Winners of the 22nd Kiejstut Bacewicz International Chamber Music Competition in Łódź!

On April 12, 2025, at the Academy of Music in Łódź, the 22nd Kiejstut Bacewicz International Chamber Music Competition came to a close—the oldest competition in Poland dedicated to chamber ensembles. The Posnario Piano Quintet emerged as the winner. After five days of auditions spanning two stages, the jury selected the award-winning ensembles. In addition to the three main prizes, three honorable mentions and an award for the best performance of a work by a Polish composer were granted. The prize-winning ensembles performed on Saturday during the Winners' Concert held in the Chamber Hall of the Łódź Academy.

The winning ensemble, the Posnario Piano Quintet, is composed of students from the Academy of Music in Poznań. The quintet was founded in 2023, and its members are: Hanna Rogoża (violin), Jakub Staszel (violin), Jan Cieszyński (viola), Zuzanna Zamęska (cello), and Weronika Omietońska (piano). In the final concert, the group performed three movements from Grażyna Bacewicz’s Piano Quintet No. 1. The second and third prize winners are graduates of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.

Second prize was awarded to: Antoni Wrona (cello) and Aleksandra Janusz (piano)—a duo that has previously earned joint accolades in competitions, and in Łódź also received the additional prize for the best performance of a work by a Polish composer (Grave: Metamorphoses by Witold Lutosławski).

Third prize went to Essence Trio, a piano trio consisting of: Judyta Kluza-Sporniak (violin), Filip Sporniak (cello), and Juliusz Goniarski (piano).

The young chamber musicians were evaluated by an international jury composed of: Sofya Gulyak (piano), Grzegorz Biegas (piano), Bogna Czerwińska-Szymula (piano), Ryszard Groblewski (viola), Elio Orio (violin), Tomasz Strahl (cello), and Takahiro Yoshikawa (piano).

Nearly 50 chamber ensembles from 20 countries around the world took part in the competition auditions: Austria, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Georgia, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Poland, South Africa, the United States, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Twenty ensembles advanced to the second round.

The event was held under the honorary patronage of: the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Dorota Ryl, Voivode of Łódź, Joanna Skrzydlewska, Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship, and Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Łódź.

The competition was co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage with funds from the Culture Promotion Fund.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC

More information: https://www.amuz.lodz.pl/index.php/pl/wydarzenia/xxii-miedzynarodowy-konkurs-muzyki-kameralnej-im-kiejstuta-bacewicza-w-lodzi