The IV International Chopin Piano Competition () was held from 15 September to 15 October 1949 in Warsaw. The first competition after World War II, it was held in connection with the centenary of Chopin's death. Polish pianist Halina Czerny-Stefańska and Soviet pianist Bella Davidovich shared first place. Due to the wartime destruction of the National Philharmonic, the auditions were held at the Roma Theatre on Nowogrodzka Street.
Awards
The competition consisted of two elimination stages and a final with 18 pianists. For the first time, competitors performed a piano concerto in its entirety in the final, as opposed to just two movements.
The following prizes were awarded: PrizeWinner1stHalina Czerny-StefańskaBella Davidovich2ndBarbara Hesse-Bukowska3rdWaldemar Maciszewski4th5thWładysław Kędra6thRyszard Bakst7thYevgeny Malinin8th9thTamara Gusiewa10thVictor Merzhanov11thRegina Smendzianka12thTadeusz ŻmudzińskiTony Vine AdnetCarlos RiveroLudmila SosinaImre Szendrei
One special prize was awarded: Special prizeWinnerBest Performance of MazurkasHalina Czerny-Stefańska
Jury The jury consisted of: Godfrid Boon
Lucette Descaves (substitute) Sem Dresden Zbigniew Drzewiecki (chairman) Jan Ekier Blas Galindo Dimas Lélia Gousseau (substitute) Arthur Hedley (vice-chairman) Lajos Hernádi Franz Josef Hirt Jan Hoffman
Marcelina Kimonti-Jacynowa (substitute) Lazare Lévy Marguerite Long (vice-chairwoman, after 1 October) Joseph Marx Frantisek Maxian (vice-chairman) Alfred Mendelssohn Dimitar Nenov Lev Oborin (vice-chairman) ( I) Pavel Serebryakov Stanisław Szpinalski ( I) Henryk Sztompka Magda Tagliaferro (vice-chairwoman)
Bolesław Woytowicz Carlo Zecchi Jerzy Żurawlew
During the first two rounds, blind auditions were held, with participants competing anonymously under numbers they had drawn, as the jury listened behind wooden shutters. This format was not repeated again in subsequent editions of the competition.
References
Further reading
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