12th Witold Lutosławski
International Cello Competition
Warsaw, 1 - 12 May 2024

Rules and Regulations

ORGANISERS

  1. The Twelfth Witold Lutosławski International Cello Competition is organised by the National Institute of Music and Dance and co-organised by the Foundation for the Promotion of Young Cellists (Polish: Fundacja Na Rzecz Promocji Młodych Wiolonczelistów).
  2. The Director of the National Institute of Music and Dance acts as the Director of the Competition.
  3. The co-organiser appoints the Artistic Director of the Competition, who reserves the right to make decisions in all artistic matters beyond the competencies of the Jury. His decisions are final and non-appealable.

PLACE AND DATES

  1. The Competition performances will take place between 1 and 11 May 2024 at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw (5 Jasna Street).
  2. The Prize Winners Concert, combined with an awards ceremony, will be held at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw on 12 May 2024.
  3. The Competition winners are obliged to be present at the awards ceremony, and the winners of the main prizes to take part in the artistic performance during the Prize Winners Concert.

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

  1. Whenever the Rules and Regulations mention:
    1. the Competition website – they shall refer to www.lutoslawski-cello.art.pl
    2. the email address of the Competition Office – they shall refer to lutoslawski@nimit.pl
    3. the Competition medical service – they shall refer to the doctor employed by the Organiser to provide medical care for the musicians, jury members, staff and technicians.
  2. If the Rules and Regulations mention dates or documents that will be made public before or during the Competition, they shall be published by being placed in separate announcements on the Competition website.

PARTICIPANTS OF THE COMPETITION (PARTICIPATING MUSICIANS)

  1. The Competition shall accept cellists who will not have reached the age of 30 on 1 May 2024. The lowest age limit has not been set.
  2. Candidates with Belarusian or Russian citizenships shall have to attach, to the Application Form, a statement in which they condemn Russia’s military activities against Ukraine as well as actions undertaken by the Russian Federation which violate international law. The wording of the declaration, mentioned in the previous sentence, will be available on the Competition website and at muvac.com

