Calendar of Cultural Events

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

Kosciuszko Foundation 57th Chopin Piano Competition
Friday and Saturday, April 7-8 in New York.

The Kosciuszko Foundation will host its 57th annual Chopin Piano Competition on the weekend of April 7-8, 2006, at the Foundation House in New York City (15 East 65th Street, between Fifth and Madison Avenues). Friday's Preliminaries begin at 10 AM; they are open to the public, and no ticket is required. Saturday's Finals begin at 2 PM, followed by an Awards Ceremony and reception. Tickets for Saturday are $25, and can be reserved by calling the Foundation Office at 212.734.2130.

Jurors this year include Jed Distler, Miriam Conti, and Frank Levy. New York writer and composer/pianist Jed Distler's works have been performed and recorded by leading pianists including Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Distler is a widely read CD reviewer for ClassicsToday.com and Gramophone. He is also artistic director of Composers Collaborative and is composer-in-residence at West Park Presbyterian Church in New York. Argentine pianist Mirian Conti has made solo, orchestral and chamber appearances worldwide; her latest CD release features works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, and her recording of music of Turina has been enthusiastically received by critics. Frank Levy has been a member of the Juilliard School faculty since 1995. He studied with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory, among others, and has served as an adjudicator at many competitions in the US and Europe.

Dozens of young virtuosos will perform a repertoire ranging from major works of Chopin, Szymanowski and standard repertoire from Baroque to contemporary. A special requirement is a major work by a Polish, American, or Polish-American composer.

The Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition was inaugurated in 1949, marking the centennial of the great composer's death; Polish master pianist Witold Malcuzynski performed at the Foundation on that occasion. Since then, laureates have included Roy Eaton, Murray Parahia, and Frederic Chiu, among others. A most distinguished laureate was Van Cliburn in 1952, who went on to win the Tchaikowsky Competition in Moscow and establish a worldwide reputation; Mr. Cliburn will receive the Kosciuszko Foundation's Medal of Recognition and be a special guest at the Foundation's 71st Annual Dinner and Ball at the Waldorf=Astoria, on April 22.

Space is limited at the Foundation House, and early reservations are highly recommended for any of these events. For information about the Competition and other Kosciuszko Foundation activities, call the Office at 212.734.2130

All events take place at the Foundation House, unless otherwise noted. Programs subject to change. Click here for directions.

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.

F. Chopin