VI International Chopin Piano Competition

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.

The Sixth International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
Date22 February – 13 March 1960 (1960-02-22 – 1960-03-13)
VenueNational Philharmonic, Warsaw
Hosted byFryderyk Chopin Society
WinnerItaly Maurizio Pollini

Awards
Maurizio Pollini in 1975

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  Italy
2nd zł 30,000 Irina Zaritskaya  Soviet Union
3rd zł 25,000 Tania Achot-Haroutounian  Iran
4th zł 20,000 Ming-Qiang Li  China
5th zł 15,000 Zinaida Ignatyeva  Soviet Union
6th zł 10,000 Valeri Kastelsky  Soviet Union
HM zł 5,000 Michel Block  Mexico
zł 5,000 Jerzy Godziszewski  Poland
zł 5,000 Hitoshi Kobayashi  Japan
zł 5,000 Reiya Silvonen  Finland
zł 5,000 Aleksander Słobodianik  Soviet Union
zł 5,000 Józef Stompel  Poland

Two special prizes were awarded:

Special prize Winner
Best Performance of Mazurkas zł 10,000 Irina Zaritskaya  Soviet Union
Best Performance of a Polonaise zł 10,000 Irina Zaritskaya  Soviet Union

Jury

The jury consisted of:[2]

References
  1. Hewett, Ivan (14 September 2010). "Maurizio Pollini: ice-man of the ivories". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. "The 6th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition". Fryderyk Chopin Institute. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  3. Rubinstein, Arthur (1980). My many years. pp. 9342–7. ISBN 0394422538. ISSN 0021-9258. OCLC 5673961. PMID 394. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)

Further reading
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