History of the Foundation Stichting Stiftung Chopin
The Chopin Foundation asbl : 1999 – 2022
Since June 2019 Private Foundation Stichting Stiftung Chopin
The Chopin Foundation, a non-profit organisation was created in 1999 under the leadership of H.E. Mr. Jan Wojciech Piekarski who was the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Kingdom of Belgium with Madam Chantal Lobert, Master J.C. Vanden Eynden, Prins Sapieha, Madam Micheline Briclet and Mister Lawrence Sepulchre with the support of the Law Firm de Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick.
The Foundation was a partner of the Europalia Polska 2001.
The Chopin Foundation supports talented young Polish and Belgian pianists by organizing concerts every year to finance musical internships.
Every year, faithful to its objectives, the Chopin Foundation offers a prize, the “Chopin Foundation Laureate”, which represents for the young Polish talent a piano internship under the direction of Master Jean Claude Vanden Eynden at the Eduardo Del Puyeo Music Centre. The Foundation organizes for its young laureates a visit to the cities of Namur, Brussels and Bruges. Thanks to the support of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, a concert with the young Polish talent is also organized at the Embassy Lounges of the Republic of Poland in Belgium.
In the same spirit, a young Belgian talent will attend a piano internship in Warsaw at the Fr. Chopina Academy under the lead of great Polish masters such as Master Jablonski. Thanks for the support of the Belgian Ambassador in Warsaw, a concert is organized at the Belgian Embassy in Warsaw to honour the young Belgian talents. Tours are also organized by the Academy to make the them discover Warsaw and the places where Chopin lived.
Since 2000, many young Polish virtuosos including Malgorzata Galeziak, Wojciech Kopczak, Sylwia Michalik, Woitech Wrobel, Natalia Kotorba, Joanna Staruch Smolec, as well as young Belgians such as Georges Lison, Nicolas Paternotte, Philippe Raskin, Matias Beccera, Alexander Vaguener and others have received the prize “Chopin Foundation Laureate”. A wide range of music lovers can meet to share their passion for music and be active as patrons.
We already invited to Belgium orchestras and musicians such as the Amadeus, the Silesian String Kwartet, Marek Drewnowski, Adam Korniczewski, Aga Winska, the Frederyk Chopin quintet, the Leopoldinum and many others.
The Chopin Foundation organizes its concerts under the High Patronage of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in the Kingdom of Belgium. A musical event is organized each year in the historical and prestigious Polish Embassy Lounges which open their doors to the “Friends of the Chopin Foundation”. The Embassy Lounges are located at Avenue des Gaulois, 29 in Brussels 1040, next to the Cinquantenaire parc, by the European Institutions. In 1925, The Polish Government bought the building from the Belgian Government. During WW2, it was used by the German occupation forces, and after the war, by the London Government. The windows of this early 20th Century building that was constructed for the spouses De Spoellbergh – De Neufforge, are overlooking the Arches of the Cinquantenaire, that replicates the model of the Parisian “Arc de Triomphe”.
Stichting Stiftung Chopin Foundation with as founders:
The Republic of Poland represented by SEM Artur Orzechowski, Madam Chantal Lobert, Master Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, Madam José Deriu, Mister Philippe Delaunois and the ASBL Chopin Foundation.
Board of directors Stichting Stiftun
Chopin Foundation
Master Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden (Honorary President)
Madam Chantal Lobert (President – Delegate Administrator)
Madam Josée Deriu (Vice President)
Mister Philippe Delaunois (Administrator – Treasurer)
Countess Rosa Komorowska (Administrator)
Madam Veronique Bogaert (Administrator)
Mister Pascal Lizin (Administrator)
Mister Bernard Joskin (Administrator)
Mister Baudouin Theunissen (Administrator)
Madam Catherine Sabbe (Administrator)
Agnès Theunissen (Administrator)
Welcome to the website of the Chopin Foundation Belgium
Our mission
Every year, the Chopin Foundation offers a prize called the “Chopin Foundation Laureate” which represents for the young Polish talent a musical internship under the direction of Master Jean Claude Vanden Eynden at the Eduardo Del Puyeo Music Center.
In the same spirit, a young Belgian talent will be granted by a musical internship in Warsaw at the Akademia Fr. Chopina under the direction of great Polish masters.
Music lovers meet at musical events to share their passion for music and to be active as patrons.
Past events 2018-2017
Early June 2018 – Concert in the prestigious “salons” of the Polish Embassy.
Dinner concert of the Chopin Foundation, performed by the great pianists Eliane Reyes and Master Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden on Saturday, December 9, 2017 at the Plaza Hotel.
The Chopin Foundation organized a Gala Dinner Concert in the “salons” of the Plaza Hotel, Boulevard Adolphe Max 118/126 in 1000 Brussels on Saturday 9 December 2017 at 6 pm under the High Patronage and in the presence of H.E. Mr. Orzechowski, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Kingdom of Belgium and his wife. The Ambassadors of Japan, H.E. Mr. Kodama and H.E. Mr. Hayashi also honoured us with their presence that evening. Our Honorary President, Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, and Elianes Reyes have brilliantly performed works by F. Chopin, Brahms, Paderewski and the finale was a triumph when Krzysztof Potocznik, the 2014 “Foundation Chopin Laureate” joined our pianists to perform “Gallop for Eight Hands” by Albert Lavignac.
Concert-Evening – Song and Piano Recital – “ancient salons” of the Polish Embassy – June 14, 2016.
This concert took place in the old “salons” of the Polish Embassy on Tuesday June 14, 2016 at 7pm, Avenue des Gaulois 29 in Etterbeek.
The protagonist of the evening is a vibrant personality of today’s music scene, Eliane Reyes. During this evening, Eliane Reyes, brilliant personality of today’s musical scene, will perform at the piano some works of the composers Alexandre Tansman and Frédéric Chopin.
Eliane Reyes: “Young soloists, Great destinies” RTBF documentary aired on Friday, May 26th, 2017. The RTBF (Belgian Radio and Television) honoured me with a 46 minutes documentary for the program series “Jeunes solistes, Grands destins” (Young Soloists, Great Destinies). It has been produced by Thierry Loreau and Pierre Barré and will be broadcasted this Friday, May 26th at 9:15pm by “La Trois” TV channel.”