II International Chopin Piano Competition

The II International Chopin Piano Competition (Polish: II Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 6 to 23 March 1932 in Warsaw. Popular with the public, it attracted correspondents from all over the world, not least because of the high-profile composition of the competition jury. Soviet pianist Alexander Uninsky was awarded the first prize, after winning a coin toss against Imre Ungár, who was awarded second place.

The Second International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
Date	6–23 March 1932 (1932-03-06 – 1932-03-23)
Venue	National Philharmonic, Warsaw
Hosted by	Warsaw Music Society
Winner	Alexander Uninsky

Alexander Uninsky, winner of the first prize

Guest of honor was Maurice Ravel, who performed his Piano Concerto in G major and La valse during a concert on 11 March.

Awards

Laureates and jurors of the competition

Out of 67 pianists in the elimination stage, 14 were admitted to the final, where they performed two consecutive movements of one of Chopin's two piano concertos with the Warsaw Philharmonic. Alexander Uninsky was originally awarded joint first prize with blind pianist Imre Ungár, though lots were drawn after the latter refused to accept a joint prize.

The following prizes were awarded:

Prize		Winner
1st	zł 5,000	Alexander Uninsky (c)	Soviet Union
2nd	zł 3,000	Imre Ungár (c)	Hungary
3rd	zł 2,000	Bolesław Kon (c)	Poland
4th	zł 2,000	Abram Lufer (c)	Soviet Union
5th	zł 1,500	Lajos Kentner	Hungary
6th	zł 1,000	Leonid Sagalov	Soviet Union
7th	zł 1,000	Leon Boruński	Poland
8th	zł 1,000	Teodor Gutman	Soviet Union
9th	zł 500	Gyula Károlyi	Hungary
10th	zł 400	Kurt Engel	Austria
11th	zł 400	Emanuel Grossman	Soviet Union
12th	zł 400	Josef Wagner	Germany
13th	zł 300	Maryla Jonasówna	Poland
14th	zł 300	Lily Herz	Hungary
15th	zł 300	Suzanne de Mayère	Belgium
HM		Abram Djakow	Soviet Union
		Maria Dońska	Poland
		Olga Iliwicka	Poland
		Aleksandr Jocheles	Soviet Union
		Aleksander Kagan	Poland
		Maria Novik	Latvia
		Wiera Razumowskaja	Soviet Union
		Aleksander Sienkiewicz	Poland
		Pawieł Sieriebriakow	Soviet Union
		Carlo Vidusso	Italy

One special prize was awarded:

Special prize	Winner
Best Performance of Mazurkas	Alexander Uninsky	Soviet Union

Jury

The jury consisted of:

The competition jury

• Franciszek Brzeziński (substitute)
• Marian Dąbrowski (substitute)
• Zbigniew Drzewiecki
• Arthur De Greef
• Alfred Hoehn
• Roman Jasiński (substitute)
• Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski
• Marguerite Long
• Joseph Marx
• Eugeniusz Morawski-Dąbrowa (secretary)
• Stanisław Niewiadomski (vice-chairman)
• Zofia Rabcewicz
• Maurice Ravel (guest of honor)
• Richard Rössler
• Karol Szymanowski
• Józef Śmidowicz
• Józef Turczyński
• Paul Weingarten
• Adam Wieniawski (chairman)
• Carlo Zecchi
• Jerzy Żurawlew

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.
• 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.
• Ossowski, Jerzy; Brodska, Halina (2010). The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in photographs. Warsaw: Fryderyk Chopin Institute. ISBN 978-83-61142-36-2.

External links

• Chopin Institute's channel on YouTube
• Media related to 2nd International Chopin Piano Competition at Wikimedia Commons