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PawełMajewski
The1stCompetition.TheDifficult
Beginnings.
23rd–30thJanuary1927
Fora21st-centuryscholar,studyingthehistoryoftheearliestChopinCom-
petitions(ChC)heldbeforeWorldWarIIislikeconjuringupghostsofthe
past,whichcontinuetoexertanimpactonthepresenteventhoughthey
haveleftfewtracesbehind.Wehavenosoundrecordingsofthefirstthree
editionsoftheChopinCompetition,eitherofficial(sincetheywerenot
commissioned)orunofficialGbootleg’recordings(thelattersimplycould
notbemadeusingthethenavailabletechnology).Norcanweobtainnew
eyewitnessaccounts,sincethepersonsparticipatingintheprewareditions
asorganisers,performers,jurors,critics,reporters,liveorradioaudience
havelongbeendead.Thenamesofthecontestants,eventheprizewinners
fromthatperiodareforthemostpartunknowntopresent-daymusiclovers;
evenmorerarelydotheyrelateinthemindsoftheaudiencetoanyspecific
performances.Eventually,nearlythewholeofficialdocumentationofthe1st,
2ndand3rdChCeditionsperishedduringWWII,asitwasmostlikelystored
intheWarsawPhilharmonicbuilding,whichwasalreadybombedinSeptem-
ber1939andfurtherdevastatedduringtheWarsawUprisinginAugust1944.
Whatthepresent-dayresearchersthereforehaveattheirdisposalare
thepublishedmemoriesofthosepresentattheearlyChCeditions(Jerzy
Żurawlew,JerzyWaldorff,StefanWysocki),whichofferanindividual,selec-
tiveperspectiveontheeventsrecollectedaftermanyyearsbyauthorswho
werestrongly,professionallyrelatedoremotionallyinvolvedinwhatthey
undertooktodescribe.Apartfromsuchsources,notablywealsohaveasur-
prisinglylargenumberofreviewsandpressreportsatourdisposal1,aswell
1AvaluablethoughincompletelistofsuchreviewsandaccountscanbefoundinR.Cie-
sielski’ssurveypaperJakgraćChopina?Polskakrytykamuzycznaowykonawstwiemuzyki
ChopinawkontekściepierwszychKonkursówChopinowskich(1927–1932–1937)[Howto
PlayChopin?PolishMusicCriticismintheContextoftheEarliestChopinCompetitions
(1927–1932–1937)],“Muzyka.KwartalnikInstytutuSztukiPAN”2010,No.3,pp.95–121.
WhereverIquotethereviewers’lifedatesandtheirprofessionshereinafter,Iomittheiraffil-
iations;nevertheless,mostofthemwereprofessorsofmusicconservatories.