The 26th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth, Szafarnia 2018

Jekaterina and Stanisław Drzewiecki created piano duo in 2010. She-Russian from Riga, he-Polish from Warsaw get married and decided to connect their music skills and talants in common artistic way. Concerts by Piano Duo Jekaterina and Stanislaw Drzewieccy for four hand and two pianos are enjoyed by audience, because of interesting and varied program. They include to repertoire little known piano pieces and also special dedications from composers. Artists took part in prestige national and international Festivals with solo and symphonic programs for 2 pianos. The Piano Duo have recorded for the Polish Television. The artists were jury members of International Piano Competitions in Poland and Czech Republic. They recorded shared CD Sagrada Familia with music by contemporary composer Krzysztof Kobyliński in 2013.

Jekaterina Drzewiecka has a huge repertoire, which she has performed in many European countries like Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, Great Britain, France, Estonia, Russia, Germany, Finland, The Netherlands, Macedonia, Belgia, Ethopia, Bialorus, Ukraine and Poland. The pianist has performed with many great conductors like Andris Nelson, Igor Pulatiuk, Normund Vaicis, Andris Vecumnieks, Marek Moś, Czesław Grabowski, Monika Stefaniak, Rafal Janiak, Jerzy Swoboda, and orchestras: Latvian National Symphonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Sinfonia Concertante, Chamber Orchestra Aukso, Quartet Prima Vista, Lvov Symphonic Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra of Bydgoszcz Philharmonic, Symphonic Orchestra of Czestochowa Philharmonic, Symphonic Orchestra of Zielona Gora Philharmonic. Jekaterina Drzewiecka has been given main prizes at many national and International piano competitions in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic and France. Jekaterina Drzewiecka won Grand Prix at International Piano Competition in Prague in 2015. She is a laureate of ArtNoble prize in Warsaw. The artist has been invited to numerous music festivals in Europe. Educated by world class professors: Sergejs Osokins, Stanislav Igolinsky, Tatiana Shebanova. In 2014 Jekaterina Drzewiecka got a magister degree in Andrzej Jasinski’s class in Felix Nowowiejski Musical Academy in Bydgoszcz.

Stanisław Drzewiecki at the age of six, had his first concert tour in Japan while appearing with the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra. After his great success and enthusiastic reactions the audience and musical critics, he was invited to play in numerous concert hall in Tokio (Opera City Concert Hall, Suntory Hall, Orchard Hall, Metropolitan Art Space, Bunka Kaikan), Jokohamy (Minato Mirai), Osaki (Symphony Hall), Hamamatsu, Sapporo. With Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (conductor A. Anikhanov), Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra he played Piano Concertos by F. Chopin nr 1, S. Rachmaninov nr 2 and P. Tchajkovski nr 1. He has appeared in many of the world’s famous concert venues including those in: London (Victoria & Albert Museum), Bergen (The Grieg Hall), Tallinn (Estonia Hall), Vienna (Schőnbrunn Palace), Mexico City (Palacio de Bellas Artes), Canada (Queen Elizabeth Hall – Vancouver, Winspear Centre – Edmonton), the United States (Walt Disney Concert Hall – Los Angeles, Chicago Symphony Hall, Verizon Hall at Kimmel Center – Philadelphia, Gusman Hall – Miami), all Polish Philharmonics. Stanislaw Drzewiecki inaugurating a number of prestigious cultural events: the concert season in Basel, Chopin Festival in Canada, Europalia – Poland in Belgium, Days of Polish Music in Austria, Festival de Radio France et de Montpellier, Denmark Radio Festival in Copenhagen, 6th Festival Cultural de Mayo at Teatro Degollado in Guadalaja, Chopin Year in Stocholm, Tiran and Skopje. Stanislaw Drzewiecki performed with great success in the world’s unquestionably most prestigious venue – Carnegie Hall (Isaac Stern Auditorium) in New York, and received enthusiastic reactions from both the audience and musical critics. Stanisław Drzewiecki won Grand Prix Award – European Television Competition in Alicante, the 10th Eurovision Grand Prix for Young Musicians in Bergen, International S. Rachmaninov Competition in Moscow and he is the youngest laureate ever accorded the Paszport Polityki Award. He has recorded 11 CD, SACD and DVD published in Poland, Japan, USA and German. Educated by great profesor: Viera Nosina, Tatiana Shebanova, Victor Mierżanov iand Andrzej Jasiński.

