Biography

Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń – chair of the jury of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.

A Polish pianist of Bulgarian origin, she graduated with honours from the class of Zbigniew Śliwiński at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk (1973), before continuing her studies with Alexander Jenner at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna.

An experienced and versatile teacher (currently at the music academies of Gdańsk and Bydgoszcz) and juror, her pupils have taken leading places in competitions in Poland and abroad (incl. Rafał Blechacz, winner of the 15th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition, 2005).

She has performed in concert at home and abroad, her repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the twentieth century, with special emphasis on Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Debussy and Bartók. She has also given first performances of works by contemporary Polish works and also enjoys playing chamber repertoire.

She is co-founder of the Gdańsk Society of Music Lovers (1996) and the ‘Musica nos unit’ International Chamber Music Festival. For her social activities, she has received the Duke Mściwój Medal from Gdańsk City Council. In 2004 she received a medal from the Commission for National Education, and in 2005 the Gloria Artis medal and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland.

Source:  chopincompetition2015.com

© Fryderyk Chopin Institute 2015