MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. Broadcasts of the Rachmaninoff International Competition for Pianists, Composers and Conductors have already gathered more than 4 million views in 66 countries, the competition’s press service reported on Thursday.

"Over the eight days of the competition, the number of views of the online broadcasts and recordings of the Rachmaninoff International Competition for Pianists, Composers and Conductors exceeded 4 million. Furthermore, it has been watched in 66 countries," the organizers said. The competition is taking place for the first time in Moscow, it kicked off on June 14 and is set to end on June 27.

The press service added that the competition is followed in China, the US, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Canada, Britain, Italy, France, Brazil, Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Moldova, Georgia, Australia, Chile and other countries. The competition is broadcast on the official website, the Culture.ru portal, the Moscow Philharmonic's website, the VKontakte social network and the Chinese portal Music Today.

"It's absolutely fantastic that the very first Rachmaninoff Competition has stirred such great interest all over the world," the competition’s artistic director and People's Artist of Russia Denis Matsuev is quoted by the press service as saying, "We have discovered once again that music has no boundaries. It cannot be contained or dictated conditions. Music unites us, and I am happy that we are all here at this competition, that we are all together and that we are listening to the music of the greatest composer of all times: Sergey Rachmaninoff."

The results of the competition will be announced on June 26, and on the following day the winners will take part in a gala concert at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.

The competition is being held in the run-up to the 150th anniversary of Sergey Rachmaninoff’s birthday which will be marked in 2023. TASS is the general information partner of the competition.