Accents

One of the main aims of the Swiss Chopin Society of Basel is to promote and support young and promising artists.

In the following, some examples are given of the variety of events that have been organized by the society in the past years.

On June 14 and 15, 1997, the then only ten-year-old pianist Stanislaw Drzewiecki from Warsaw delighted us with his concert.

The young musician impressed the public with his manifold interpretations.

Stanislaw Drzewjecki played together with the regional youth orchestra, conducted by Albert E. Kaiser.

Stanislaw Drzewiecki

On March 19, 1999, a Marathon took place in the large concert hall of the Music Academy in Basel. More than 40 musicians participated in this event. This unique concert lasted about eight hours during which the stream of visitors was unabated. We had the pleasure of listening to works of Frédéric Chopin, arrangements of his compositions as well as pieces that had been dedicated to him. The multitude of soloists included lecturers and students from the Music Academy of Basel and guests from the Music Academy of Krakow.

… during the Chopin-Marathon

May 25, 1999, as part of a series of concerts entitled “Podium for Young Artists“, Mihaela Ursuleasa, the prize winner of the Clara Haskil Piano Competition, performed works of F. Chopin and F. Liszt.

Mihaela Ursuleasa

The Unesco declared 1999 to be the Year of Chopin, paying hommage to the 150th anniversary of the year of his death. Within this framework the Swiss Chopin Society of Basel organised a Chopin Festival from October 16 to 26. It turned out to be an unforgettable event.

In the year 2000 the 18-year-old Chinese pianist Yundi Li was awarded the prize for the youngest finalist taking part in the XIVth International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. This prize was donated by the Swiss Chopin Society of Basel. At the same time Yundi Li became the celebrated winner of the first prize awarded at this competition and accepted our society’s invitation to Basel.

Yundi Li

On April 22, 2001, the "Pianoduo d´Accord" - Shao Yin Huang and Sebastian Euler, prize winners of the ARD competition –, gave a performance in the series “Podium for Young Artists”.

Pianoduo d’Accord

The German pianist Martin Helmchen, the winner of the Clara Haskil competition in Vevey (Switzerland) in 2001, was granted a scholarship by our society and participated in the masterclass of Prof. Lev Naumov. Within the framework of the series “Podium for Young Artists” he gave a concert on April 16, 2002.

Martin Helmchen
with Professor Naumov

In cooperation with the Music Academy of Basel, the Swiss Chopin Society of Basel presented six outstanding young talents and prize winners in the concert “Talented Youth” on February 4, 2004: Mischa Cheung, Isabel Gehweiler, Aglaia Graf, Fabian Kläsener, Julietta Koch, Xenia Wiener.
These six excellent up-and-coming young musicians provided proof of their skills and received great applause.

Talented Youth