The International Chopin Piano Competition, where Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin won the first prize in 2015 and rose to international stardom, will celebrate its 19th edition next year. According to Artur Szklener, director of the Polish National Fryderyk Chopin Institute, this edition of the nearly century-old competition promises to be the most audience-friendly yet.

To this end, the organizers have added a journalist to the jury panel of 16 musicians, educators and more. “The opinion of the general public is important, and journalists are the translators of the general public,” Szklener, also a musicologist, said during a press conference on Nov. 27 in Seoul.

With tickets for the finals of each competition quickly selling out, the competition boasts a strong and growing online presence.

After Cho won the prize in 2015, people rushed to watch his performances online and learn more about the winner, briefly making "Chopin" surpass "shopping" in Google searches, driven by a surge in interest from Asia, particularly Korea and Japan. Since then, the largest proportion of the viewership has come from Korea, followed by Japan, he said.

The competition's online viewership has grown since then -- during the 2021 competition, video views reached 37.4 million, with a total watch time of 8 million hours, according to the organizer.

All stages of the 19th competition will be live-streamed on various platforms, including the competition's official website and YouTube.

For the participants, the organizers have significantly increased the prize money. The first prize will be raised from 40,000 euros ($42,000) to 60,000 euros for the 2025 edition. However, Szklener emphasized that the competition’s primary focus is not the prize money but promoting its winners.

“The most important thing is spreading information and classical music including the winners among the general public. So, we're trying to make them recognized not only by specialists but also by people who usually do not often listen to classical music,” he added.

His visit to Korea also highlights the competition's efforts to attract talented participants. "We see many exceptionally talented musicians from Korea, not only pianists but also instrumentalists and singers. There is tremendous potential here," he said.

The 19th International Chopin Piano Competition finals will kick off on Oct. 2 next year with an opening concert featuring past winners.

Before that, the jury will select approximately 160 pianists, aged 16 to 30, from the applicants who submit their entries by Jan. 12. These selected pianists will compete in the preliminaries held in Warsaw in April or May.

Among them, only about 80 will advance to the October finals. After three weeks of competition, the winner will be announced on Oct. 20. The awards ceremony and the winners' first gala concert will take place on Oct. 21.

Following the competition, the winners will embark on a world tour, performing in countries -- including Korea -- across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Launched in 1927 to commemorate composer and pianist Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), the piano competition has been held in Warsaw, Poland, every five years since 1955. Over nearly a century, the contest where young pianists aged 16 to 30 showcase their skills exclusively through Chopin's compositions, has grown from 27 participants to a record 500 from 55 countries in the 2020 edition.

The competition has been organized by various entities: the Warsaw Music Society (1927-1937), the Polish Ministry of Culture (1949-1955), and the Chopin Society (1960-2005). In 2010, the baton was passed to the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute, a state institution, which continues to oversee the event today.