Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń is a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 pianist of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n descent.

She obtained an honourable mention at the 1975 Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition. Rafał Blechacz's teacher, Popowa-Zydroń is best known for her work as a pedagogue. She has been decorated by the Commission of National Education (2004) and the Order of Polonia Restituta

Polonia Restituta

The Order of Polonia Restituta is one of Poland's highest Orders. The Order can be conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, defense of the country, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries...

's Commander Cross (2005).