Professor, the results of the Chopin Competition’s Preliminary Round have just been announced. Why are there 81 names on the list if three of the pianists did not take part in the auditions at all?

Two prize-winners of the International Pyotr Tchaikovsky Competition – Miroslav Kultyshev and Danil Trifonov from Russia, along with Claire Huangci, winner of the Miami Competition, were automatically accepted to the Competition. We have 11 persons from Russia (that’s a lot), and 6 from Poland. That reminds me of when the Polish team had 6 places guaranteed for them. In the autumn we are also going to hear 13 Chinese pianists in total, including representatives of China, Hong Kong and Taipei. 

Were the performances of satisfactory level?

Yes, they were. We had many very good pianists – in terms of virtuosity, temperament and creativity. I have to say, though, that also the best group is not (as I can recollect) as diverse as to make it possible to predict who will claim the first, third or the fourth prize. I won’t be sure until the last moment… and that’s very good, indeed.   

Do you have any favourites?

No, I don’t.

Has the two-stage system of selecting candidates, based firstly on DVD recordings and secondly on live performances, proved effective?

What’s effective, in the first place, is listening to live performances, in different forms. I think that in the future this should be the procedure of selecting contestants, DVD recordings do not give you the full picture.

Were there any disappointments?

There were, unfortunately.

Did the disruptions in air travel stop anyone from participating?

I believe so. We heard performances from 180 pianists out of 209 accepted based on DVD recordings, so some must have quit – either because of the ash cloud affecting air travel, or because they found themselves in the additional group, with smaller chances for acceptance.  

Still, the jury worked all days up until 11.30 at night…

We worked extremely hard, especially last week, when all those stranded at different airports finally reached Warsaw at the same moment. The jury could not audition them all at the same time, that’s why we split into two groups, also giving some jurors a chance to have a little bit of rest.

Do you discuss within the jury which pianists should be accepted, or are the points awarded the only criterion?

Voting “yes” or “no” would be a better system, yet it is impossible with 200 contestants taking part in the auditions. We’d have to consult our notes and decide whom to give a “yes” or a “no” at the very end. Yet, the new point awarding system introduced this year is a very good idea, because it allows for changes in the jury’s composition – for example last week we had three new members from abroad joining the jury. The correction system is also a positive development: if a juror awards 8 points more or 8 points less than the average – the assessment is corrected for these 8 points. Humorously speaking, if I fell asleep during a performance and harm the participant with a low assessment as a result, then the number of points I awarded would be automatically corrected. And this has worked. And so, one may assume that a score between 100 and 90 stand for “excellent” (as we call it), 90 to 80 points stand for “very good”, and 80 to 70 points – “good”. The latter we treat as a tacit borderline: if we consider somebody to be a good pianist, one fit to take part in the Competition, we give him or her 70 points or more. This has worked, too.

Will the participants be told their placement in the Preliminary Round?

Knowing one’s score before the Competition would not be desirable for psychological reasons. Those ranked at, say, 78 would be set to suffer from a worse frame of mind than those ranked four or five, while there may be many reshuffles on the list in the course of the competition.

The changes introduced this year to the competition’s rules mainly concern the number of jurors.  

The number of jurors has been reduced to 12 persons. In the autumn, a jury in a totally new composition will set down to work, including only four Poles. We have invited, among others,  Bella Dawidowicz, winner of the first post-war Competition, when she claimed the first prize together with the late Halina Czerny-Stefańska, and Adam Harasiewicz (which I am very glad about), who won the subsequent Competition. The remaining Polish jurors are going to be Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń and  Piotr Paleczny. We are also going to have Martha Argerich, who is always happy to come to Warsaw, despite what the journalists claim. She always feels great here and will come this time as well.

Thank you very much indeed.

And thank you, too.

Interview by Katarzyna Hosaniak, Chopin 2010 Celebrations Office.