In the Chopin Express office we are working on the final edition of the Competition gazette. Chopin fans are still lining up outside the door to collect the last few copies of the free paper and accompanying CDs. There’s been a wintery chill in the air these past days, as if the Warsaw weather is also saying farewell to the white heat of competition.

It has been a hectic 23 days; listening to Competition auditions by day, editing the Chopin Express by night (I really do mean by night – 2am is considered early on this team), and squeezing in blog posts along the way. It has been an exciting, if exhausting, experience and I will miss the camaraderie of the talented Polish team of editors and designers with whom I have been working these past weeks.

Now’s the time to relax and look back at the achievements of the Competition. What have we discovered? That it is possible to listen to concentrated Chopin for 23 days and still find the music fascinating and enthralling. That the standard of young pianists in the competitive forum is incredibly high. That the Jury, apparently, always knows best, and never, ever try to second guess who might win.

In my first blog post I posed a question – will a world-class talent of the calibre of past winners Argerich, Pollini and Zimerman be revealed along the course of the Competition? The truth is, I don’t think so, as yet, but we should be patient – the complete package of stardom and world-beating brilliance are qualities that take time and hard work to develop. In five years, at the eve of the 2015 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, I think we will have the answer.

Until then, let us continue to enjoy Chopin’s music in a non-competitive environment, and let us continue to listen to these young artists who are so full of promise, and watch their careers grow.