The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of age. The competition is named after Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The International Tchaikovsky Competition was the first international music competition held in the Soviet Union, beginning in 1958. For the XIV competition in 2011, Valery Gergiev was appointed the competition's chairman, and Richard Rodzinski, former president of the Van Cliburn Foundation, was appointed general director. A new voting system was instituted, created by mathematician John MacBain, and used by the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and the Cleveland International Piano Competition. All rules and regulations also underwent a complete revision. Emphasis was placed on the composition of the jury, which consisted primarily of well-known and respected performing artists. [1]
The XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition was held in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, from 14 June to 1 July 2011, under the auspices of the Russian federal government and its Ministry of Culture. The competition disciplines were piano, violin, cello, and voice (male singers and female singers). The XV competition took place in June 2015. [2] The XVI competition took place 17–29 June 2019, in Moscow and St. Petersburg; woodwind and brass competition disciplines were added. [3] The XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition was held in Moscow in 2023. The XVIII International Tchaikovsky Competition will take place in 2027. [4]
Cash prizes are awarded to the top-five competitors in each discipline of piano, violin, cello, and to each of the top four competitors in the men's and women's solo vocal categories. First prize (not always awarded) is US$30,000; second, US$20,000; third, US$10,000; fourth, US$5,000; and fifth, US$3,000. An additional prize, a Grand Prix of US$100,000, may be awarded to one of the gold medalists deemed outstanding by the juries. Additional awards are given for best performance of the chamber concertos and the commissioned new work. [5]
For the 2019 competition, the prizes [6] were as follows:
Prize | Amount |
Grand Prix | US$100,000 in addition to the 1st Prize amount, for a total of US$130,000 |
1st Prize | US$30,000 and a Gold Medal |
2nd Prize | US$20,000 and a Silver Medal |
3rd Prize | US$10,000 and a Bronze Medal |
4th Prize | US$5,000 and a Diploma |
5th Prize | US$3,000 and a Diploma |
6th Prize | US$2,000 and a Diploma |
Best performance of a concerto with a chamber orchestra in Round II (in the piano, violin, and cello sections) | US$2,000 and a Diploma |
Held every four years, the first competition, in 1958, included two disciplines: piano and violin. Beginning with the second competition, in 1962, a cello category was added, and the vocal division was introduced during the third competition in 1966. In 1990, a fifth discipline was announced for the IX International Tchaikovsky Competition: a contest for violin makers, which traditionally comes before the main competition. In 2019, two new categories were added to the competition, woodwinds and brass. [7]
On 25 June 2019, at the final round of the piano category, Chinese competitor Tianxu An was supposed to play Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 followed by Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini . However, the scores on the orchestra's and conductor's stands were placed in reversed order and the Rachmaninoff piece was announced first, different from what the pianist requested. Since An didn't understand Russian, he was unaware of the situation. With the piano entry in the Rachmaninoff almost immediate, the performance "began with a failure". Following the incident, jury chair Denis Matsuev invited him to perform the program again, but An declined. The competition made an official apology and the orchestra administration suspended the responsible staff after the event. An was eventually awarded a "special prize" for his confidence and courage. [8] [9] [10] [11]
In 1971, the International Tchaikovsky Competition joined the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC), which had been founded in 1957. On 19 April 2022, in line with widespread sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the WFIMC decided with an overwhelming majority of member votes to exclude the International Tchaikovsky Competition from its membership with immediate effect. [12] [13]
Winners of the prizes and medals awarded in the given year and category. [14]
Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Matvey Demin (flute; Russia) | Joidy Blanco (flute; Venezuela) | Alessandro Beverari (clarinet; Italy) |
2023 | Sofia Viland (flute; Russia) | Anna Komarova (flute; Russia) Fedor Osver (oboe; Russia) | Ye Sung Kim (flute; South Korea) Augusto Velio Palumbo (bassoon; Italy) Lev Zhuravskiy (clarinet; Russia) |
Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Zeng Yun (horn; China) Aleksey Lobikov (trombone; Russia) | Fedor Shagov (tuba; Russia) | Felix Dervaux (horn; France) |
2023 | Semyon Salomatnikov (trumpet; Russia) | Zhicheng Jin (horn; China) | Not awarded |
Year | Winner | Category |
---|---|---|
1994 [14] | Hibla Gerzmava | Vocal, female |
2011 [19] | Daniil Trifonov | Piano |
2015 [20] | Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar | Vocal, male |
2019 [21] | Alexandre Kantorow | Piano |
2023 [22] | Zinaida Tsarenko | Vocal, female |
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. Born in the Soviet Union, he has held Icelandic citizenship since 1972 and has been a resident of Switzerland since 1978. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, he has recorded a large repertoire of classical and romantic works. His recordings have earned him seven Grammy Awards and Iceland's Order of the Falcon.
Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin was a Soviet and Russian conductor. People's Artist of the USSR (1972).
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold War.
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels was a Soviet pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. His sister Elizabeth, three years his junior, was a renowned violinist. His daughter Elena became a successful pianist.
Vladimir Pavlovich Ovchinnikov is a Russian pianist from Belebey, Bashkir ASSR. He is the only pianist ever to win the top prizes at both the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition (1987). Artistic Director of the Association of Tchaikovsky Competition Stars since 2000.
Joyce Yang is a classical pianist. Yang was awarded the silver medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of 19. During the same competition, Joyce was also awarded both the Steven De Groote Memorial Award for Best Performance of Chamber Music, as well as the Beverley Taylor Smith Award for the Best Performance of a New Work.
The International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians is the junior section of the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition, and it is the largest competition for junior performers up to 17 years of age. The competition was established in 1992 on the initiative of the Association of Tchaikovsky Competition Stars and is held in the sections of piano, violin, and cello.
Eduard Kunz, is a Russian pianist. He reached the 2nd round in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011.
Daniil Olegovich Trifonov is a Russian pianist and composer. Described by The Globe and Mail as "arguably today's leading classical virtuoso" and by The Times as "without question the most astounding pianist of our age", Trifonov's honors include a Grammy Award win in 2018 and the Gramophone Classical Music Awards' Artist of the Year Award in 2016. The New York Times has noted that "few artists have burst onto the classical music scene in recent years with the incandescence" of Trifonov. He has performed as soloist with such orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony and the Munich Philharmonic, and has given solo recitals in such venues as Royal Festival Hall, Carnegie Hall, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Berliner Philharmonie, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Concertgebouw, and the Seoul Arts Center.
The ISANGYUN Competition is an international music competition, held annually in Tongyeong, South Korea. It commemorates Isang Yun (1917–1995), a Korean composer who was born in Tongyeong and later settled in Germany. The competition was established in 2003 as the Gyeongnam International Music Competition, and renamed to ISANGYUN Competition in 2008. It consists of a three-year "cycle", where each year, or "edition", consists of a different instrument in the rotation: cello, piano, and violin.
Nikita Arkadievich Boriso-Glebsky is a Russian violinist, soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, and winner of international music contests. He represented Russia at the Eurovision Young Musicians 2002.
Vyacheslav Gryaznov is a Russian classical pianist and arranger. His diverse repertoire ranges from Baroque figures such as Domenico Scarlatti to Russian composers and more recent music. He is particularly well known for his many piano transcriptions of older masterworks.
Marina Yakhlakova is a prizewinning Russian classical pianist. She began learning to play aged 5. After four years of private coaching with Vitaly Mishchenko she continued her professional education at the Gnessin State Musical College for gifted children and later at the Moscow Conservatory. She also completed a post-graduate course at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. In 2011, Yakhlakova became the third person in her direct teaching line to win a competition dedicated to the namesake of Franz Liszt, after her teacher Alexander Strukov and his teacher, Lev Vlassenko. In June 2015, Yakhlakova made it to the first round of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition but was subsequently eliminated.
The Shostakovich competition is a classical music contest in chamber music performance. The two editions of the competition were held in 2008 and 2010 in Moscow, Russia. The contest was open to the participants of all countries in two categories: chamber music ensembles and piano duets. The Shostakovich Chamber Music Competition continued the line of musical contests named after Shostakovich and dedicated to the chamber music: e.g. Shostakovich String Quartet Competition in Moscow.
Dmitry Igorevich Shishkin, born on 12 February 1992, is a Russian classical pianist. He is best known for winning the 2nd prize at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019.
Alexander Mikhailovich Lubyantsev is a Russian pianist and composer. He is a laureate of the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition and the 2007 International Tchaikovsky Competition, at which he received the bronze medal, no gold awarded, and has also been a prizewinner in over ten other piano competitions. His performance at the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition and the ensuing events are also quite significant.
Alexander Dmitrievitch Malofeev is a Russian pianist.
The Critics' Prize of the Moscow Music Critics Association is awarded to a participant of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. It is a parallel award and is not an official part of the competition. It was first awarded in 2011 to Alexander Lubyantsev. Subsequently, it was awarded to Lucas Debargue in 2015 and to Aylen Pritchin in 2019. In 2011 the award was supported by the Mikhail Prokohorov Foundation and in 2019 by the record label Melodiya.
Alexander Sinchuk is a Russian concert pianist. Sinchuk's honors include winning numerous international competitions, such as the Rachmaninoff International Competition (2008), International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz (2012), International Competition Nuits Européennes du Piano, and Grand Prize at the 6th Prix Du Piano Interlaken Classics. In 2011, Sinchuk was a semifinalist at the XIV International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Kuznetsov is a Russian pianist, the winner of the Grand Prix at the “Monte-Carlo Piano Masters 2021”, which is held under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco.