Tchaikovsky International Competition

The Tchaikovsky International Competition is one of the most prestigious classical music competitions in the world. Named for Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, it has taken place in Moscow every four years since 1958. In 2002, the most recent year, 627 musicians applied from 54 countries, of whom 272 were accepted: 65 pianists, 52 violinists, 63 cellists and 92 vocalists.

Originally the competition was for pianists and violinists only. Cellists were added starting with the second competition in 1962, and vocalists with the third in 1966. No other categories have been added since 1966.

The competition is organized by a committee of prominent Russian musicians and managed by the Russian State Concert Company (Sodruzhestvo). Juries of notable soloists, music professors, music directors and previous winners from all over the world are selected to judge the performances and choose the winners.

Three elimination rounds are held throughout the month of June. Currently, a total of 26 prizes are awarded: six in each instrumental category and four each for male and female vocalists. Sometimes, however, no one wins first prize, or it may be shared between competitors. This can also occur with the lesser prizes. In earlier years, up to eight prizes were awarded.

Table of contents

1 Top prize winners 1.1 Piano 1.2 Violin 1.3 Cello 1.4 Vocal, male 1.5 Vocal, female 2 See Also 3 External Links

Top prize winners

(incomplete)

Winners of the top prize awarded in the given year and category (first prize, unless otherwise noted).

Piano

• 1958: Van Cliburn
• 1962: Vladimir Ashkenazy and John Ogdon shared first prize.
• 1966: Grigory Sokolov
• 1970: Vladimir Krainev and John Lill shared first prize.
• 1974: Andrei Gavrilov
• 1978: Mikhail Pletnev
• 1982: No first prize awarded. Peter Donohoe and Vladimir Ovchinnikov shared second prize.
• 1986: Barry Douglas
• 1990: Boris Berezovsky
• 1994: No first prize awarded. Nikolai Lugansky won second prize.
• 1998: Denis Matsuev
• 2002: Ayako Uehara

Violin

• 1958: Valery Klimov
• 1962: Boris Gutnikov
• 1966: Viktor Tretyakov
• 1970: Gidon Kremer
• 1974: No first prize awarded. Eugene Fodor, Ruben Agaranyan and Rusudan Gvasaliya shared second prize.
• 1978: Elmar Oliveira and Ilya Grubert shared first prize.
• 1982: Viktoria Mullova and Sergei Stadler shared first prize.
• 1986:
• 1990:
• 1994: No first prize awarded. Anastasiya Chebotareva and Jennifer Koh shared second prize.
• 1998:
• 2002: No first prize awarded. Tamaki Kawakubo and Chen Xi shared second prize.

Cello

• 1962: Natalia Shakhovskaya
• 1966: Karine Georgyan
• 1970: David Geringas
• 1974:
• 1978: Nathaniel Rosen
• 1982: Antonio Meneses
• 1986:
• 1990: Gustav Rivinius
• 1994:
• 1998:
• 2002: No first prize awarded. Johannes Moser won second prize.

Vocal, male

• 1966: Vladimir Atlantov
• 1970: Yevgeny Nesterenko
• 1974:
• 1978:
• 1982: Paata Burchchuladze
• 1986:
• 1990: Hans Choi
• 1994:
• 1998: Besik Gabitashvili
• 2002: Mikhail Kazakov

Vocal, female

• 1966: Jane Marsh
• 1970: Yelena Obraztsova
• 1974:
• 1978:
• 1982: Lidiya Zabilyasta
• 1986:
• 1990: Deborah Voigt
• 1994:
• 1998:
• 2002: Aitalina Afanasieva-Adamova

See Also

• List of classical music competitions
• International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, an unrelated competition with a similar name

External Links

• Official page