About Us

Chopin Piano FEST Prishtina was established in 2010, on the 200th anniversary of Chopin, by the Kosovo Chopin Association as the youngest member of the International Federation of Chopin Associations, part of UNESCO. The success and appreciation by the larger audience in Kosovo turned the festival into a brand that is now traditionally held in the springtime, every year. This year marks the 12th edition of continued efforts to keep our audience pleased and for classical music to thrive well into the future. Our festival program has been our flagship throughout the years.

ChopinPianoFEST Prishtina is a music festival highly appreciated by critics, media, fans, and the growing audience as an excellent presentation of the mastery of the piano. The festival offers interpretations by both world-renowned pianists and local talents and serves as a cultural exchange platform between Kosovar artists and artists coming from different countries in the world. Music is the common language of communication and cooperation and the festival has hosted musicians from countries that have not recognized Kosovo as a country yet. Therefore, we feel that it also contributes to the public/cultural diplomacy of our country. The festival is also promoted by EFA (European Association of Festivals) http://www.efa-aef.eu/en/home/ and being part of the International Federation of Chopin Societies, it is connected to UNESCO, where IFC is a member.

Chopin Piano Fest Prishtina 2022 

12th Edition

The planned 12th edition of the Chopin Piano FEST Prishtina 2022 will gather distinguished local and international pianists performing not only Chopin’s works but also other well-known composers, classical and contemporary ones. The guests will present themselves with compositions for piano solo and piano music ensembles (trio, duo, sextet). The high artistic level of the program is prepared by the Festival’s artistic director Prof. Lejla Haxhiu-Pula and will offer new insights into piano music repertoire as shown in the last editions that hosted great world pianists. Our aim with the Chopin Piano FEST is not to just offer new names, but also bring the best musicians to Kosovo, establish friendships, and network, since it has been said so many times; rather than just a common pleasure – music connects people. 

PROGRAM

Click here for the map of the location

The program for 2022 includes musicians from Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Holland, Slovenia, and Spain. This helps establish bridges for communication and cooperation with their colleagues from Kosovo while sharing their high-level performances with the Kosovo audience and exchanging new developments in artistic piano performance trends. 

Chopin Piano FEST Prishtina 2022 will take place from May 9th, 2022, with two to three event nights during each week of the month until the closing concert, on June 8th, 2022. The festival will offer concerts, masterclasses with students, and the tradition prizes for ‘Special Prize Competition” and the ‘In honor of Chopin’ compositional competition.

This year our education component increases with more lectures, workshops, and masterclasses. The special ChopinPianoFEST prize for one young pianist will continue, with the support and sponsorship offered by Mr. Herbert Groeger, through the initiative by the Kosovar pianist Ardita Statovci. The prize includes a concert recital for one Kosovo pianist in Germany, the hometown of a selected composer, therefore the concert shall include works of the selected composer and a Masterclass in a selected German University. This unique opportunity for a young Kosovo pianist to perform in front of an international audience motivates young pianists studying in Kosovo to further master their piano skills and establish their piano performance careers. 

In addition, our hard work and dedication over the past years have resulted in a partnership with the most prominent festivals in the region, linked by the EU Project called #Synergy for Classical Music Industry in Western Balkans www.synergyproject.info. The project focuses on the exchange of activities, information, and experiences from festivals in Ljubljana, Belgrade, Kotor, Tirana, Dubrovnik, and Prishtina. This regional cooperation element is an added value to Chopin Piano Fest, expanding the scope of activities when it comes to programming, financing, and managing cultural events in the region. The promotion of composers and artists exchange among the countries is one of the key components of this project.

As you are already aware, the lack of a proper concert hall and a proper concert piano continues to be the biggest problem for organizing a piano festival in Prishtina. However, with the adequate support from institutions and businesses that value cultivated arts and see a good opportunity for self-promotion by cooperating with us, we have managed to adopt a hall at the Amphitheater of the University Library facilities in Prishtina (The building of the Institute of History) and use it as our venue for the month of the festival 

ChopinPianoFEST Prishtina 2022 remains committed to further outshining the success of the past years. We hope that you will find the cooperation with us valuable for advancing the cultural life in Kosovo.