet Union
6th 10,000zł Valeri Kastelsky [ru] Soviet Union
HM 5,000zł Michel Block Mexico
5,000zł Jerzy Godziszewski [pl] Poland
5,000zł Hitoshi Kobayashi [jp] Japan
5,000zł Reiya Silvonen Finland
5,000zł Aleksander Słobodianik Soviet Union
5,000zł Józef Stompel [pl] Poland

Two special prizes were awarded:

Special prize Winner
Best Performance of Mazurkas 10,000zł Irina Zaritskaya Soviet Union
Best Performance of a Polonaise 10,000zł Irina Zaritskaya Soviet Union

Jury

The jury consisted of:[2]

References

  1. ^ Hewett, Ivan (14 September 2010). "Maurizio Pollini: ice-man of the ivories". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "The 6th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition". Fryderyk Chopin Institute. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  3. ^ Rubinstein, Arthur (1980). My Many Years (1st ed.). New York: Knopf. p. 559. ISBN 978-0-394-42253-4. OCLC 5673961 – via Internet Archive.

Further reading

  • Arendt, Ada; Bogucki, Marcin; Majewski, Paweł; Sobczak, Kornelia (2020). Chopinowskie igrzysko. Historia Międzynarodowego Konkursu Pianistycznego im. Fryderyka Chopina 1927–2015 [The Chopin Games. The History of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition 1927–2015] (in Polish) (1st ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. ISBN 978-83-235-4127-1. OCLC 1153285192.
  • Ekiert, Janusz (2010). The Endless Search for Chopin: The History of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (1st ed.). Warsaw: Muza. ISBN 978-83-7495-812-7. OCLC 670048637.
  • Ossowski, Jerzy; Brodska, Halina (2010). The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in photographs. Warsaw: Fryderyk Chopin Institute. ISBN 978-83-61142-36-2. OCLC 802743657.