Chopin’s Mazurkas (1949)

The centennial of Frederic Chopin’s death was celebrated in 1949. The International Chopin Year was held under the auspice of UNESCO. Tadeusz Makarczyński’s film records renditions of Chopin’s mazurkas by entrants of the 4th Chopin International Piano Competition held in Warsaw in 1949. You can hear the performances of representatives from America and different countries in Europe: Halina Czerny-Stefańska and Bella Davidovich of the Soviet Union, the ex aequo winners of the 1st Prize; Carlos Rivero of Mexico, Yevgeniy Malinin of the Soviet Union, and Mireille Auxietre of France. Mazurkas are the essence of Chopin’s music and a symbol of Polishness; they are pieces which integrate young pianists from all over the world into one big “Chopin family”.