Jury

Andreas Weber
Professor at Mozarteum & head of the Leopold-Mozart-Institute

Andreas Weber began his pianistic education at the Music University of Cologne with Prof. Karin Merle and continued with Prof. Hans Leygraf at the University of Music in Salzburg. His gives concerts as a soloist and as chamber musician in Europe and Asia, i.a. with the Trio Cartellieri and with the Violinists Luz Leskowitz and Albert Fischer. Television recordings in Austria, Korea and China. He holds many Masterclasses in US, Japan, Russia, Korea, China, Thailand, Australia, Germany, Croatia and Belgium and is
member of juries in national and international piano competitions in Germany, Austria, Croatia, Singapore, Russia, China and Korea. He has made CD recordings with the Cellist Hanna Spielbüchler (Brahms, Schubert and Franck) as well with the Violinist Albert Fischer (Mozart, Brahms, Schubert) and with the Trio Cartellieri (Turina, Takacs, Piazzolla)

Since 2002 Andreas Weber is professor for piano at the University Mozarteum and since 2005 he is the head of the Leopold-
Mozart-Institute for highly talented young students and is promoting young talents at national and international level. Concert tours in Japan, Russia and China with the violinist Luz Leskowitz.
Since 2009 he is professor at the International Summer Academy of Mozarteum and the head of the Leopold-Mozart-Institute as the representative for the highly talented program. Many of his students are prize winners of renown international piano competitions in Germany, Austria, South Corea, Spain, Serbia, Netherlands, Kazakhstan,Poland, Italy, Hungary etc.

Martin Garcia Garcia
3rd prize winner of XVIII 18th Chopin Piano Competition, Warsaw, Poland

Martín García García (born in Gijón, 1996) is considered, at 27 years old, one of the pianists with the greatest international projection. In 2023, he has performed around 80 concerts worldwide (in America, Asia, and Europe), a year that marked his debut in Korea, Mexico, and Brazil. He has also visited Japan, the United States, Canada, Poland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Lithuania, and Luxembourg to give remarkable recitals and perform alongside prestigious orchestras such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamburg Symphoniker, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, and the Brasilia Orchestra. It’s worth noting that the Spanish artist also gave over 70 performances across America, Asia, and Europe in 2022, achieving significant milestones like his debut at Carnegie Hall in New York and a successful tour in Japan with 25,000 attendees across 14 performances. García García has received major global recognitions, including first prize at the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition and third place at the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition. He released his debut album “Chopin and His Master” in 2022, a production done by the artist himself, and his second one, “Even-Tide”, will be released on all platforms in 2024. Martín García García has appeared in important venues across Europe, America, and Asia, receiving highly positive reviews from figures like Vladimir Krainev, Dmitri Alexeev, Arcadi Volodos, Dimitri Bashkirov, Joaquín Achúcarro, and Tatiana Copeland (niece of Sergei Rachmaninoff). The Spanish pianist has won first prizes in numerous international and national piano competitions, with his victory at the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition and his third place at the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition being particularly noteworthy. In the latter competition, he also received the special award from the Warsaw Philharmonic National Orchestra for the best concerto performance. He graduated from the Reina Sofía School of Music, where he studied for a decade under Professor Galina Eguiazarova, and was honored by Her Majesty Queen Sofía with the recognition of being the Most Outstanding Student of her chair. He also holds a Master’s in Piano from the Mannes School of Music in New York, where he studied with
the renowned pianist Jerome Rose for 3 years. Martín García García began his piano studies at the age of 5 with teachers Natalia Mazoun and Ilyà Goldfarb. The year 2022 marked an extraordinary turning point in his career, with over 70 concerts worldwide, performing in iconic venues like Carnegie Hall in New York, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the National Auditorium of Music in Madrid. Additionally, he releases his second album “Even-Tide” in 2024. The album has been recorded at Nowa Miodowa Concert Hall, in Warsaw, and it includes works by Chopin &
Brahms. It is available on digital platforms. 2024 has begun with collaborations such as Tokyo Philarmonic Orchestra and Mikhail Pletnev, OSCYL and Vasily Petrenko, or Warsaw Philarmonic and Andrzej Boreyko. Martín García García, who holds a strong sense of responsibility and a commitment to serving humanity, approaches each concert with a profound purpose. Regardless of the venue’s size or the audience, he believes that there is a profound content to offer to each person who has chosen to come and listen.

