In October, due to the 15th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, the hearts of piano music fans around the world will beat faster. Interest in the event is immense. On Sept. 23-29 the Musical Academy will host qualifying rounds for the competition.

Long lines at the box office of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw where the event takes place are already a competition tradition. Of course, as the competition progresses, the lines grow longer and longer, and the tickets are harder to get. There is even an anecdote about a student in 1980- when Warsaw youth were crazy about the controversial Yugoslavian pianist Ivo Pogorelić-who hid in the philharmonic bathroom to see his favorite musician on the next day, since it was impossible to get even a standby ticket for the performance.

A must
According to unofficial sources, as always, guests at the event will even include royals. For years attending the Chopin Competition in Warsaw has been a must in Europe. And for many music fans, going to the event, alongside the Warsaw Autumn Festival of Contemporary Music, is a trendy thing to do.

This year's competition will take place Oct. 2-24. Its prestige comes from the fact that it is devoted to the famous and popular Polish composer as well as from the fact that it is the oldest piano competition in the world. The first edition took place in Warsaw in 1927.

This year the competition is open to musicians of all nationalities born between 1977 and 1988.

One of the event's primary goals is to promote Chopin's music among young pianists around the world, an idea that has been proven successful, as exemplified by last competition's results-the winner came from China, and the second and third places went to an Argentine and a Russian.

On the other hand, while lauding excellent performers from many continents, Polish audiences may be a little unhappy that for many years Polish musicians have not scored too well. Poles are still waiting for a successor to Krystian Zimerman, who won the 9th Chopin Competition 30 years ago.

Door to a career
The competition's prestige also stems for the fact that its awards open the doors to concert halls for young musicians, facilitating their career. This is best proved by the stunning success of Zimerman, who today is considered one of the top pianists. There is a long list of laureates of the event for whom the competition brought fame and lucrative contracts with record labels-for example, Argentine Martha Argerich, who will be on the competition jury this year; American Garrick Ohlsson; Russian Stanislav Bunin; Vietnamese Dang Thai Son; or Italian Maurizio Pollini, whose performance of the 24 Preludes is still considered a benchmark.

A new system
The competition is organized by the Warsaw-based Frederic Chopin Society. According to the competition regulations, the candidates have to take part in the qualifying rounds in Warsaw Sept. 23-29. At that stage, the jury includes prominent Polish musicians. The jury of the competition, on the other hand, includes outstanding Polish and foreign musicians. The event's regulations have raised much controversy. Chopin experts are still discussing the jury's failure to appreciate some participants who are now among the world's top pianists, such as Pogorelić, Jeffrey Swann or Nelson Goerner. However, perhaps there will be a change for the better, since the "arithmetic system" of performer classification will most likely be replaced by a system allowing the jury members to vote for individual pianists and discuss their decisions.

The beginnings
The competition was initiated by Prof. Jerzy Żurawlew, an outstanding Polish pianist, teacher and composer (1887-1980). Initially, the first competition was to take place in 1926-eight years after Poland's regaining of independence after over a century of partitions. The date was connected with the unveiling ceremony for a Chopin monument in Warsaw. Created by Wacław Szymanowski, the statue now decorates Royal Łazienki Park. However, the ceremony was delayed and the competition was postponed until the next year. The first competition was held under the patronage of Polish President Ignacy Mościcki and was organized by the then-Frederic Chopin Higher School of Music at the Warsaw Music Society, the predecessor of today's Music Academy. The 15-member Organization Committee included both excellent musicians like pianist Aleksander Michałowski and violinist Leopold Binental as well as renowned representatives of the Polish elite-historian and literary theorist Tadeusz Grabowski, popular writer Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski and engineer and social activist Antoni Ponikowski. The competition was a big event in the young Polish state.

Żurawlew's dream
Żurawlew appreciated the event's significance, and wrote: "This is one of the biggest cultural ceremonies that we have experienced in Warsaw since the emergence of the free Homeland. It is not about honoring a great Polish artist by speeches, or even by an eternal decoration in the form of a monument, but by an artistic deed. Young performers from all over Europe are competing. They are to stage a noble fight for priority in preserving the Chopin tradition. The competition is, to an extent, a revue of piano technique and culture, the musical culture of a given country and a test of the best style and historical understanding of the immortal Master."

Żurawlew's dream has come true and the competition has been held since then, becoming another monument to Chopin-next to the one that returned to the Łazienki Park after World War II. During the war, the Germans destroyed the statue and as part of a campaign to destroy Polish culture, banned all performances of Chopin's music, even in private residences.