In 1974, while enrolled in law school in her hometown of Montreal, Fialkowska participated in the inaugural Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv. Unbeknownst to her, one of the judges gave her a zero in order to help his own student advance. But Rubinstein himself, then 87, was impressed by her playing. When he found out about the zero, he threatened to withdraw his name from the competition unless Fialkowska advanced. Rubinstein became her mentor and launched her international career, hailing her as "a born Chopin interpreter."