Winners of the XXII International Chamber Music Competition named after Kiejstut Bacewicz in Łódź

On Saturday, April 12, the XXII International Chamber Music Competition named after Kiejstut Bacewicz concluded at the Academy of Music in Łódź – the oldest competition in Poland dedicated to chamber ensembles. The Posnario Piano Quintet won. The jury selected the awarded ensembles after five days of auditions in two stages. In addition to three main prizes, three distinctions and an award for the best performance of a piece by a Polish composer were given. The award winners performed on Saturday during the Winners' Concert in the Chamber Hall of the Łódź Academy.

The winning ensemble – Posnario Piano Quintet – consists of students from the Academy of Music in Poznań. The quintet was formed in 2023, and its members are: Hanna Rogońca (violin), Jakub Staszel (violin), Jan Cieszyński (viola), Zuzanna Zamęska (cello), Weronika Omietońska (piano). The ensemble can already boast successes, including winning the first prizes at the 11th International Chamber Tournament in Three Movements in Bydgoszcz and the 4th International Chamber Music Competition KraCamera 2024 in Krakow. The highest prize won in the Łódź competition is a great joy and satisfaction for them, as well as a monetary reward (10,000 PLN for each member of the ensemble). – We are a well-knit “team” also privately, and thanks to that, we have good vibes for working together – said the members of the Posnario Piano Quintet after the results were announced. – During the performance, we inspire each other, listen to one another. This gives us harmony in sound, and this is exactly what is evaluated in the chamber music competition: teamwork. In the final concert, the ensemble performed three movements from the I Piano Quintet by Grażyna Bacewicz.

The laureates of two subsequent awards are graduates of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. The second prize was awarded to: Antoni Wrona (cello) and Aleksandra Janusz (piano) – a duo that already has competitive laurels in their portfolio, and in Łódź, they also won an additional award for the best performance of a piece by a Polish composer (Grave: Metamorphosis for cello and piano by Witold Lutosławski). The third prize was awarded by the jury to Essence Trio, a piano trio consisting of: Judyta Kluza-Sporniak (violin), Filip Sporniak (cello), Juliusz Goniarski (piano).

The young chamber musicians were evaluated by an international jury: Sofya Gulyak (piano), Grzegorz Biegas (piano), Bogna Czerwińska-Szymula (piano), Ryszard Groblewski (viola), Elio Orio (violin), Tomasz Strahl (cello), and Takahiro Yoshikawa (piano).

– All laureates, not only of the main prizes but also of distinctions, marked themselves with something special and fully deserved these honors. Unfortunately, it is not possible to honor the hard work of all the other ensembles that performed in the competition. It is a great pity because the level was indeed high – said the violist Ryszard Groblewski after the results were announced, a juror of this year's edition of the Kiejstut Bacewicz Competition and a laureate of the 2004 edition.

– I am very pleased that among the jurors were musicians of various specialties – summarized the chairwoman of the jury, Sofya Gulyak. – The work in the jury of this competition was very interesting for me. Compared to piano competitions, of which I am usually a juror, this is a completely different experience, much broader and richer in terms of music: repertoire and diverse interpretations.

Ryszard Groblewski also shared his general reflections: – Young people focus on expression in playing, on a large volume of sound, and sometimes they pay for it with neglect of small elements, minor dynamic changes, small nuances, which in general may seem less important, but these details determine the highest quality.

Nearly 50 chamber ensembles representing 20 countries from all over the world participated in the competition auditions: Austria, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Georgia, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Poland, the Republic of South Africa, the United States, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Great Britain, and Italy. 20 ensembles qualified for the II stage.

The International Chamber Music Competition named after Kiejstut Bacewicz in Łódź is organized by the Academy of Music in Łódź. It is the oldest Polish chamber music competition, with a history of over 60 years. Since 1995, it has borne the name of its initiator, an outstanding pianist and chamber musician, educator, composer, and long-time rector of the Academy of Music in Łódź – Kiejstut Bacewicz. This year's edition, like many previous ones, was dedicated to all chamber ensembles whose average age of all members does not exceed 30 years on the day the competition begins.

The honorary patronage of the event was taken by: the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Dorota Ryl, Łódź Voivode, Joanna Skrzydlewska, Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship, Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of the City of Łódź.

The media patronage of the XXII edition of the competition was taken by: TVP Kultura, TVP3 Łódź, Program II of Polish Radio, Radio Łódź, Polish Music Information Center POLMIC, Plaster Łódzki, Kalejdoscope, Cameral Music, tułódź.pl, and the PRESTO portal.

The competition was co-financed from the funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state-purpose fund.

More information: https://www.amuz.lodz.pl/index.php/pl/wydarzenia/xxii-miedzynarodowy-konkurs-muzyki-kameralnej-im-kiejstuta-bacewicza-w-lodzi

LIST OF LAUREATES

FIRST PRIZE (10,000 PLN for each member of the ensemble)

Posnario Piano Quintet: Hanna Rogońca – violin, Jakub Staszel – violin, Jan Cieszyński – viola, Zuzanna Zamęska – cello, Weronika Omietońska – piano

SECOND PRIZE (7,000 PLN for each member of the ensemble)

Janusz/Wrona Duo: Antoni Wrona – cello, Aleksandra Janusz – piano

THIRD PRIZE (4,500 PLN for each member of the ensemble)

Essence Trio: Judyta Kluza-Sporniak – violin, Filip Sporniak – cello, Juliusz Goniarski – piano

DISTINCTIONS (1,500 PLN for each member of the ensemble)

1/ Oliwa & Kukliński Duo: Eryk Oliwa – clarinet, Kacper Kukliński – piano

2/ AKE-Trio: Klara-Justine Heil – violin, Anselm Siebelitz – cello, Emir İlgen – piano

3/ Trio Antynomia: Małgorzata Kucharek – violin, Alexandra Rosol – cello, Piotr Sołtysiak – piano

AWARD for the best performance of a piece by a Polish composer (2,000 PLN for each member of the ensemble)

Janusz/Wrona Duo: Antoni Wrona – cello, Aleksandra Janusz – piano