Accordionist Michał Stochel, a first-year student of the Bachelor’s degree in accordion at Dr. hab. Piotr Chołowicz’s class (Department of Accordion at the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland), has been nominated for the prestigious Koryfeusz Muzyki Polskiej 2026 award in the “Discovery of the Year” category.

“The nomination is a recognition of his artistic achievements and contribution to the promotion of the accordion as a concert instrument. Among Michal’s distinguished works were winning the I award in the Young Musician of the Year 2026 competition, combined with winning the Audience Award, and winning the Eurovision for Young Musicians in Erywany, where he was the first accordionist in history to win the main prize.”

The “Discovery of the Year” category for the Koryfeusz Muzyki Polskiej 2026 award honors emerging talents in the Polish music scene, with the winner selected through a public vote. The award is presented by the Polish music community and recognizes achievements from the preceding artistic season.

The announcement of the laureates will take place during a gala ceremony on November 30th, 2026, at the Warsaw Philharmonic (Filharmonia Narodowa w Warszawie).

Michał Stochel (Poland) performs Jean-Philippe Rameau – Les Cyclopes, Staffan Mossenmark – Wood Spirit, and Johann Hellmesberger Jr. – Danse Diabolique at the Premio Internazionale della Fisarmonica (PIF) Castelfidardo competitions in 2025.
Visit the Accordions Worldwide for more photos, video and results: http://www.accordions.news/PIF2025 00:00 Program
00:06 Les Cyclopes – J. P. Rameau
04:34 Wood Spirit – S. Mossenmark
11:12 Danse Diabolique – J. Hellmesberger
CLASSIC CATEGORY “C” SOLOISTS UP TO 18 YEARS (BORN FROM 2007 ONWARDS) Free choice program with a maximum duration of 18 minutes. Competitors cannot submit programs consisting entirely of transcripts.

The winners will receive statuettes in the categories of Discovery of the Year, Person of the Year, Event of the Year, and Honorary Award.

The organizers of the award are Narodowy Instytut Muzyki i Tańca and POLMIC.