APPLICATIONS AND QUALIFICATION FOR THE COMPETITION

  1. The applications for the Competition should be submitted until 20 February 2024.
  2. The applications for the Competition should be submitted in person by filling in the Application Form to be found at muvac.com. Persons with a limited capacity to legal transactions shall attach an appropriate declaration signed by their statutory representative or guardian. The wording of the declaration, mentioned in the previous sentence, will be available on the Competition website and at muvac.com
  3. Submitting the application for the Competition by the Candidate or his/her statutory representative or guardian is equivalent to accepting these Rules and Regulations.
  4. The application shall be submitted by filling in the Application Form to be found at muvac.com. The form should be filled in either Polish or English. After filling in and confirming the full form, the Competition Office will contact the Candidate at the email address provided in the application. If the Competition Office finds that the data provided in the form needs to be amended or supplemented, the Candidate will be duly informed about this requirement. The application shall be accepted only after making the necessary corrections. Applications that have not been confirmed by the Competition Office as complete shall not be deemed to have been submitted to the Competition in accordance with the provisions of these Rules and Regulations and shall not be evaluated.
  5. On the Competition website the Candidate will find a link that will direct him/her to the information about the Competition available at muvac.com. Filling in the Application Form to be found there and mentioned in section 14 hereinabove is only possible after registering with muvac.com.
  6. The Application Form will be published in electronic form at muvac.com no later than on 5 February 2024.
  7. The following information and materials shall be submitted in the appropriate fields of the Application Form (mentioned hereinabove):
    1. the Candidate’s personal data;
    2. the Candidate’s biographical note as an attachment in the form of an editable document having up to 3000 characters including spaces, providing a description of the music education and an outline of the previous artistic activities (such as important concerts, prizes and awards from competitions, recordings etc.);
    3. three photographs of the Candidate, for which the Candidate has appropriate rights, with the resolution of at least 300 dpi, in JPG or TIFF format; the title of the file must include the full name of the photographer;
    4. the selected programme of performances during all the stages/rounds of the Competition with the full name of the composer, the title of each composition (or its component movements) and the precise order of performances during the first and second stages/rounds of the Competition;
    5. information on the accompanists, i.e. whether, during the course of the Competition, the Candidate intends to use the accompanists indicated by the Organiser or his/her own accompanist(s). In the latter case, the accompanist(s) shall consent to using their image and their artistic performance in a video for the purposes of promoting and disseminating information about the Competition pursuant to sections 59-62 hereof. The wording of the declaration mentioned in the previous sentence will be available on the Competition website. It should be submitted to the Organiser in the written form during registration in the reception area of the venue of the Competition.
    6. The qualification video recording with the compositions indicated in the Annex hereto, Part I. The video should be recorded in, at least, HD quality and MP4 or MOV format. Professional recording quality of the sound is recommended. The compositions may be recorded in one (continuous) take or as three separate files. The use of different places to record the material shall be accepted. The Candidate should be shown with the use of one camera and from the same angle. The Candidate’s hands and face should be clearly seen throughout. The recorded material may not be cut or edited. By sending the recording, the Candidate declares that it is authentic, i.e. the recorded music is performed by the Candidate him-/herself and, therefore, it does not violate the copyright of any third parties. Recordings that do not meet the criteria stipulated hereinabove or whose quality makes it impossible for the committee to reliably judge their artistic value shall be disqualified.
    7. Declarations, if necessary, in accordance with sections 10 and 12 herein.
  8. The intention of the visual side of the recorded material is to authenticate the performance at the stage of receiving the applications from the Candidates. It will not be shown to the Qualification Committee. In order to guarantee the impartiality of the qualification process, the evaluation made by the Qualification Committee shall only be based on the anonymous sound layer of the recorded material.
  9. The video recording mentioned in section 17 (f) shall only be used for the purpose of the qualification for the Competition and shall not be disseminated by the Organiser in any other way.
  10. By submitting the application, the Candidate gives his/her consent to the Organiser to use, edit and publish the attached biographical note and photographs in the Competition’s press, informational and promotional materials.
  11. The submitted application for the Competition is construed as a contract made between the Organiser and the applying Candidate. It provides for all the matters stipulated in the Rules and Regulations, including the copyright on the artistic performances in the Competition and the Prize Winners Concert, as well as the use of the image, comments and interviews recorded during, or in relation to, the Competition and the Prize Winners Concert. This contract is made on a conditional basis; it is concluded as soon as the submitted application is accepted by the Qualification Committee.
  12. Applications submitted after the deadline set in section 11 hereinabove or otherwise failing to meet the requirements stipulated herein and in the Annexes hereto shall be rejected
  13. The Organiser shall appoint a Qualification Committee, which shall qualify up to 60 Participants to perform at the Competition.
  14. Each Participant shall be notified of his/her qualification for the Competition on 5 March 2024 at the latest. The notification message containing the requisite permission to perform at the Competition shall be sent to the email address provided in the Participant’s submitted application. The list of the qualifiers shall also be announced on the Competition website.
  15. The decisions of the Qualification Committee are final and non-appealable. The Organiser and the Co-organiser of the Competition are not obliged to provide justification for the decisions.
  16. The qualifiers shall pay an entry fee in the amount of 150 euros.
  17. Each qualifier shall be informed where (the number of the bank account) and when (the deadline) to pay the relevant entry fee in the notification message mentioned in section 24 hereinabove. The payments shall not be refundable. Anyone not paying the entry fee by the specified deadline shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Competition. The confirmation of the entry fee should be sent as soon as it had been paid to the email address of the Competition Office. Any and all bank fees that may be incurred by the transaction shall be paid fully by the Participant.
  18. The entry fee shall not be refunded to a Participant who has resigned from taking part in the Competition.

