Mary James writes:

The upcoming fifth edition of the Seifert Competition brings together ten violinists from Poland, France, Portugal, the United States and Brazil. Since its inception in 2014 more than 200 musicians from all over the world have entered the competition. Through their participation, the rich legacy of Zbigniew Seifert is renewed and rediscovered.

The event opens on 24 August at the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice, where auditions will be held for three consecutive days. The jury consists of Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, a member (with Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul) of Weather Report; ECM artist Mark Feldman, and Polish violinist Michał Urbaniak, best known for his collaboration with US jazz legend Miles Davis.

The following violinists have qualified for the semi-finals:

• Amalia Obrębowska (Poland) a participant of the 2018 Seifert Competition and winner of the audience award
• Lucy Southern (USA),
• Serge Hirsch (France),
• Benjamin Sutin (USA),
• Wojciech Barteczek (Poland),
• Kacper Malisz (Poland),
• Guilherme Pimenta (Brazil),
• Eduardo Bortolotti (Mexico and living in Poland),
• Gabriel Vieira (Brazil) a participant in 2020 and winner of the audience award,
• João Silva (Portugal) also a participant in the 2020 competition.

GALA CONCERT FOR STANKO 80th

Following the competition, a gala will be held on 29 August at ICE Kraków which will be dedicated to the memory of Tomasz Stańko. It will be held on the 80^th anniversary of Stańko’s birthday in Kraków, where he received his music education and set up his first bands, including the Tomasz Stańko Quintet with Zbigniew Seifert, Bronisław Suchanek, Janusz Muniak and Janusz Stefański.

Stańko’s compositions will be recalled and reinterpreted by those who accompanied him on his musical journey for nearly three decades by pianist Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Sławomir Kurkiewicz, and drummer Michał Miśkiewicz, together forming the Marcin Wasilewski Trio, with a guest appearance by Nils Petter Molvær.

This concert is part of the international celebrations of Stanko 80, which also include a concert at the EFG London Jazz Festival

LINKS: Seifert Competition

The finals will be live streamed on the competition’s Facebook page