Andrzej Jasiński was born on 23rd October 1936 in Częstochowa, where he studied at the Secondary Music School in the class of Stefania Borkowska. He continued his studies with Władysława Markiewiczówna at the State High School of Music in Katowice, graduating with honours in 1959. In 1960 he received the Grand Prix at the Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona. In 1960-61, he continued his studies in Paris with Magda Tagliaferro. In 1961 he appeared with the Turin RAI Orchestra under Carlo Zecchi, beginning an international stage career. He made several concert tours of the USSR, and appeared at music festivals in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Uruguay, Brazil and Japan. He has made several recordings with the Polish Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra, and the Polish Radio Orchestra. In 1962, he began his teaching career at the State High School of Music in Katowice. He has educated a large number of concert pianists and teachers, including Krystian Zimerman, Joanna Domańska, Jerzy Sterczyński, Krzysztof Jabłoński, Magdalena Lisak, Zbigniew Raubo, Rafał Łuszczewski and Beata Bilińska. He has sat in the juries of the leading international piano competitions, including the Queen Elisabeth in Brussels, Peter Tchaikovsky in Moscow, Van Cliburn in Fort Worth, and Ferruccio Busoni in Bolzano. In 1975, he made his debut as a juror at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. In December 2006, Andrzej Jasiński was awarded with an honorary doctorate of this Academy. 

Izabella Darska Havasi, a graduate of the State Higher School of Music in Poznan (presently the I. J. Paderewski Academy of Music). She worked as a piano teacher at the Higher School of Ballet, the Z. Kodály Choir School, the F. Liszt Academy of Music and the King St. Stephen’s 2nd Grade Academy of Music in Budapest. She is a founder and artistic instructor of the György Ferenczy’s Foundation in Budapest. Since 2009 Izabella Darska Havasi has been a member of the International Federation of Chopin Societies. She organises Polish and international Chopin competitions, concerts, courses and other events connected with Chopin’s issues. She is a music teacher and lecturer in theory of music at the TIT Cultural and Educational Institute in Budapest. As a solo pianist, chamber pianist and accompanist she performed in Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Germany and Hungary. She has been a member of Polish and international piano competitions for many years. In 2004 she was decorated with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. She was granted a diploma of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Arts for her outstanding teacher’s work and a diploma granted by Bogdan Zdrojewski, a Minister of Culture and National Heritage for her outstanding contribution to the Chopin Year.

Joanna Maurer was born in Toruń (Poland) where she started to play the piano at the age of four. She studied music in Wroclaw and in Warsaw at the Frédéric Chopin Academy, where she gained her diploma with distinction in the piano class of professor Bronislawa Kawalla and the chamber music class of Barbara Halska. Whilst still a student, Joanna was awarded 3^rd prize in the Wroclaw Contemporary Music competition , 2^nd prize for the best interpretation of  the Etudes de Chopin in Warsaw and 1^st prize at the Pianistyki Polskiej Festival in Słupsk. She also participated in the International Competitions of Majorca, Belgrade, Göttingen, Utrecht and Parma. In all these competitions she won several awards and distinctions. Having completed her studies Joanna divided her time between two activities: as a concert pianist and piano teacher. The latter enabled her to finish her doctorate. In 1999 Joanna fulfilled the dream of all pianists. She played Rachmaninov’s Concerto III as a soloist in the Victoria Hall, Geneva. In 2000 she became a piano teacher at the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique in Geneva. Since her arrival in Switzerland, Joanna has performed as a soloist and in duo with Klaus Maurer, since 2001 she has been playing in the ensemble Quintette Opus 23, performing the main repertoire for piano and string quartet in Switzerland and abroad. Since 2003 she has been busy organising cultural exchanges of students between music schools in Poland and the CPM in Geneva. Joanna Maurer  published 5 CD’s. 2 of them dedicated to Villa-Lobos`piano music. Both CD’s were treated with important distinctions.

