Watch the Preliminaries of the Chopin Competition

The Preliminaries of the 19th International Chopin Competition are underway in the Chamber Music Hall of the Warsaw Philharmonic. From April 23 to May 4, 163 pianists from 28 countries are performing their best Chopin etudes, nocturnes, scherzos, and mazurkas. Watch all performances online and form your opinion about who is worthy of a place in the final stages of the competition this October.

The 19th International Chopin Competition will officially begin on October 2, but preparations have been underway for some time, for organizers as well as participants. The application process opened a year in advance, and pianists had until December 15 to submit a video of their performance.

At the same time, tickets for the 2025 competition were released – and sold out within 30 minutes. The finals sold out in two minutes, organizers said.

The Qualifying Committee has since selected 163 artists from 28 countries from a record number of 642 applications. These pianists are now meeting in the Chamber Hall of the Warsaw Philharmonic for the Preliminaries. More than 60 participants are from China; other countries with many representatives are South Korea, Japan, Poland, and the USA. Russian citizens are required to perform under a neutral flag and have to sign a statement in which they condemn Russia’s violations of international law in the war in Ukraine.

Until May 4, each pianist will perform a 30-minute recital, the program of which will include the etudes, nocturnes, scherzos, and mazurkas listed in the competition’s rules. The auditions are open to the public but can also be watched live online.

The Jury of the Preliminaries will select around 80 pianists to perform at the main competition in October. The list of qualified pianists will be available on the Competition’s website by May 9.

The prestigious International Chopin Competition has been held in Warsaw every five years since 1927. The most recent event, won by Canadian pianist Bruce Xiaoyu Liu, took place in 2021 after being deferred because of the Covid pandemic. The winner of the 2025 competition will receive €60,000 and a gold medal; the entire prize pool amounts to more than €240,000. In addition, the winners will be invited to a world tour lasting several months.

Resources:

The schedule and recital programs can be found on the XIX Chopin Competition website

A list of participants with country of origin, biography, and photo

Watch the Preliminaries live here:
youtube.com/@chopininstitute
(Auditions are held in two sessions: morning, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., evening, 5 – 9 p.m.)

Preleminary Round – Playlist: