The first Wieniawski competition took place in in Warsaw. Its organization was the brainchild of Henryk’s nephew, Adam Wieniawski – composer, vice-president and director of the Warsaw Music Society, director of the Warsaw Higher School of Music. Previously, he organized the second Chopin competition, in 1932. He instituted the first Wieniawski competition in 1935, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of his uncle.

Applications were sent in by 160 artists from 23 countries. The jury selected 82 people. In the first stage, there were 55 applicants from 16 countries. Poland was represented by Grażyna Bacewicz, Bronisław Gimpel, Józef Chasyd, Henryk Chumek, Bronisława Rothstandt, Adolf Schenker, Nina Stokowska, Mieczysław Sztyglic, Mieczysław Szwalbe.

The president of the jury was Adam Wieniawski and the participants were judged by Leopold Binental, Gabriel Bouillon, Irena Dubiska, Jan Dworakowski, Grzegorz Fitelberg, Alicja Hakowska, Vaclav Humel, Sven Kjellstrom and Wacław Kochański.

The competition was won by a French violinist, Ginette Neveu. Second prize was then awarded to Dawid Ojstrach. Among those honored in the first competition were such celebrities as Ida Handel, Bronisław Gimpel and Grażyna Bacewicz.

The second competition did not take place until 1952. Due to the destruction From Warsaw was transferred to Poznań, and the then Minister of Culture, Stefan Dybowski, “On November 11, he finally wanted and announced that he had appointed Poznań as the + permanent seat of international violin competitions … + ” – it was written in the publication entitled “Da capo. 75 years of the International Competitions Henryk Wieniawski”, edited by the Wieniawski in Poznan. In the same brochure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quoted as saying that “capitalist countries refuse to participate in the Contest, citing innocuous reasons beyond which there are fundamental reasons”. The winner of this contest was Igor Ojstrach, David’s son. Only 23 violinists took part in the event.

During the third competition, in 1957, the number of stages was increased to three. The winner was Russian Roza Fajn, although the crowd favorite was American Sidney Harthem, who took second place. American Charles Treger won the fourth contest in 1962.

In the fifth competition, in 1967, up to 11 Poles took part in the auditions. It was the year when our compatriot won for the first time, it was Piotr Janowski. Polish They also took third place – Kaja Danczowska and sixth – Michał Grabarczyk. The sixth contest, in 1972, was won by Russian Tatiana Grindienko. In 1977, the winner was Wadim Brodski.

The eighth competition was held in 1981 as the organizers had previously decided to shorten the time between individual editions of the event. According to the Wieniawski Music Society, “nearly half the country was covered in strikes, announcements of strikes or strikes. In the shops, apart from vinegar, there was nothing. Only the spirit of the nation, revived by Solidarity since August 1980, will not crumble. overcome dozens of obstacles. Homework practiced in previous years was added to completely new homework. It was necessary to offer candidates, jurors and guests not only prosperous but also peaceful living conditions. Orchestra musicians – additional packages with .. . meats, service staff – gas cards. .. “. In the end, a competition was held and Keiko Urushihara won the first prize. In total, the Japanese then took five places.

The ninth competition (1986) was won by Russian Ewgenij Buszkow. The tenth jubilee competition in 1991 was won ex aequo by Poles Bartłomiej Nizioł and Piotr Pławner, both then 17 years old.

In 1996, the honorary president of the jury was Yehudi Menuhin. The international jury was chaired by prof. Karol Stryja. The first prize was not awarded and the second was awarded to the Japanese Reiko Otani. We musicians are actually part of such a sweet “mafia”, a mafia of people who form a network of people who share the same ideas, have the same or similar views on beauty, on professionalism and are united in the same row Menuhin said at the awards ceremony.

The president of the twelfth competition (2001) was Shlomo Mintz. Don’t forget that the contest will select the violinist who performed the best here in Poznań […], not the best in the world, and forever. Even failing the competition doesn’t mean you’ve lost to the music; I myself am the proof of this assertion. I participated twice in different competitions and I lost twice, but in my life I played good shows – he underlined. The auditions were won by Alena Baeva from Russia.

In 2006, Agata Szymczewska won the thirteenth competition. After the results were announced, she told reporters that “just because she won doesn’t mean she’ll play even better overnight.” “I just came here to play beautifully. I love playing, it makes me happy and I consider every concert a challenge” – added Szymczewska.

Korean Soyoung Yoon won the fourteenth contest. For the first time in history, there was no Polish violinist in the final. I would like to thank the jury from the bottom of my heart for their concentration throughout the competition and their fair verdict. Music is not a sport like Soccerwhere we score goals. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if we don’t agree with them. All finalists – you are great musicians, not just great performers, you are also great personalities – noted the chairman of the jury, Maxim Vengerov, after the announcement of the result. “This is for me the most important prize in my life. During the competition, you never know that you will win, because it depends on many factors. When I heard about success, I started to tremble I won the contest last time in 2006. It’s a great feeling” – Soyoung Yoon told PAP after the results were announced.

The last competition, in 2016, was won by Veriko Tchumburidze, a Georgian from Turkey. This year, she performed at the inauguration of the sixteenth competition. In an interview for PAP on this occasion, she said that her best memories of the competition are associated with listeners, Polish and foreign. It was a great feeling like she was whole Poland she encouraged us. I have not experienced anything like this in other competitions. It was special. Thanks to this, I felt at home on stage and very comfortable, even if it was a competition.

16th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznań was scheduled to be performed in October 2021; The date change was forced by a pandemic and the postponement of the Chopin Competition to 2021. When the decision was made to change the date of in Warsaw events, Music Society among them. Wieniawski informed that “the organization of the two largest international music competitions in the immediate vicinity of time would, due to the interests of music lovers, be highly inadvisable”.

Author: Olga Łozinska