Maria Murawska initially studied at the State Higher School of Music in Poznan in a class conducted by Olga Ilwicka-Dąbrowska and then in the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz in a class of Professor Jerzy Godziszewski. She improved her piano skills abroad in Weimar under the supervision of Ludwig Hoffman and as a trainee supervised by Wiera Nosina in the Russian Academy of Music. Following graduation from her studies at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, she started to teach at her Alma Mater, where, between 1999 and 2005, she acted as a deputy rector for educational matters and, between 2005 and 2012, she was a rector of the Academy. In 2003 she was granted a title of professor of musical arts by the President of the Republic of Poland. She gives solo piano and chamber orchestra concerts in Poland and abroad. Maria Murawska sits on juries of numerous Polish and international competitions. She is a member of the Association of Polish Musicians, the I. J. Paderewski Musical Society in Bydgoszcz, where she has been a vice-president since 2001. She was decorated with the Silver Cross of Merit, Golden Cross of Merit and the Gloria Artis Silver Medal, a Medal awarded by the President of Bydgoszcz and a Medal awarded by the Mayor of Bydgoszcz. She also received awards from the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province and Rector of the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz.

Martin von der Heydt studied piano at the Folkwang-Hochschule Essen (Germany) with Prof. Till Engel. In addition, masterclasses with Vitaly Margulis, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Jean-Philippe Collard and Leonard Stein. Martin von der Heydt’s repertoire encompasses all epochs from Renaissance music to most recent compositions, and comprises standard works as well as many rarities. In 1999, he co-founded the E-MEX Ensemble, an instrumental group entirely devoted to the performance of contemporary works. Among the numerous internationally renowned composers with whom he worked are: Henri Pousseur, Juan Allende-Blin, Aribert Reimann, Christobál Halffter, Volker Heyn, Akira Nishimura, In-Sun Cho, Michael Denhoff, Jia Guoping, Sidney Corbett, Karin Haußmann, along with distinguished composers of the younger generation. Von der Heydt has won several prizes at international piano competitions. He performed at the important music centres in Germany as well as in many European countries, the USA, Brazil, Chile, China, Korea and Japan. His concerts have been broadcasted by the WDR Cologne, Deutschlandfunk, SWF Stuttgart and Deutschland Radio Berlin. Since 2001, he has held a teaching post at the Folkwang University in Essen and has given piano master classes and workshops at German and international music universities including Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo. Since November 2011, he has been teaching a piano class at the Hochschule fuer Kuenste Bremen.

Andrzej Tatarski completed his piano studies and graduated with distinctions from a class of Professor Olga Ilwicka-Dąbrowska of the Academy of Music in Poznan. He improved his piano skills during his postgraduate studies under the supervision of Professor Vlado Perlemuter in Paris. He has been conducting his artistic activities as a solo and chamber pianist for years. Andrzej Tatarski has performed in countries of Europe, America and Asia. He participates in renowned music festivals such as the Poznan Musical Spring, Warsaw Autumns, Karol Szymanowski’s Music Days in Zakopane, Wratislavia Cantans, Festival of Polish Piano Music in Słupsk, Festival of Polish Contemporary Music in Wroclaw and International Chopin Festival in Duszniki. He made a lot of first performances of contemporary works of Polish composers. His artistic works included numerous archival records for Polish and foreign radio stations, records and television and film performances. The artist sits on juries of Polish and international piano competitions, such as, among others, the Polish Chopin Competition held in Warsaw, the Ignacy Jan Paderewski International Competition held in Bydgoszcz and International Competition of Piano Duets held in Bialystok. He lectures during master classes in Poland and abroad. He was also a head of the Chamber Music Chair and Piano Chair in the I. J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan, where he has conducted a piano class for many years.