Maria Murawska

Maria Murawska (full professor) studied piano at the State Higher School of Music in Poznań, in Olga Ilwicka’s class, and later at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, with Jerzy Godziszewski. She perfected her piano skills abroad, in Weimar, under Ludwig Hoffman, and at the Russian Academy of Music in Moscow, as a student of Vera Nosina. As early as the age of fifteen she made her debut with an orchestra, performing Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto in B-flat Major, accompanied by the Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra at Artus Court in Toruń. Maria Murawska is busy giving concerts as a soloist and chamber musician in Poland and abroad (US, Canada, China and Europe). She has performed at the Bydgoszcz Polish Music Festivals, the Chopin Festival in Antonin, the Usedomer Musikfestival (Germany), the Polish Piano Music Festival in Słupsk, and a series of concerts of Ignacy Jan Paderewski’s music. Works by such Polish composers as Fryderyk Chopin, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Grażyna Bacewicz or Karol Szymanowski are a significant part of her repertoire. She also performs contemporary Polish pieces, including compositions by Zbigniew Bargielski, some of which she presented publicly for the first time. She has recorded the complete solo piano works of this composer and, together with Paweł Wakarecy, works for two pianos and four hands. She has recorded Chopin and Paderewski for Polish Radio. In 2004, with the Bydgoszcz Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra under Zygmunt Rychert, she performed Tadeusz Kościuszko’s Polonaises. For years she has appeared as a piano duo with Wiesława Ronowska. After graduating she started working at the Bydgoszcz Academy of Music, where she presently works as a full professor. In 1999 she was appointed Deputy Rector for Student Matters and held the post until 2005 when she was elected Rector of the Academy (for two consecutive office terms until 2012). From 2012 till 2024 she held the position of the Deputy Rector for Organization, Academic Matters and International Cooperation (since 2016 for her 2nd term). In 2003 she was awarded the degree of full professor in the field of musical arts by the Polish president. She also teaches her piano class at the Artur Rubinstein State Music Schools in Bydgoszcz. She has been invited to conduct masterclasses in Poland, US, Italy and China. She has been a jury member for a number of Polish and foreign competitions for young pianists. She has been a member of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Musical Society in Bydgoszcz since 1996. In the years 2001–2013 she was the Vice President of the Society. In 1999 Maria was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit, and in 2001 she received an award from the Head of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province Council. In 2004 she was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit and the Head of the Bydgoszcz County Medal. In 2012 she received the Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture from the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage and in 2014 was awarded the Medal of the National Education Commission granted by the Ministry of Education.

DOMINIKA MARIA ESKA

DOMINIKA MARIA ESKA (Vienna, Austria /Poland) concert pianist, piano teacher and accompanist in Paderewski Secondary Music School in Żyrardów ( Mazovia Poland ), composer, arranger. Graduate with honors from the Academy of Music in Krakow (2004), Warsaw (2005), Łódź (2010), and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria (2007). Lecturer of piano workshops for students and teachers at music institutions. She has achieved many successes in national and international piano competitions in Poland and abroad, including in Warsaw, Krakow, and Łódź, and won the prestigious First Prize at the International Milosz Magin Competition in Paris. She is a laureate of international piano competitions in Japan, Germany, Austria, and Sweden. She participated in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2005. She has released two solo albums with music by Chopin, Mozart, and Liszt, as well as her own compositions for solo piano. The pianist participated in the prestigious VIENNA INTERNATIONAL PIANISTS ACADEMY in the Austrian capital of Vienna. For 24 years, she has been collaborating with Vienna and Graz in Austria as a member of the Vienna International Pianists, a community of the world's best pianists. She has performed in all major cities in Poland, both solo and with orchestras, as well as in Germany, Austria, France, Sweden, Russia, Japan, Italy, Bulgaria, and Scotland. She has recorded her piano recitals for Polish and foreign media. She has 40 years of artistic work, 22 years of composing, and 16 years of teaching and accompaniment of all instruments. Dominika Maria Eska is based in Vienna Austria and Poland, teaching classes in Vienna and in Poland. Her artistic activity as a solo pianist, pianist in duets with great musicians in Vienna and composer is in both countries Austria and Poland. Dominika Maria Eska artistically represents Austria and Poland.

