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.
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. The XVI competition took place 17–29 June 2019, in Moscow and St. Petersburg; woodwind and brass competition disciplines were added. The XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition was held in Moscow in 2023. The XVIII International Tchaikovsky Competition will take place in 2027.
Prizes 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..
For the 2019 competition, the prizes were as follows:
Prize Amount Grand Prix US$100,000 in addition to the 1st Prize amount, for a total of US$130,0001st Prize US$30,000 and a Gold Medal2nd Prize US$20,000 and a Silver Medal3rd Prize US$10,000 and a Bronze Medal4th Prize US$5,000 and a Diploma5th Prize US$3,000 and a Diploma6th Prize US$2,000 and a DiplomaBest performance of a concerto with a chamber orchestra in Round II (in the piano, violin, and cello sections) US$2,000 and a Diploma
History
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.
Tianxu An incident 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 reverse 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.
World Federation of International Music Competitions 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.
Prize winners Winners of the prizes and medals awarded in the given year and category. Piano 1958 Van Cliburn (USA) Lev Vlassenko (USSR)Liu Shikun (China) Naum Shtarkman (USSR)1962 Vladimir Ashkenazy (USSR)John Ogdon (UK) Susan Starr (USA)Yin Chengzong (China) Eliso Virsaladze (USSR)1966 Grigory Sokolov (USSR) Misha Dichter (USA) (USSR)1970 Vladimir Krainev (USSR)John Lill (UK) Horacio Gutiérrez (Cuba) Arthur Moreira Lima (Brazil)Viktoria Postnikova (USSR)1974 Andrei Gavrilov (USSR) Myung-whun Chung (South Korea)Stanislav Igolinsky (USSR) Youri Egorov (USSR)1978 Mikhail Pletnev (USSR) Pascal Devoyon (France)André Laplante (Canada) Nikolai Demidenko (USSR)Evgeny Rivkin (USSR)1982 Not awarded Peter Donohoe (UK)Vladimir Ovchinnikov (USSR) Michie Koyama (Japan)1986 Barry Douglas (UK) (USSR) Irina Plotnikova (USSR)1990 Boris Berezovsky (USSR) Vladimir Mischouk (USSR) Kevin Kenner (USA)Johan Schmidt (Belgium)Anton Mordasov (USSR)1994 Not awarded Nikolai Lugansky (Russia) Vadim Rudenko (Russia)HaeSun Paik (South Korea)1998 Denis Matsuev (Russia) Vadim Rudenko (Russia) Freddy Kempf (UK)2002 Ayako Uehara (Japan) Alexei Nabiulin (Russia) Jin Ju (China)Andrey Ponochevny (Belarus)2007 Not awarded Miroslav Kultyshev (Russia) Alexander Lubyantsev (Russia)2011 Daniil Trifonov (Russia) Yeol Eum Son (South Korea) Seong-Jin Cho (South Korea)2015 Dmitry Masleev (Russia) Lukas Geniušas (Lithuania/Russia)George Li (USA) Sergei Redkin (Russia)Daniel Kharitonov (Russia)2019 Alexandre Kantorow (France) Mao Fujita (Japan)Dmitry Shishkin (Russia) Konstantin Emelyanov (Russia) Kenneth Broberg (USA)Alexey Melnikov (Russia)2023 Sergei Davydchenko (Russia) George Harliono (UK)Valentin Malinin (Russia) Angel Stanislav Wang (USA) Stanislav Korchagin (Russia)Ilya Papoyan (Russia)
Violin
1958 Valery Klimov (USSR) Victor Pikayzen (USSR) (Romania)1962 Boris Gutnikov (USSR) Shmuel Ashkenasi (Israel) (USSR) Nina Beilina (USSR) Yoko Kubo (Japan)1966 Viktor Tretiakov (USSR) Masuko Ushioda (Japan)Oleg Kagan (USSR) Yoko Sato (Japan)Oleh Krysa (USSR)1970 Gidon Kremer (USSR) Vladimir Spivakov (USSR)Mayumi Fujikawa (Japan) Liana Isakadze (USSR)1974 Not awarded Eugene Fodor (USA)Ruben Aharonyan (USSR)Rusudan Gvasaliya (USSR) Marie-Annick Nicolas (France)Vanya Milanova (Bulgaria)1978 Ilya Grubert (USSR) Elmar Oliveira (USA) Mihaela Martin (Romania) Dylana Jenson (USA) Irina Medvedeva (USSR)Alexandr Vinnitsky (USSR)1982 Viktoria Mullova (USSR)Sergei Stadler (USSR) Tomoko Kato (Japan) Stephanie Chase (USA)Andres Cardenes (USA)1986 Ilya Kaler (USSR)Raphaël Oleg (France) (China)Maxim Fedotov (USSR) Jane Peters (Australia)1990 Akiko Suwanai (Japan) (USSR) Alyssa Park (USA)1994 Not awarded Anastasia Chebotareva (Russia) Jennifer Koh (USA) (Russia)Marco Rizzi (Italy)1998 Nikolai Sachenko (Russia) Latica Honda-Rosenberg (Germany) Ichun Pan (China)2002 Not awarded Tamaki Kawakubo (Japan/USA)Xi Chen (China) (Russia)2007 Mayuko Kamio (Japan) Nikita Boriso-Glebsky (Russia) Yuki Manuela Janke (Germany)2011Чао, Чайковский! в Российской газете Not awarded Sergey Dogadin (Russia)Itamar Zorman (Israel) (South Korea)2015 Not awarded Yu-Chien Tseng (Taiwan) Alexandra Conunova (Moldova)Haik Kazazyan (Russia)Pavel Milyukov (Russia)2019 Sergey Dogadin (Russia) Marc Bouchkov (Belgium) Donghyun Kim (South Korea)2023 Gyehee Kim (South Korea) (Russia) Daniil Kogan (Russia)Chaowen Luo (China)Elena Tarosyan (Russia)
Cello 1962 Natalia Shakhovskaya (USSR) Leslie Parnas (USA) (USSR) Natalia Gutman (USSR) (USSR)1966 (USSR) Stephen Kates (USA)Arto Noras (Finland) Kenichiro Yasuda (Japan) (USSR)1970 David Geringas (USSR) (USSR) Ko Iwasaki (Japan)1974 Boris Pergamenschikov (USSR) Ivan Monighetti (USSR) Hirofumi Kanno (Japan)Seta Baltayan (Bulgaria)1978 Nathaniel Rosen (USA) Mari Fudzivara (Japan)Daniel Veis (Czechoslovakia) Alexander Kniazev (USSR)Alexander Rudin (USSR)1982 Antonio Meneses (Brazil) Alexander Rudin (USSR) Georg Faust (West Germany)1986 Mario Brunello (Italy)Kirill Rodin (USSR) Suren Bagratuni (USSR)Martti Rousi (Finland) Sara Sant'Ambrogio (USA)John Sharp (USA)1990 Gustav Rivinius (West Germany) Françoise Groben (Luxembourg)Alexander Kniazev (USSR) Bion Tsang (USA) (UK)1994 Not awarded Not awarded Not awarded1998 Denis Shapovalov (Russia) Li-Wei Qin (Australia) (Russia)2002 Not awarded Johannes Moser (Germany) Claudius Popp (Germany)Alexander Chaushian (Armenia)2007 Sergey Antonov (Russia) Alexander Buzlov (Russia) István Várdai (Hungary)2011 Narek Hakhnazaryan (Armenia) Edgar Moreau (France) Ivan Karizna (Belarus)2015 Andrei Ioniță (Romania) Alexander Ramm (Russia) Alexander Buzlov (Russia)2019 Zlatomir Fung (USA) (Colombia) Anastasia Kobekina (Russia)2023 Youngeun Lee (South Korea) Maria Zaytseva (Russia) Sanghyeok Park (South Korea)
Vocal, female 1966 Jane Marsh (USA) Veronica Tyler (USA)Evelina Stoytseva (Bulgaria) Not awarded1970 Elena Obraztsova (USSR)Tamara Sinyavskaya (USSR) Not awarded Evdokia Kolesnik (USSR)1974 Not awarded (USSR)Stefka Evstatieva (Bulgaria)Sylvia Sass (Hungary) Galina Kalinina (USSR)Tatiana Erastova (USSR)1978 Lyudmila Shemchuk (USSR) Lyudmila Nam (USSR) Ewa Podleś (Poland)Mariana Ciaromila (Romania)1982 Lidiya Zabilyasta (USSR) Khuraman Gasimova (USSR) Dolora Zajick (USA)1986 Natalia Erasova (USSR) Barbara Kilduff (USA)Ana Felicia Filip (Romania) Maria Guleghina (USSR)1990 Deborah Voigt (USA) Marina Shaguch (USSR) Emilia Oprea (Romania)Maria Khokhlogorskaya (USSR)1994 Hibla Gerzmava (Georgia)Marina Lapina (Russia) Laura Claycomb (USA)Tatiana Zakharchu (Ukraine) Irina Gelahova (Russia)1998 (Japan) Elena Manistina (Russia) Maira Mukhamed (Kazakhatan)2002 Aitalina Afanasieva-Adamova (Russia) (China) (Russia)2007 Albina Shagimuratova (Russia) Olesya Petrova (Russia) Marika Gulordava (Georgia)2011 Sunyoung Seo (South Korea) Not awarded Elena Guseva (Russia)2015 Yulia Matochkina (Russia) Svetlana Moskalenko (Russia) Mane Galoyan (Armenia)2019 Maria Barakova (Russia) Aigul Khismatullina (Russia) Maria Motoligina (Russia)2023 Zinaida Tsarenko (Russia) Olga Maslova (Russia) Albina Tonkikh (Belarus)
Vocal, male