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PawełMajewski
withthecompetingpianistswerequiteobvious:“Thecontemporaryart
consumersdesireto,andneedtobe,partofthemass.Inotherwords,art
oughttobeGsold’insuchawayastoappealtotheirinstinctofmasslife.
Theelementofgaming,gambling,combat,superiorityofonerace,schoolor
nationarethemassinstinctsthatIamwritingabout.”59IntermsofPoland’s
musiclifeatlarge,thiswassupposedtobereflectedin“takingartoutinto
thestreets”andinartisticprojectsbecominganintegralpartoftheevery-
daysociallifeofthemasses.Thisproposal,radicalforthetimewhenitwas
formulatedandprobablynevercarriedoutinPolishculturebeforeWWII,
correspondswelltothe1960sand70savant-gardeaswellastocontempo-
raryculture,inwhichartisticactivitymoreandmoreoftentakesplaceout-
sidetheinstitutionalenclaves,ineverydayurbanspace.ThoughtheChopin
Competitionitselfhasnotbeendemocratisedinthiswayyet(apartfrom
cyberspace,thatis),theveryfactthatconclusionsfromitsfirsteditionper-
suadedasociallyconservativejournalistsuchasKadentoputforwardsuch
anextremeproposalcanserveasexcellentproofofthepowerofthisidea,
alreadyatthetimewhenthe1stChopinCompetitionwasheld.
questionarises:DidtheCompetitionrevealalargegroupofclandestinemusic-loverspre-
viouslyundiscoveredatthePolishcapital,orperhapstheimpressionsofprofessionalcritics
concerningaudiencebehaviourweretosomeextentaneffectofautosuggestion?Itispossible
thatthedifferenceinticketpricesplayedacertainrole.Kadenwrote:“Doesitnotmake
moresensetosell500seatsatthepriceof1½zlotyseachthaneightat3or4zlotyseach?”
Dlapustychkrzeseł?![FortheEmptySeats?!],“Świat”1927,No.3,p.14.Fromanother
ofKaden’sreportsweknowthattheentrancefeetotheCompetitionwas2zlotys(Pierwszy
wielkiTurniej…,op.cit.).OneshouldaddthatthisexcitementattheCompetitionmostlikely
didnotreachbeyondWarsaw,sincenearlyallthepressreleasescomefromthatcity’spapers,
whilethosepublishedinotherPolishcitiesandregionsdedicatednomorethanbriefsever-
al-sentencenotestotheCompetition,ornospaceatall.Youngenthusiastswho,likeWaldorff,
listenedattentivelytothepoor-qualityradiobroadcastsfromtheirprovincialhomes,were
mostlikelynotverynumerous.
59J.Kaden-Bandrowski,Wyjśćnaulicę!,op.cit.