Hailing from Bielsko-Biała and currently studying in Kraków, Mateusz Dubiel has been dubbed the ‘new hope’ of Polish piano playing. He won the first prize at the Fryderyk Chopin National Piano Competition in Warsaw, which earned him a place in the prestigious 2025 International Chopin Competition. Born on 13 February 2004 in Bielsko-Biała, Dubiel was introduced to music by his grandfather, who first immersed him in folk music – a lifelong source of inspiration for the future pianist: ‘When I finish a phrase with a characteristic inflection, even my professor [Mirosław Herbowski] asks: “Why so highlander-like?” You can’t root those things out. That’s why I can’t really say whether I feel closer to the mazurkas of Szymanowski or Chopin. I adore the Podhale region – the culture, the nature, the food, the customs... Folk music ties it all together, and that’s beautiful. I haven’t been there in a while since my grandfather no longer lives in the region, but when he talks, he still has that distinct highlander inflection. I guess it’s in my blood – both genetically and through the love my grandfather instilled deep in my heart’, he shared in an interview with Monika Zając for Ruch Muzyczny. Formal music education seems to be a natural consequence of this early passion: first at a private school in Buczkowice, then under Anna Skarbowska in the piano class of the renowned State Music School Complex in Bielsko-Biała. Recalling this time in an interview with Dziennik Zachodni, Dubiel said: ‘The piano is fun. I already liked it as a kid, but I didn’t see much of a future in it. I mean, I was 12 when I got my first Chopin piece – not that early, especially compared to some of my Asian peers who play all the Chopin etudes by the age of 10’. The Piano: The Unsung Hero of the Chopin Competitions Steinway, Bechstein, Kawai, Yamaha or Fazioli – participants in the 19th Chopin Competition will have a choice of pianos from among these brands. This year’s winner will play one of them. Go to the #music topic page Read more That first piece was the Nocturne in B major, op. 32, no. 1, which, as he admitted, ‘sparked something’, and Chopin’s lyrical style soon won over the young pianist’s heart. Growing up in a city like Bielsko-Biała, known for a range of jazz events, Dubiel was also exposed to popular music, which remains among his (admittedly amateur) passions. He told Ruch Muzyczny: ‘I worked with an amazing jazz pianist in Bielsko-Biała. Since my fifth year of primary school, I played in a great local big band with some really solid musicians. Sometimes I had to play a solo. Let me tell you, there were some arguments over that band – I’d hear that I’d end up only playing shows like that. But even if you do some casual playing for a while, you can always return to serious practice – scales, arpeggios, or Bach. It’s not a one-way street’. For higher education, Dubiel chose the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków, studying in the class of Professor Mirosław Herbowski, another Bielsko-Biała native. New Hope Radio Chopin hailed Dubiel as ‘the new hope of Polish piano playing’ when he was just 17 years old. His name gained wider attention following his victory at the 51st Fryderyk Chopin National Piano Competition in 2022, and even more so three years later, when he repeated the success, earning a place in Stage I of the 19th International Chopin Competition in 2025. His performance was reviewed by Paweł Wołowicz in Ruch Muzyczny: ‘The undisputed winner of the competition was Mateusz Dubiel, whose interpretation of the E minor Concerto, pp. 11 was, in my opinion, unmatched. He had excellent rapport with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Michał Nesterowicz. The vivid, natural flow of his storytelling, combined with the nobility of his tone, reveal this young artist’s tremendous potential as a top-tier Chopin interpreter [...]’. Despite his young age, Dubiel has already garnered numerous accolades at both national and international competitions, including: 1st prize at the 27th National Piano Competition for Children and Youth, Szafarnia; 2nd prize at the 3rd ‘Jeune Chopin’ Competition, Lugano (under the honorary patronage of Martha Argerich) and the International Baltic Piano Competition, Gdańsk (both in 2023); 3rd prize at the Sviatoslav Richter International Piano Competition, Seoul. He also holds the IKAR 2021 Cultural and Artistic Award from the Mayor of Bielsko-Biała. He has performed in Japan, the United States, France, Germany, and Majorca, among others. In an interview with Jacek Drost for Dziennik Zachodni, Dubiel shared his everyday routine and preparations for what he calls the ‘Olympic Games of Music’– the Chopin Competition: ‘Consistency is key. You can’t practise eight hours one day and then take two days off. Little by little does the trick. Baby steps. [...] What matters is to practise with 100% focus. If your head “goes on holiday” while practising, it later shows during concerts – your brain learns it can disconnect during playing, which is very dangerous because you lose control. If I want to practise for four or five hours, I play for 30 minutes and take a three-minute break. What counts is not quantity but quality. Besides, preparing for a competition isn’t just about practising at the instrument. It’s also about conversations with your tutor’. Those conversations often concern aesthetics, which have evolved over time in classical performance: ‘There are many aesthetics when it comes to Chopin, but you can hear beautiful playing instantly. Over the years, I’ve been inspired by many different musicians. Now, thanks to my professor, I’m discovering older recordings of 20th-century pianists like Benno Moiseiwitsch, William Kapell, and Alfred Cortot. Their playing was different in terms of freedom and an incredible sensitivity. That definitely inspires me’. One of Dubiel’s favourite composers is also the aforementioned Johann Sebastian Bach. Alongside his frequent mountain hikes – a fitting hobby for someone from the Beskid Mountains – Bach’s music is another thing that helps him clear his mind: ‘One of the gifts I received for my 18th birthday was the second volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Henle edition. I regularly return to it’. 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