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Russia to host young musicians from Germany, Chile, other nations in Nutcracker Contest

Musicians under the age of 15 will compete in the following categories: piano, string instruments, and wind and percussion instruments

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Over 40 young musicians from Russia, Germany, Chile, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China and Great Britain will take part in the 24th Nutcracker International Television Competition for Young Musicians, which is set to open in Moscow on December 5, participants in a TASS press conference said.

"As many as 48 people will participate in the contest, 16 in each category," Kirill Kravtsov, cellist, conductor and member of the contest’s jury, said. "Three people will enter the finals in each category," he added.

He also said that this year’s competition has maintained its international status. "As far as I know, we have contestants from the United Kingdom, Germany, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China and Chile," Kravstov specified.

Musicians under the age of 15 will compete in the following categories: piano, string instruments, and wind and percussion instruments.

People’s Artist of Russia Maxim Fedotov, violin player and conductor, described the contest as an event of the highest beauty.

This year’s jury includes Pyotr Laul (Russia), Dmitry Masleyev (Russia) and Nebojsa Zivkovic (Serbia), to name a few members. The event’s opening performance will bring together award winners from previous years, as well as jury members. The audience will hear works by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Morricone and other composers.

The Nutcracker contest, founded in 2000, is sponsored by the Russia-Culture TV channel. Contestants who won past competitions have gone on to pursue successful careers as professional musicians. These have included Grammy Award-winning pianist Daniil Trifonov, violinist Daniel Lozakovich, percussionist Rostislav Sharayevsky and violinist Leia Zhu, among many others. TASS is the general information partner for the event.

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