The 9th Michał Spisak International Music Competition has already gone down in history.
This competition has already become part of the city’s image, which is best reflected by the audience filling the hall of the Pałac Kultury Zagłębia both during the inauguration as well as the grand finale and enthusiastically applauding young artists.

This year’s competition was won by harpist, Elise Veyeres (France), the 1st prize winner in her category. First prizes were also granted to two Polish musicians, bassist, Marek Romanowski and bass trombonist, Jan Szymański. They all three appeared in front of the audience, playing on 23 September at the Laureate Concert and obtained well-deserved applause for their artistry.

The 9th Michał Spisak International Competition was also commented on by the winners.

Jan Szymański, bass trombonist: “I am really happy that I have won! I haven’t taken part in competitions before because simply there are no competitions for bass trombone in Poland. The program of the Spisak Competition is extensive, the pieces are demanding and I had to work a lot to prepare them, but as you can see – it was worth it. There was probably not a lot of competition, but it was strong. I tried not to think about it, I isolated a little so that I could concentrate on myself and my performances. I strived to play what I practised as well as I only could. Luckily at the third round it was not a problem for me to play with an orchestra, which often paralyses young musicians who had never had such experiences before. I had already had some opportunities to play as a soloist in my hometown, Toruń. I spent my whole holidays, a few hours daily, preparing for the Competition. Now some rest would be needed, but the academic year starts soon. I am planning to buy an instrument because I don’t have my own one, I play one borrowed from the Academy so money from the prize will come in very much useful!”

Marek Romanowski, bassist: “Looking from the participants’ point of view, there was a lot of competition. Dąbrowa Górnicza was visited by people who successfully participated in international festivals, competitions. We know the majority of them and our possibilities; such competitors deserve respect. Entering the Spisak Competition I hoped to get to the final. It was my target – to play everything that I had prepared for the Competition possibly the best. I didn’t thnik about the results, but they made me really happy. The program of the Competition, as far as extensiveness and difficulty are concerned, is comparable with other similar competitions in the world. What may pose some problems is the piece written specially for the Competition. This year it was “Ad Libitum at Quasi Polonaise” by Zdzisław Szostak. We don’t know what to expect until we get the score. There are no examples of previous performances, established convention of performance, which allows some freedom of the interpretation. I decided to introduce some dynamic changes and in tempo, which as you can see, was well received because I was granted the prize for the performance of the piece. Being the winner in the Competition is connected with the financial prize and this will let me finanse my studies, which I already started in Switzerland”.

Elise Veyres (France), harpist:“I am very happy! I was very confident about two first solo rounds, while at the third one I had to play with an orchestra, and I had never played with an orchestra. I was very much scared of that. The program was very difficult, but preparing for it was a great experience. I had to prepare a lot of new pieces, which will certainly come in useful in my further career. The Spisak Competition is my first serious important competition and I have won it! It’s an amazing experience. I am in Poland for the first time and I like it very much here. First of all, I was surprised in a positive way by the atmosphere at the Competition. Everyone is really nice and they pay us a lot of attention. I will spent the money I have won on further development and not only the musical one. Finally, I have to do my driving licence.”

compiled by: Regina Gowarzewska