STAGES OF THE COMPETITION

  1. The Competition shall consist of three rounds/stages:
    1. First Round: The Participant presents the programme indicated in the Annex hereto, Part II. The programme of the First Round must be played from memory.
    2. Second Round: The Participant presents the compositions indicated in the Annex hereto, Part III. The maximum total time of the musical presentation may not exceed 40 minutes. In the Second Round, the Sacher Variation by Witold Lutosławski must be played from memory.
    3. Third Round / Finals: The Participant presents two cello concertos selected from those listed in the Annex hereto, Part IV. The Participant plays alongside a symphony orchestra. Except the Concerto for cello and orchestra by Witold Lutosławski, all the compositions must be played from memory.
  2. All the stages/rounds of the Competition shall be open to the public pursuant to the rules set by the Organiser.
  3. The Participants shall perform in alphabetical order.
  4. The letter to begin the list of the Participants shall be drawn by the Organiser. It will be announced after the list of all the Participants of the Competition is complete.
  5. The order of performances shall remain unchanged until the end of the Competition.
  6. Due to the matters of organisation, programme and unforeseen circumstances, the Organiser, acting in agreement with the President of the Jury and pursuant to the decision made by the Director of the Competition, shall have the right to amend the order of performances during the Competition.
  7. After submitting a written request sent to the email address of the Competition Office, the Participant may obtain permission from the Director of the Competition to postpone his/her performances until the end of the round if his/her presentation may not take place at the time set by the Organiser due to force majeure or when the medical service confirms his/her inability to perform on grounds of ill health.
  8. The order of performing the works in rounds I and II shall be indicated by the Participant in his/her application for the Competition. The order of performing the works in the third round, i.e. the Finals, shall be set by the Organiser.
  9. The application for the Competition shall include a projected programme of the full musical presentation for all the rounds and the order of performances in rounds I and II. Changes to the submitted programme and order of performances must be addressed to the Competition Office, emailed no later than 15 April 2024. Such a request may only be made once and should contain a full description of the newly proposed programme.
  10. The Organiser shall hire pianists-accompanists. They will be available at the Participants’ disposal free of charge. The Organiser shall assign an accompanist to each Participant at his/her own request.
  11. The Organiser shall hire cellists-accompanists to perform the bass part in the Sonatas by Luigi Boccherini in the first round of the Competition. They will be available at the Participants’ disposal free of charge. The Organiser shall assign an accompanist to each Participant.
  12. The Participant may alternatively arrive with his/her own pianist and/or cellist providing that he or she will inform of this fact in the relevant section of the Application Form at the stage of applying for the Competition. In this case, the Organiser shall not bear the costs of hiring the accompanist or any other costs relating to the accompanist’s stay at the Competition.
  13. The Organiser shall provide all the Participants with the same conditions of practice, rehearsal and performance during each round/stage of the Competition.

COSTS OF TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION

  1. The Participants and their accompanists shall arrive at the Competition at their own expense.
  2. The Organiser shall not provide accommodation for the Participants or their accompanists during the course of the Competition.
  3. The Participants are requested to inquire at the relevant authorities whether they need a visa to enter Poland. If this is the case, the Organiser will send the requisite invitation.

JURY OF THE COMPETITION

  1. The Organisers shall appoint a Jury of the Competition consisting of eleven members, including the President. The Jury shall be the only body to make decisions pertaining to the results of the successive stages/rounds of the Competition, select the qualifiers and award the main prizes and honourable mentions.
  2. The Jury shall adjudicate the quality of the Participants’ performances and interpretations in accordance with its own, internal rules and regulations. The list of the members of the Jury, and its rules and regulations shall be announced publicly on the Competition website.
  3. The decisions of the Jury are final and non-appealable.
  4. The Participants shall be awarded the following main prizes:
    First Prize – 20000 euros
    Second Prize – 10000 euros
    Third Prize – 5000 euros
    Fourth Prize – 2500 euros
  5. Apart from the main prizes, the Jury of the Competition may award the following special prizes:
    1. An award for an outstanding performance of the Cello Concerto by Witold Lutosławski in the amount of 2000 euros.
    2. An award for an outstanding performance of the Sacher Variation for solo cello by Witold Lutosławski in the amount of 1000 euros.
    3. An award for an outstanding performance of Grave by Witold Lutosławski in the amount of 1000 euros.
  6. The Jury is authorised to amend the number and arrangement of the main prizes provided that the total amount earmarked for the main prizes is not higher and the amount intended for each individual main prize has not changed.
  7. There will also be additional special prizes, e.g. in the form of concert invitations from philharmonic, cultural and artistic institutions, as well as media, cash and material prizes. The ultimate list of all these prizes shall be announced before the opening of the Competition. The Director of the Competition is authorised to award these additional prizes to satisfy the will expressed by their sponsors.
  8. The Jury and the Director of the Competition may abstain from awarding some main prizes or special prizes.
  9. The cash prizes shall be paid in Polish zloty (PLN) irrespective of the currency indicated earlier.
  10. The average rate stated by the National Bank of Poland (Narodowy Bank Polski) on the day of the payment shall be used in the event of foreign currency translation.
  11. The cash prizes are subject to tax deduction, pursuant to the relevant laws governing them on the day of the awards. The taxes shall be paid by the Organiser.
  12. Following the announcement of the results, the President of the Jury shall name those musicians who will take part in the Prize Winners Concert, and discuss the repertoire to be performed in this concert. Failure on the part of the winners to appear in the awards ceremony or on the part of the musicians named by the President of the Jury to perform in the Prize Winners Concert shall result in forfeiting their rights to all the prizes and, in particular, freeing the Organiser from the obligation to pay them the main prizes.
  13. The Participants shall not be compensated for their performance in the Prize Winners Concert.

COPYRIGHT

  1. All Candidates submitting their applications in person or through an authorised representative:
    1. allow the Organiser to record the sound and vision of their artistic performances in the Competition and the Prize Winners Concert, and transfer their economic rights to these performances to the Organiser;
    2. allow the Organiser to record the sound and vision of their image, comments and interviews recorded during the Competition and the Prize Winners Concert or in relation to the Competition and the Prize Winners Concert, and transfer to the Organiser their economic rights to these statements and interviews, and also allow the Organiser to disseminate their image recorded for the purposes of appearing at the Competition and the Prize Winners Concert;
    3. transfer to the Organiser the exclusive right, not limited by time or place, to give permission for the use of dependent copyright with regard to the musical works specified above, particularly permission to dispose of and make use of arrangements of these works, including translations into other languages; the participants also undertake not to attempt to restrict this right in the future;
    4. authorise the Organiser to exercise their personal rights with regard to the musical works and artistic performances specified above, and undertake not to exercise their personal rights in such a way that would restrict the Organiser’s acquired rights pursuant to the rule stipulated in this section;
    5. allow the Organiser to make use of their artistic performances, interviews, comments and image, as a whole or as randomly selected fragments, or to make adaptations, cuts and alterations, as well as translations, and declare that said use will not be construed as a violation of their reputation; the participants also allow the Organiser to use their first and last names, or their artistic names, whenever said artistic performances, comments, interviews or image are shown.
  2. The transfer and grant of the rights (including the permissions) specified above is not limited by time or place, and covers all the fields of exploitation as known at the time of the announcement of the Rules and Regulations.
  3. The transfer and grant of the rights (including the permissions) specified above is effective at the moment of recording the artistic performances, comments or interviews, and is free of charge. Whenever permitted by law, the participants shall waive their right to financial compensation with regard to the dissemination of said artistic performances, comments and interviews on the Internet, television or radio.
  4. In respect of the acquired rights pursuant to the provisions stipulated herein, the Organiser may, without limitations, transfer these rights to further entities or grant licences and other authorisations. The participants of the Competition may not claim financial compensation relating to these actions.

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

  1. The personal data provided in the application documents shall be administered/controlled by the Organiser for a period of two years of the date of its provision. The data of the persons being awarded cash prizes shall be additionally administered for a period of five years of the date of the payment of the prize, and shall only be processed during this period for tax and accounting purposes.
  2. The personal data shall only be processed for the purposes directly related to the Competition itself, and in particular:
    1. announcements of the order of performances and the results of consecutive stages/rounds published on the Competition website;
    2. printed and electronic publication of informational and promotional materials regarding the Competition, along with an image and a biographical note edited by the Organiser.
  3. The provision of personal data is non-compulsory; nevertheless it is indispensable for the qualification process to be effective. Each person whose personal data is administered by the Organiser shall have the right to access the contents of this data and edit it, and may also request to limit its processing scope or to remove it; such a request may however have its relevant consequences, such as, in extreme cases, the termination of the Participant’s right to remain in the Competition.
  4. The personal data shall not be used for automated decision-making.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

  1. The Competition is financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.

FINAL PROVISIONS

  1. The Organiser shall not help the Participants of the Competition obtain their visas; however, a relevant certification confirming participation in the Competition may be issued upon request.
  2. The Organiser shall not help the Participants obtain health insurance covering the duration of their stay in Poland; obtaining such insurance, however, is advisable.
  3. For matters not provided for herein, which are related to the Competition but not authorised by the Jury and the Artistic Director, decisions made by the Director of the Competition shall apply. These decisions shall not be appealable.
  4. Any doubts resulting from the construction of the provisions stipulated herein shall be resolved under the Polish version of the text.
  5. Any disputes arising from the agreements based on the provisions hereof shall be resolved in accordance with the Polish law before the court competent for the Organiser’s registered office.
  6. Polish and English shall be the official languages of the Competition.

ANNEX TO THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMPETITION – PROGRAMME

Part 1
Programme of the selection recording

  1. Johann Sebastian Bach – Prelude from one of the Cello Suites (BWV 1007-1012)
  2. Witold Lutosławski – Sacher Variation for solo cello
    or
    Krzysztof Penderecki – Scherzo. Vivace from the Suite for solo cello
  3. Alfredo Piatti – one of the Caprices Op. 25 Nos. 2-12
    or
    David Popper - one of the Etudes, Op. 73 Nos. 12, 15, 20, 29, 33

Part 2
Programme of the competition performances – First Stage/Round

  1. Witold Lutosławski – Grave (PWM/Chester)
  2. Fryderyk Chopin – Largo from the Sonata in G minor for piano and cello Op. 65
  3. Johann Sebastian Bach – Allemande and Courante from a selected cello suite (BWV 1007-1012)
  4. Luigi Boccherini – any Sonata for cello and basso continuo (Participant’s own choice)

The Organiser provides a cellist-accompanist. The Participant of the Competition may also arrive with his or her own cellist.

The programme of the First Round must be played from memory.

Part 3
Programme of the competition performances – Second Stage/Round

  1. Witold Lutosławski – Sacher Variation for solo cello (PWM/Chester)
  2. & 3. One composition from Group 2.A and one composition from Group 3.A or one composition from Group 2.B and one composition from Group 3.B

The total time of two selected compositions should not exceed 40 minutes.

2.A
Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata in A major Op. 69
Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata in C major Op. 102 No. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata in D major Op. 102 No. 2
Franz Schubert – Sonata in A minor “Arpeggione” D. 821
Fryderyk Chopin – Sonata in G minor for piano and cello Op. 65
Richard Strauss – Sonata in F major Op. 6
Johannes Brahms – Sonata in F major Op. 99
Johannes Brahms – Sonata in D major Op. 78

3.A
George Crumb – Sonata for Violoncello Solo
Henri Dutilleux – 3 Strophes sur le nom de Sacher
Andrzej Krzanowski – Relief V for solo cello (1986) (PWM)
Krzysztof Penderecki – Divertimento for solo cello (1994) (Schott)
Elliott Carter – Figment I
György Ligeti – Sonata for solo cello

2.B
Benjamin Britten – Sonata in C major for cello and piano Op. 65
Witold Szalonek – Sonata for cello and piano (1958) (PWM)
Alfred Schnittke – Sonata for cello and piano No. 1 (1978)
Francis Poulenc – Sonata for cello and piano FP 143
Claude Debussy – Sonata in D minor L.135

3.B
Ludwig van Beethoven - 7 Variations in E flat major
Robert Schumann – Adagio and Allegro for cello and piano Op. 70
Robert Schumann – Fantasiestücke Op. 73
Robert Schumann – Fünf Stücke im Volkston Op. 102
Paul Hindemith – Phantasiestück in B major Op. 8 No 2 from Three Pieces for cello and piano

Part 4
Programme of the competition performances – Finals

1.A
Witold Lutosławski – Concerto for cello and orchestra

1.B. One of the selected concertos:
Carl Philippe Emanuel Bach – Cello Concerto in A major Wq 172, H 439
Joseph Haydn – Cello Concerto in C major Hob. VIIb/1
Joseph Haydn – Cello Concerto in D major Hob. VIIb/2

All the concertos, except the Concerto for cello and orchestra by Witold Lutosławski, must be played from memory.

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