Calendar of Cultural Events

Please verify dates and times with The Kosciuszko Foundation Director of Cultural Affairs
Tom Pniewski -- (212) 734-2130 ext. 214

Thursday and Friday, April 1-2
Chopin Piano Competition
New York Preliminaries

The 55th Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition will take place April 1-3, 2004. Preliminaries will be held Thursday and Friday, April 1 and 2, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Foundation House (15 E. 65th Street, between 5th and Madison). Finals take place at Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, on Saturday, April 3, beginning at 1:30 PM. No tickets are required for the Preliminaries; for the Weill Hall Finals, $15 tickets are available through CarnegieCharge (212-247-7800).

Abbey Simon (recent PBS Star Host), will chair the jury. A concert pianist of worldwide stature, Abbey is at the Juilliard School and University of Houston. The other members are Constance Keene, of the Manhattan School of Music (who was present at the Competition's inaugural recital in 1949); teacher and concert performer Anne Koscielny, a former Laureate of the KF Chopin Piano Competition; Thomas Schumacher, of the Eastman School of Music; and concert pianist Ruth Slenczynska. Some twenty performers from across the U.S. have registered. The Laureate receives a cash scholarship of $5,000 and is invited to perform in several cities through the U.S.
For additional information and reservations, call the Foundation Office at (212) 734-2130.

The Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition was established in 1949, in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Frederic Chopin. The inauguration took place at the Kosciuszko Foundation House in New York City, with Witold Malcuzynski as guest artist, and Abram Chasins, composer and music director of the New York Times Radio Stations, presiding. Over the years, many outstanding musicians have been associated with the competition including Van Cliburn, Ian Hobson, and Murray Perahia. Today the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition continues to encourage gifted young pianists to further their studies, and to perform the works of Polish composers.

Click here for more information about the preliminaries for the competition.

Kosciuszko Foundation programs are supported by the Mary F. Koons Charitable Trust, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the Tadeusz Solowij Literary Fund, and the KF Cultural Fund.