At the opening of each session, the crystal chandeliers of Warsaw's elegant Philharmonic Hall were dimmed while a single spot focused for several reverent minutes on a bust of Chopin on stage. One slight, intense young pianist among the contestants at the sixth International Chopin Piano Competition seemed to resemble the master. At 18, the jury and audience agreed. Italy's Maurizio Pollini was clearly a pianist of the first rank. Last week Pollini became the first Westerner to win the coveted first prize of the Warsaw competition.
Normally held every five years (the schedule was interrupted during the war), the Chopin contest...
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