Jakub Kuszlik

Jakub Kuszlik - winner of the 4th prize at the 18th International Chopin Competition and the Polish Radio Prize for the best performance of mazurkas at the 18th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, is an exceptionally talented graduate of Prof. Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń's piano class at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. He also won 2nd prize at the 10th International Ignacy Jan Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz (2016) and was a semi-finalist at the Beethoven Competition in Bonn (2017). In March 2019 Jakub Kuszlik won second prize at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition in New York and in June 2019 third prize at the Top of the World International Piano Competition in Tromsø, Norway. Jakub Kuszlik is also a finalist and winner of the Young Jury Prize at the Montreal 2024 International Music Competition.

He has given concerts in Poland and abroad, including in the USA, Japan, Vietnam, Germany, Italy, Greece, Norway, Armenia, Iceland, France, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Kosovo, Lithuania, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. In November 2018, the pianist performed with great success at Lincoln Center in New York.

He has performed with many orchestras, including the National Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Plauen-Zwickau Philharmonic Orchestra and conductors: Andrzej Boreyko, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Paweł Przytocki, Tadeusz Strugała, Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, Xian Zhang, Leo Siberski.

He has performed at festivals such as Chopin and his Europe, the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdrój, the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles, the Semanas Musicales de Frutillar, the Chopin Piano Fest Prishtina.

In February 2022, his first solo album “Brahms, Chopin” was released, published by Polish Radio, with recordings from his performance in the Polish Radio concert studio. In December 2022, the artist's second album “Chopin - Debussy” was released.

Yuya Nishimoto
Guest Jury
We invite one exceptional young Chopin pianist during this year's edition of our junior Chopin competition

Born in 2002, a Japanese pianist, he won the first grand prize unanimously at the 30th Epinal International Piano Competition in France 2025 and received the Contemporary Music Prize. This is a historic victory, as itʼs the first time a Japanese male has won. And also he is the first prize winner of the 68th Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition in the United States 2024 and received the prize of the best performance of a work by Karol Szymanowski. He won the nomination at the 6th International Chopin Piano Competition in ASIA 2025. He performed in the 2nd International Chopin Competition on Period Instrument in Warsaw 2023. His performance was broadcasted by Vosges Télévision in France,WETA Classical radio in the USA, RMF Polish radio, Polskie Radio. He is the youngest gold medalist in history of 12th International Chopin Piano Competition in ASIA. He won the first prize at the Salzburg-Mozart International Competition in Tokyo 2022, second prize in the Lugano International Competition 2022, and also fourth prize in the 5th Takamatsu International Piano Competition 2023. He performed Chopin Piano Concerto No.1 with the America National Philharmonic and the France National Metz Grand Est Orchestra, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 with the Tokyo Philharmonic, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 with the Tokyo Symphony and the Takamatsu Symphony, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.3 with the Seto Philharmonic. He has performed at many halls in major cities of Japan, UNESCO conference hall in Paris, Epinal, Washington D.C., Warsaw and Katowice Szymanowski Academy. He has participated in masterclasses given by Dang Thai Son, Wojciech Świtała, and Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń.