The Paderewski Prize for American Composers ''(aka'' Paderewski Fund for the Encouragement of American Composers) was a prize awarded to American composers every three years from 1901 to 1948. The prizes were sums of money ($1000 for a symphonic work, $500 or chorus and chamber) offered by the Trustees of the Paderewski Fund for American composers of (i) the best symphonic music and (ii) the best chamber music. For reference, $1000 in 1920 would be worth about $12,331 in 2014, assuming an annual inflation rate of 2.71%. The prestige of the prize far outweighed the cash benefit. In most cases, the publicity from the prizes led to assurances of international performances. Paderewski established a similar fund for Composers in Leipzig in 1898.

History

On May 15, 1900, Paderewski established the

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...

Trust of $10,000. In November 1900, Paderewski defined a series of prizes, under the Paderewski Trust, for the encouragement of American composers. Initially the prize categories, limited to American composers, were (i) piece for full orchestra, (ii) piece for chorus with orchestra accompaniment, with or without solo voice parts (iii) a piece for chamber music for any combination of instruments."Music And Musicians: Judges in the Paderewski Prize Competition Announce Their Reward", '' St. Albans Daily Messenger'' (

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

), November 1, 1901, pg. 5 The works were submitted anonymously — under an assumed name or motto, accompanied with a seal envelope containing the composers name; and the works must never have been performed in public or offered at any previous competition. The prize was actually intended to launch in 1897. In a letter dated April 21, 1896, Paderewski expressed to

William Steinway William Steinway, also known as Wilhelm Steinway (born Wilhelm Steinweg; March 5, 1835 – November 30, 1896), son of Steinway & Sons founder Henry E. Steinway, was a businessman and civic leader who was influential in the development of Astoria, ...

his gratitude to Americans, with $10,000, his wish to establish a fund with

Henry Lee Higginson Henry Lee Higginson (November 18, 1834 – November 14, 1919) was an American businessman best known as the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a patron of Harvard University. Biography Higginson was born in New York City on November 18 ...

of Boston and

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

of New York serving as co-trustees. The initial prize sums were to be $500 for a full symphony work, $500 for a choral work with orchestra, and $200 for a chamber work.

, who died in 1896, had added $1,500 around the time of his death, in order to make the prize immediately operative.

Trustees

Two of the fund's founding trustees were

and William Payne Blake (1846–1922), a banker. Higginson died in 1919 and Blake died on March 7, 1922. In June 1922, Paderewski appointed successor trustees

Arthur D. Hill Arthur Dehon Hill (June 25, 1869 – November 29, 1947) was an American lawyer who served as District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts and was a defense counsel for Sacco and Vanzetti. Early life Hill was born on June 25, 1869 in Paris ...

(1869–1947) and Joseph Adamowski (1862–1930)."W. C. Riegger Wins Paderewski Prize", ''

Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...

'', August 6, 1922 Adamowski was a Polish-born American cellist with the

Boston Symphony The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

and relative of

Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versail ...

. He was also the father of

Tadeusz Adamowski Tadeusz "Ralf" Adamowski (November 19, 1901 – August 22, 1994) was a Polish-American ice hockey player who competed in the 1928 Winter Olympics, and a supporter and popularizer of the sport in early twentieth century Poland. Early life He ...

, 1928 Olympic Polish hockey player and

Helenka Pantaleoni Helen Tradusa "Helenka" Adamowska Pantaleoni (November 22, 1900 – January 5, 1987) was an American silent film actress and humanitarian. She was the founding director of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, U.S. Committee for UNICEF, a role that she held ...

, silent film actress and founding director of

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. Other trustees :

Harrison Keller Harrison Keller (October 8, 1888 – March 13, 1979) was an American violinist and music educator.''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', Seventh Edition, Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, Schirmer Books, New York, 1984, page 1178 Keller wa ...

: Wallace Goodrich (1871–1952), New England Conservatory faculty from 1897 to 1947 : Adams Sherman Hill (1896–1968) (son of Arthur D. Hill)

Selected prize recipients

Selected commission recipients

Beginning in the 1950s, the Paderewski Fund for the Encouragement of American Composers was renamed Paderewski Fund for Composers and began awarding commissions to composers, in lieu of the competition.

References

{{Portal bar, Classical music Music competitions in the United States 1901 establishments in the United States 1948 disestablishments in the United States