MOSCOW, June 21 /TASS/ Twelve pianists from 6 countries, including Germany, Lithuania, Poland, the United States, Russia and France, have entered the second round of the XV International Tchaikovsky Music Contest.
The second round in the piano section will open at the Big Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on Sunday, the contest’s press service told TASS.
"The contest has succeeded. It has assembled very talented young musicians. The level of competition is very high," Vladimir Ovchinnikov, a jury member for the piano section, told TASS.
Thirty-six pianists from 10 countries took place in the first round that kicked off in the Big Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on June 16.
The XV International Tchaikovsky Contest is taking place at the best concert halls of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Its opening ceremony took place in Moscow on June 15.
"Each Tchaikovsky contest starting from 1958 has had its unusual unique atmosphere. Teachers with world famous names have come to the contest this year: we have received 623 applications from 45 countries. The presence of world famous teachers and a huge number of applications indicate that the contest is our heritage - it opens unprecedented opportunities to its winners. We are worrying for all the entrants and we wish them to play their best," Maestro Gergiyev, a co-chairman of the contest’s organizing committee, said at the opening ceremony.
The future winners of Tchaikovsky music contests will perform both on the world’s biggest stages and in Russian regions, conductor Valery Gergiyev said in his speech at the opening of the XV International Tchaikovsky Music Contest devoted to the 175th birth anniversary of Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) on June 15.
"Just like four years ago, the contest will guarantee impressive opportunities to the participants -performances in North America, in Europe and the best concert halls in Asia and Russia," Gergiyev, a co-chairman of the contest’s organizing committee, said.
The maestro who travels a lot to Russia’s provinces together with St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre hopes to organize guest performances of the contest’s participants in Moscow and Russian regions. "We are putting special emphasis on performances in regions this year," Gergiyev said noting that Russia is getting more and more quality music halls with good acoustics.
The XV International Tchaikovsky Music Contest will close on July 3.