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PawełMajewski
electedPresidentoftheRepublicofPoland,whoacceptedthepatronage
oftheprospectivepianocompetition,previouslyrefusedbyhispredecessor
StanisławWojciechowski.TheCompetitionwasinitiallyplannedtostarton
15thOctober1926,inconjunctionwiththeunveilingofChopin’smonument
(sculpturedbyWacławSzymanowski)atWarsaw’sRoyalŁazienkiPark.This
isalsothedatethatwefindonthefrequentlyreproducedposter.However,
sincetheeventwasputoffuntil14thNovember,andlogisticproblemshin-
deredtheorganisers,theChCwaspostponeduntilJanuary19279.
Theideaoforganisingacompetitionformusicperformersfailedto
engendergeneralenthusiasmatfirst.Oneofthereasonswasthatmusic
competitionsasaninstitutionofthemodernEuropeansocietywerestillnot
common.Firstandforemost,however,oneneededtoobtainfunding.One
oftheauthorswritingabouttheCompetitionsummedupthissituationwith
bitterirony:
JerzyŻurawlew’sideaonlycametrueaftertwoyearsofendeavours,afterthePol-
ishMatchMonopoly(PMZ)[statemonopolyonmatchproductionandimports]
demonstrateditstrueloveofChopin,anditsdirectorHenrykRewkowiczoffered
thesubstantialsumof15,000zlotys10.
InstitutionsofcultureintheinterwarPolandreceivednopracticalsupport
fromthestate.Theirfundingcamepartlyfromprivatesponsors,whowere
noteasytofindinacountryenfeebledbyaworldwarandonlyjustrevived
9Onthehistoryofthismonumentandthedifficultiesrelatedtotheproject,cf.:W
.G.,
Dziejejednegopomnika[TheStoryofOneMonument],“Świat”,13thNovember1926,No.
46,pp.2–3.
10J.Ekiert,Chopinwiecznieposzukiwany.HistoriaMiędzynarodowegoKonkursuPia-
nistycznegoim.FryderykaChopinawWarszawie[TheEternalQuestforChopin.AHistory
oftheInternationalFryderykChopinPianoCompetitioninWarsaw],Warszawa2010,p.7.
Rewkowicz(correctsurname:Rewkiewicz)wastheunnamedWarsawMusicSociety(WMS)
membermentionedbyŻurawlew.InhismonographoftheSociety,AndrzejSpózpresents
thewholeaffairinevenbleakerterms:“[Żurawlew’s]unprecedentedprojectmetwithgreat
scepticismonthepartoftheWMScommitteeasfarasthechancesforitsimplementation
wereconcerned.Eventually,however,thankstothedeclarationmadebyHenrykRewkowicz
(aWMSboardmember)thathepersonallyguaranteedhewouldcoverthepossiblebudget
deficit,theimplementationoftheCompetitionprojectwasentrustedtotheMusicSchool
[nowtheFryderykChopinStateMusicSchoolNo.2inWarsaw]”(A.Spóz,Warszawskie
TowarzystwoMuzyczne1871–1971[TheWarsawMusicSociety1871–1971],Warszawa1971,
pp.53–55).Itwasonlyin1995thatthefortnightly“RuchMuzyczny”printedH.Ciesz-
kowska’sarticle(PrzyczynekdogenezyKonkursuChopinowskiego[TowardtheStudyofthe
OriginsoftheChopinCompetition],“RuchMuzyczny”1995,No.20,pp.10–11),which,
apartfromcorrectingthesurnameofthisCompetitionsponsor,alsospecifiedthatthesumhe
contributeddidnotcomefromthefundsofthePolishMatchMonopolybutfromhisprivate
capital.Cf.alsoD.Rewkiewicz-Niemirska,Opierwszymchopinowskim[OntheFirstChopin
Competition],“Przekrój”,29thOctober1995,No.2627,p.18.