On Saturday, 24 April 2021, the jury announced the results of the 2nd Wiłkomirki National Chamber Music Competition for students of primary and secondary music schools (22-24 April 2021). The competition organised by the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź and the Stanisław Liszewski Foundation featured 62 chamber ensembles from all over Poland, divided into four age groups.
The jury debated in a hybrid system, the participants were judged on the basis of the submitted recordings. The jury was composed of: Prof. Bogusław Pikała (AM Łódź) – chairman, Prof. Anna Prabucka-Firlej (AM Gdańsk), Prof. Katarzyna Jankowska-Borzykowska (FCUM Warsaw), Prof. Jadwiga Kotnowska (AM Bydgoszcz), Karina Gidaszewska (AM Poznań, AM Łódź), Michał Drewnowski (AM Łódź), Prof. Hanna Holeksa (AM Łódź, S. Liszewski Foundation).
In the youngest group, two duos won the first prize ex aequo: Rozalia Mielczarek and Hanna Wójcik as well as Anna Waśko and Pola Fijałka. In the second group, the highest prize went to Małgorzata Błazik and Barbara Jankowska, in the third group the Grand Prix was awarded to Irena Kiełbasińska and Mateusz Rogowski. In the oldest group, the jury decided to award a string quartet composed of: Paulina Tomczuk, Julia Charmuszko, Oliwia Stawicka and Konstancja Śmietańska. In all age groups, additional prizes were also awarded for the performance of Polish music, including works by Tomasz Michalak, Emil Młynarski, Michał Spisak, Romuald Twardowski, Jan Wachowski and Kazimierz Wiłkomirski. The special prizes also include there invitations for two duos to perform as part of the "Chamber Saturdays" series at the Academy of Music in Łódź in the 2021/2022 season.
The patrons of the competition are members of the Wiłkomirski family, who from an early age performed chamber music in a trio founded by Alfred Wiłkomirski – the father of the musical family. The first members of the ensemble were: Michał Wiłkomirski (violin), Kazimierz Wiłkomirski (cello) and Maria Wiłkomirska (piano). The Wiłkomirski family were professionally associated with the Academy of Music in Łódź, which has been an important centre of Polish chamber music for years: the home of the Chamber Music Institute with over 60 years of tradition and the Kiejstut Bacewicz International Chamber Music Competition.
Announcement of the competition results is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz0PTBjxPlY
More information about the competition: http://www.amuz.lodz.pl/pl/wydarzenia/ii-ogolnopolski-konkurs-muzyki-kameralnej-im-wilkomirskich