Chopin @ Miami, 2025
Getting tickets to The International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw is impossible: they sold out in 30 minutes.
So, the 11th National Chopin piano competition in Miami, from Jan 4-12, hosted by the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, perhaps is the next best thing. The winner is guaranteed to go to Warsaw to compete in Oct 2-23 2025, the 19th (Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina).
Chopin competition is held every five years, since 1927 in Warsaw, and the Miami event since 1975. Five American pianists had won top prize in Poland.
This year, the top winner gets $100,000, 2nd $30,000, 3rd $20k and the 4th-6th $5k each.
We stayed at Kimpton Angler’s hotel in Miami Beach and enjoyed SoBe, South Beach enormously, as usual.
A few good restaurants:
My itinerary: 3 nights, from Jan 9th, Thur to Sun 12th:
- Thu, 9th Saigon to Paris Cafe, South Pointe Park; La Ventana, semi final
- Fri, 10th Ocean Dr.; Smith Wollensky; convention ctr; botanic; Meet Dalia; CVS
- Sat, 11th beach volleyball @ Lummus Park; Gianni; biking; Imperial Tea; the final
- Sun, 12th Naples: Le Colonial
… more of the trip