News

Here comes the forth edition of the Seifert Competition!

The Zbigniew Seifert Foundation has the pleasure to invite violinists, violists, and cellists to take part in the 4th edition of the international competition dedicated to the memory of the Foundation’s patron. The pool of prizes has reached EUR 17, 000! Entries are accepted only until 31st March.

“He was a genius. Like Miles Davis, he had the same ability to bring out the best in the musicians who played with him.”(Glen Moore, Oregon)

“He’s our national treasure.” (Tomasz Stańko)

“The Paganini of the jazz violin!” (Urszula Dudziak)

This is the way Seifert is remembered by the world’s most famous jazzmen who once had the opportunity to work with him. These opinions are by no means exaggerated. Zbigniew Seifert was one of the best jazz violinists of all time. The goal he set for himself was to translate into the violin what he loved most in jazz – the music of his master, John Coltrane. Still, he became much more than merely the Coltrane of the jazz violin. His position in the world’s jazz pantheon is indisputable. Several decades after the artist’s untimely death, his music continues to delight audiences with its virtuosity, emotional depth and intensity. With the intention of paying homage to, and cultivating the memory of, this excellent artist – the Zbigniew Seifert Foundation established a Competition of his name. Its previous editions (in 2014, 2016 and 2018) proved a tremendous success. In total, more than a hundred violinists from all over the world entered the Competition, whose winners were Bartosz Dworak (2014), Mateusz Smoczyński (2016) and Mario Forte (2018).

The 4th Zbigniew Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition will be held between 7th and 10th July at the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice. The Competition is open not only to violinists, but also to violists and cellists. For the first, preliminary stage, candidates are obliged to submit recordings of any compositions of their own choice, including one solo piece. In the next two stages – the semi-finals and finals held at the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice – participants will perform works by Zbigniew Seifert.

A complete application ought to be submitted via the www.seifertcompetition.com website. The non-negotiable deadline is 31th March 2020. All candidates will be informed about the results of the preliminary round by 15th April 2020.

Three prizes will be granted in the Competition:

– 1st prize - € 10,000

– 2nd prize - € 5,000

– 3rd prize - € 2,000

The audience will also select its favourite, as during the previous editions. Listeners will be able to vote for the best participant via the Competition website: www.seifertcompetition.com. The application form and the Competition Regulations are available here under this link

MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Seifert-Competition

Twitter: https://twitter.com/seifertcontest

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seifertcontest/