XV International Chopin Piano Competition

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The Fifteenth International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition
Official poster
Date	2–24 October 2005 (2005-10-02 – 2005-10-24)
Venue	National Philharmonic, Warsaw
Hosted by	Fryderyk Chopin Society [pl]
Winner	Rafał Blechacz
Website	konkurs15.chopin.pl
← 14th · Chopin Competition · 16th →

The XV International Chopin Piano Competition (Polish: XV Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 2 to 24 October 2005 in Warsaw, organized by the Fryderyk Chopin Society [pl]. The competition was won by Rafał Blechacz of Poland, who prevailed against 80 competitors from 18 countries.^[1]

This was the first competition that was completely broadcast on TV, radio and on the internet.^[1]

For the first time, the competition introduced a preliminary round, as selecting participants from submitted recordings only was deemed not wholly reliable.^[1]

In the most decisive showing in the history of the competition, Rafał Blechacz took First Prize and the special prizes for the best performance of a polonaise, mazurka, and concerto.^[1] One of the judges, Piotr Paleczny, said that Blechacz "so outclassed the remaining finalists that no second prize could actually be awarded."^[2] Another judge, John O'Conor, called Blechacz "one of the greatest artists I have had a chance to hear in my entire life".^[3] Blechacz was the first Pole to win the prize since 1975, when Krystian Zimerman won.

The following prizes were awarded:^[1]

Prize		Winner
	US$25,000	Rafał Blechacz	Poland
	not awarded
	US$15,000	Dong-Hyek Lim	South Korea
		Dong-Min Lim	South Korea
4th	US$10,000	Shohei Sekimoto	Japan
		Takashi Yamamoto	Japan
5th	not awarded
6th	US$6,000	Ka Ling Colleen Lee	Hong Kong
F	US$2,000	Andriej Jaroszynskij	Russia
	US$2,000	Jacek Kortus	Poland
	US$2,000	Rachel Naomi Kudo	United States
	US$2,000	Rieko Nezu	Japan
	US$2,000	Yuma Osaki	Japan
	US$2,000	Yeol Eum Son	South Korea

In addition, three special prizes were awarded independently:

Special prize	Winner
Best Performance of a Concerto	Rafał Blechacz	Poland
Best Performance of Mazurkas	Rafał Blechacz	Poland
Best Performance of a Polonaise	Rafał Blechacz	Poland

The jury consisted of:

• Ekiert, Janusz (2010). The Endless Search for Chopin: The History of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (1st ed.). Warsaw: Muza. ISBN 978-83-7495-812-7. OCLC 670048637.
• Arendt, Ada; Bogucki, Marcin; Majewski, Paweł; Sobczak, Kornelia (2020). Chopinowskie igrzysko. Historia Międzynarodowego Konkursu Pianistycznego im. Fryderyka Chopina 1927–2015 [The Chopin Games. The History of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition 1927–2015] (in Polish) (1st ed.). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. ISBN 978-83-235-4127-1. OCLC 1153285192.
• Ossowski, Jerzy; Brodska, Halina (2010). The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in photographs. Warsaw: Fryderyk Chopin Institute. ISBN 978-83-61142-36-2. OCLC 802743657.

• Chopin Institute's channel on YouTube