She Judged the Canadian Chopin Competition -- Ep 19 - This is the Legend of Magdalena Baczewska

"Columbia University professor by day, musical sorceress by night"! - ConcertoNet

Meet Magdalena Baczewska, a Polish virtuoso pianist, Director of the joint Columbia-Juilliard Music Performance Program, and judge of the 2025 Canadian Chopin Competition! Born in Katowice, Poland, Magdalena grew up with a deep passion for piano performance from a young age. Throughout her entire career, she has performed with the world's most renowned orchestras such as the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the China National Symphony. Through her legendary experiences, Magdalena has become an important checkpoint on The Road to Warsaw.

Join Amos Vang as he and Magdalena discuss a plethora of topics, such Magdalena's career, the importance of musicality, the profound effect of Fryderyk Chopin's music on the world, and the importance of the Canadian Chopin Competition and the International Chopin Competition.

You can follow Magdalena on Instagram: @maguchannyc

Tomorrow by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Other music composed by: Amos Vang and Fryderyk Chopin

-- CHAPTERS --

0:00 – Introduction

3:01 – Reminiscing on the Canadian Chopin Competition

3:47 – What inspired Magdalena Baczewska to learn piano?

8:23 – A pianist can deeply learn music just by listening to it.  It then comes out later when that pianist learns the piece seriously.

10:15 – What were Magdalena Baczewska’s musical influences?

11:30 – Most Canadians and Americans do NOT focus on the development of classical music appreciation at a young age.

14:11 – To ethnic Chinese people such as Amos Vang, piano is their hockey!  Piano is their pastime!

16:47 – 40 million Chinese children learn piano on any given day.  That’s approximately the entire population of Canada or Poland!

18:21 – Skip 1 day of practice = you notice it.  Skip 2 days of practice = your friends notice it.  Skip 3 days of practice = EVERYONE notices it!

18:37 – Music enforces structure, order, and discipline.

19:02 – In Ontario, music education is in crisis.  Here’s why.

20:21 – In the U.S., funding for libraries, culture, and the arts are usually the first things that gets cut in an economic crisis.

21:51 – People were fascinated by the talent and skill shown at the 2025 Canadian Chopin Competition!

24:06 – Sports and music competitions have A LOT in common.  This is how Amos Vang connects these two worlds together.

25:21 – The Canadian Chopin Competition sounded like the Olympics, according to Magdalena Baczewska!

26:47 – As both a pianist and a sports announcer, Amos Vang sees direct parallels between sports and music.

27:51 – The MVPs of the Canadian Chopin Competition’s existence is Dr. Janet Lopinski, Konrad Swierczek, and the rest of the Organising Committee and the Canadian Chopin Competition!

30:27 – How has Magdalena Baczewska’s musical style evolved?

35:11 – Bel canto singing in piano performance

35:55 – Yunchan Lim made history by being one of the few pianists in history by performing all of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes in one sitting!

37:19 – Wilde Jagd = the Wild Chase.

39:01 – Ivo Pogorelic vs. Yunchan Lim in their performances of the Wilde Jagd.  Pogorelic is SCARY!!!!!

40:37 – Chopin’s Polonaise in A Flat Major Op. 61 has A RICH MUSICALITY BASE.

44:52 – What are Magdalena Baczewska’s tasks as the Director of the Columbia-Juilliard Music Performance Program?

49:59 – Non-musical perspectives can greatly influence a musician’s musicality

53:09 – Justice Rosalie Abella was a classical pianist.  You can see her pianism in her judgment writing.

55:03 – What is musicality to Magdalena Baczewska?

58:24 – Music is not just playing random notes, just as how in hockey, a team does not just randomly shoot on goal.  There’s a strategy and plan that goes into both musical performance and athletic performance.

1:02:05 – Why is Fryderyk Chopin’s music so profound to people around the world?

1:05:10 – Who is Fryderyk Chopin to Magdalena Baczewska?

1:10:57 – Musicians have the ability to express, understand, and appreciate the emotional spectrum because of their musical training.

1:12:42 – Can Chopin’s music be an effective coping mechanism for the world’s loneliness epidemic?

1:14:18 – Chopin’s music can evoke strong emotional responses in audiences, musicians or otherwise!

1:18:49 – Music = expression of humanity.

1:23:15 – Many people have NOT had the opportunity to explore the emotional spectrum to the extent that classical music explores it.

1:25:07 – Chopin has mastered the composition of the polonaise!

1:25:53 – “Pan Tadeusz” features a modern polonaise!

1:26:50 – Poland was wiped off the map until 1918.  This was why Chopin was so passionate about his Polish side.

1:28:44 – What are the most important lessons and rewarding things that Magdalena Baczewska has learned and experienced in her career?