At what point in their life can a young musician say that they have finally become a professional? Is it a purely practical matter, like booking the first concerts and winning competitions? Or is it related to skill, to perfecting craftsmanship to the point where most of the repertoire seems achievable? Then again, maybe being ‘a professional’ is not a state to reach but a practice to reevaluate constantly. This life-long pursuit was the thread running through a conversation with Polish violinist Bartłomiej (‘Bartek’) Nizioł, who serves as President of the Jury for the next edition of the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznań this October. Himself a winner of the Wieniawski in 1991, Nizioł’s rise to fame is testimony to the significance of music institutions – and particularly contests – in a young artist’s path to an established career.
“Competitions have been a part of my life since I can remember – first as a contestant, then as a jury member,” Nizioł smiles. “I won my first one at the age of 9, a regional competition for Northern Poland. Despite how small it might have been, it brought a shift in my family. My parents are not musicians, and we had a piano at home just to have an instrument to try our hands on. When my older sister decided to learn the violin, I started imitating her and seemed to have a knack for it. I was only 4, very young by Polish standards back then, so it really all began as an experiment. That small success convinced my parents that maybe the experiment could have more weight than expected.”
Retracing the many competitions that punctuated the start of his career, Nizioł singles out some of them as springboards for his growth as a musician. The jump from local to national tournaments propelled him into another league: “My first contact with the Wieniawski was through the ‘little’ Wieniawski, the branch of the competition that takes place in the composer’s hometown, Lublin. The political situation was different back then, with Poland being closer to the Soviet Bloc. For me as a young violinist, this meant meeting and playing next to contestants from Bulgaria, Russia, or Romania. The level was very high, and I learnt a lot from my peers.”
Similarly, making it to bigger international contests like the Menuhin Competition in 1987 allowed Nizioł to expand his horizons further. “When I travelled to Folkestone for the Menuhin, I brought a piece of Poland with me and performed one of Wieniawski’s Violin Concertos under Menuhin himself,” he recalls. “This is why, especially back then, events like these were so important: they connected the two sides of the Iron Curtain. Even as a 13-year-old, I was aware that there was something special in music’s ability to bridge that gap.”
Early international success motivated Nizioł to try his hand at his ultimate aspiration: taking part in the ‘big’ Wieniawski. With almost one century of history and sixteen past editions, the Wieniawski Competition is a magnet for young violinists from Poland and beyond. Past laureates include Ginette Niveu, David Oistrakh (both winners of the first edition in 1935), Wanda Wiłkomirska, Soyoung Yoon and Nizioł himself. Initially held in Warsaw, the Wieniawski has been an integral part of Poznań’s cultural life since its change of venue for the second edition in 1952. Every five years now, the city comes together to welcome applicants and visitors from all over the world.
Nizioł’s history with the competition goes far back. Before winning ex aequo with Piotr Pławner in 1991, he had been acclimating to the highly musical atmosphere of Poznań since 1986, when he moved there to continue his studies. By fortunate coincidence, Nizioł’s first weeks in the city overlapped with the 9th edition of the Wieniawski.
“I had just started the school year, and my teacher took me aside and told me I was excused from class because I had to go follow the competition from beginning to end. She even wrote a letter to the principal,” Nizioł laughs. “Five years later, as a student of the local Academy of Music, I applied to the competition. By then I already had a network of friends, supporters and even fans, who for sure had a positive impact on my win. Everywhere in Poznań you can feel how electrifying the Wieniawski is to people, how it brings them together. I have often got on a taxi and caught the driver listening to the final rounds on the radio!”
What could have been the end of a journey turned out to be just the beginning. After his victory, Nizioł remained close to the contest, joining the jury in 2006, 2011 and 2022. Participating as the youngest member next to masters like Ida Haendel, Marine Yashvili and Wanda Wiłkomirska gave Nizioł the confidence and expertise to finally preside over the jury in this upcoming edition.
After a long evaluation process choosing from more than two hundred young violinists, Nizioł and his colleagues narrowed down the selection to fifty candidates. Among them are winners of other prominent competitions, like the Queen Elisabeth Competition and the Thibaud Competition. For the occasion, Nizioł was inspired to update some elements of the contest.
“The main differences with previous editions will concern programmes and prizes,” Nizioł explains. “First of all, we wanted to honour the oeuvre of the man that our contest is named after, and in general pay due homage to Polish music. We will request applicants to play at least some Wieniawski or other Polish compositions, which had been dwindling in the past years. Then,” he adds, “we are also working to provide more support for musicians after the competition. From my own experience, the money prize is important, but nothing is more rewarding than starting to book concert tours and develop an independent career.”
As for the qualities necessary to earn the first prizes and the benefits that come with them, Nizioł has a rather clear picture of what he’s looking for. “Personality, first of all,” he admits. “The winners should have something distinctive in what they communicate and how. Of course, at a certain level comparisons in quality become futile. Take Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Augustin Hadelich, for example – two radically different approaches, and both excellent. Still, my priority is finding someone who plays earnestly, in a way that reflects their character. And obviously, the basics have to be there: playing in tune and in a style appropriate to the repertoire. Mozart shouldn’t sound like Penderecki!”
From contestant to winner to juror to President of the Jury, it’s impossible not to take Nizioł as an example of what laureates of the Wieniawski can look forward to in their future career. However, by the violinist’s own admission, being an accomplished musician doesn’t necessarily bring certainties – and perhaps that’s for the best. Nizioł’s identity as an artist is better defined as a continuous quest for the new.
“I’m still searching for my repertoire of choice,” he confesses. “I feel at home with Wieniawski and other Polish composers like Szymanowski, Lipiński, Stojowski, Karłowicz... After the Thibaud Competition in 1993 I mostly played in France and dedicated myself to much of the French repertoire. For my latest album, a complete collection of Feliks Janiewicz’s Violin Concertos, I made my debut on gut strings tuned to 435 Hz. And of course, I also play contemporary music. I’m open to anything, and I believe that in order to be a modern violinist, that’s the only way. I can’t imagine what a horror it would be, to play Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto hundreds of times...”
Nizioł’s busy schedule – our interview takes place during a short break from the Wratislavia Cantans, a festival held every September by the National Forum of Music of Wrocław – is to be contextualised in what he considers a positive trend in Poland, whose musical infrastructure has been improving in the last few decades despite financial setbacks. With new concert halls being built in cities like Katowice and Warsaw, more funding and wider reach, Polish venues are more frequently included in international tours of the best orchestras worldwide. Access to a variety of first-rate music events, also per the Wieniawski Competition, contributes to spark interest in younger generations. “If the quality gets better, more people feel motivated to study,” Nizioł emphasises, “which in return leads to even better quality. I’m hoping that this will initiate an upward spiral for young Polish musicians.”
The 17th Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition runs from 8th–25th October in Poznań, Poland.
This article was sponsored by the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition.
