Scholarship for winner of the XV International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition
As sponsor of the XV International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, PKN ORLEN has founded a scholarship for the best Polish pianist. A financial award of 25,000 EUR for Rafal Blechacz, the winner of this year’s competition, has been handed in by Igor Chalupec, President & CEO of PKN ORLEN.
Rafal Blechacz received the prize from Igor Chalupec, President and CEO of PKN ORLEN during the ceremony which took place on Sunday, 23rd October, at the Ostrogskis Palace in Warsaw.
- We are proud to have the great honour of contributing to the further development of such a tremendously talented pianist. This is our tribute to hard work, professionalism and mastery – the values which we both follow and adhere to– said Igor Chalupec.
PKN ORLEN’s special scholarship for the best Polish pianist marks the company’s engagement in the conservation of Chopin’s music as part of Poland’s national heritage, and also its care for young Polish artists. The financial award is to enable Rafal Blechacz to master his skills in the most prestigious music schools in the world.
PKN ORLEN looks forward to a long-term engagement in supporting outstanding Polish talent and popularizing Chopin’s music worldwide. As a patron of Polish culture, in December 2004 PKN ORLEN bought in an auction at Sotheby's in London, the 173-year old manuscript of the cis-moll (C minor) op. 10 nr 4 etude by Frederic Chopin. This working autograph consists of three heavily annotated pages. On the third page the composer noted the day of the etude's creation: "Paris, 6th Aug., 1832". The notes also contain corrections made by the composer's hand. Having arrived in Poland, the manuscript was ceremonially transferred by the benefactors to the Frederik Chopin Museum in the Ostrogskis Palace in Warsaw.
