The Sixth International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Date | 22 February – 13 March 1960 |
Venue | National Philharmonic, Warsaw |
Hosted by | Fryderyk Chopin Society |
Winner | ![]() |
The VI International Chopin Piano Competition (Polish: VI Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 22 February to 13 March 1960 in Warsaw. The competition was won by Maurizio Pollini of Italy, becoming the first winner not from Poland or the Soviet Union.
Awards

The competition consisted of two elimination stages and a final with twelve pianists. Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini won first prize, with Arthur Rubinstein, honorary chairman of the jury, declaring "that boy can play the piano better than any of us".[1]
Audience favorite Michel Block failed to win a prize and only received an honorable mention.[2] Outraged, Rubinstein created a special prize bearing his name on the spot, and awarded it to Block.[3]
The following prizes were awarded:[2]
Prize | Winner | ||
---|---|---|---|
1st | zł 40,000 | Maurizio Pollini | ![]() |
2nd | zł 30,000 | Irina Zaritskaya | ![]() |
3rd | zł 25,000 | Tania Achot-Haroutounian | ![]() |
4th | zł 20,000 | Ming-Qiang Li | ![]() |
5th | zł 15,000 | Zinaida Ignatyeva | ![]() |
6th | zł 10,000 | Valeri Kastelsky | ![]() |
HM | zł 5,000 | Michel Block | ![]() |
zł 5,000 | Jerzy Godziszewski | ![]() | |
zł 5,000 | Hitoshi Kobayashi | ![]() | |
zł 5,000 | Reiya Silvonen | ![]() | |
zł 5,000 | Aleksander Słobodianik | ![]() | |
zł 5,000 | Józef Stompel | ![]() |
Two special prizes were awarded:
Special prize | Winner | ||
---|---|---|---|
Best Performance of Mazurkas | zł 10,000 | Irina Zaritskaya | ![]() |
Best Performance of a Polonaise | zł 10,000 | Irina Zaritskaya | ![]() |
Jury
The jury consisted of:[2]
Guido Agosti
Stefan Askenase
Nadia Boulanger (vice-chairman)
Sven Brandel
Sequeira Costa
Harold Craxton
Halina Czerny-Stefańska (
IV)
Zbigniew Drzewiecki (chairman)
Jan Ekier
Henri Gagnebin
Armand de Gontaut-Biron
Emil Hájek
Arthur Hedley (vice-chairman)
Lajos Hernandi
Jan Hoffman
Mieczysław Horszowski
Dmitry Kabalevsky (vice-chairman)
Witold Małcużyński
Timo Mikkilä
Florica Musicescu
Heinrich Neuhaus
František Rauch
Reimar Riefling
Arthur Rubinstein (honorary chairman)
Heinz Schroeter
Bruno Seidlhofer
Pavel Serebryakov
Andrej Stojanow
Henryk Sztompka (vice-chairman)
Magda Tagliaferro
Ding Shande
Margerita Trombini-Kazuro
Amadeus Webersinke
Beveridge Webster
Bolesław Woytowicz (secretary)
Yakov Zak (
III)
Jerzy Żurawlew
References
- ↑ Hewett, Ivan (14 September 2010). "Maurizio Pollini: ice-man of the ivories". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- 1 2 3 "The 6th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition". Fryderyk Chopin Institute. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ↑ Rubinstein, Arthur (1980). My many years. Vol. 250 (1st ed.). New York: Knopf. pp. 9342–7. ISBN 0394422538. ISSN 0021-9258. OCLC 5673961. PMID 394.
{{cite book}}
:|journal=
ignored (help)
Further reading
- Ekiert, Janusz (2010). The Endless Search for Chopin: The History of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (1st ed.). Warsaw: Muza. ISBN 978-83-7495-812-7. OCLC 670048637.
- Arendt, Ada; Bogucki, Marcin; Majewski, Paweł; Sobczak, Kornelia (2020). Chopinowskie igrzysko. Historia Międzynarodowego Konkursu Pianistycznego im. Fryderyka Chopina 1927–2015 [The Chopin Games. The History of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition 1927–2015] (in Polish) (1st ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. ISBN 978-83-235-4127-1. OCLC 1153285192.
- Ossowski, Jerzy; Brodska, Halina (2010). The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in photographs. Warsaw: Fryderyk Chopin Institute. ISBN 978-83-61142-36-2. OCLC 802743657.