The Contestants Of The First Round Of The XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition Announced

The names of 231 contestants in the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition are now available. Those taking part in the first round of the Competition will be 25 musicians each specializing in the Piano, Violin and Cello categories, 60 singers in the vocal category, and 96 contestants in the two new Competition categories, Winds and Brass Instruments, which respectively include 48 woodwind performers and 48 brass performers.

Official lists of contestants of the Competition have been published on the Competition website: https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/contestants/

From a record-breaking pool of 954 applicants, 231 contestants have been selected to compete in the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition. The countries with the most contestants invited to compete include China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United States of America.

Overall, 38 different nations will be represented at the Competition: Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela.

One of the most anticipated music events in the world, the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition will take place from June 17 to 29, 2019 in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia with support from the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, with additional support from the Carmel Cultural Endowment for the Arts.

The venues of the Competition will be the Great and Chamber Halls of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow. The award ceremony and the gala concert of the laureates are to be held at Zaryadye Concert Hall in Moscow. In Saint Petersburg, the Competition will be held at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, the Mussorgsky Hall at the New Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre (Mariinsky II), the Concert Hall of Valery Gergiev in Repino, the Grand and Chamber Halls of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, and in the Academic Glinka Capella. The final gala concert of the laureates will be held at the New Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre (Mariinsky II).

In 2019 each category will have its own jury Chair:

• Piano Denis Matsuev, Pianist and gold medalist of the XI Tchaikovsky Competition
• Violin Martin Engstroem, Founder & Executive Director of the Verbier Festival
• Cello Sir Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall
• Voice Sarah Billinghurst Solomon, retired Assistant General Manager for Artistic Affairs at the Metropolitan Opera
• Woodwind Instruments Denis Bouriakov, principal flute of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Associate of the Royal Academy of Music
• Brass Instruments Ian Bousfield, former principal trombone of the LSO and the Vienna Philharmonic

This year, the International Tchaikovsky Competition introduces a new award named in memory of the late baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky. The award will be presented to one contestant in the voice category, who will received a $15,000 USD prize, as well as the opportunity to performance in Hvorostovsky's hometown of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia.

As in 2015, the full Tchaikovsky Competition will be available live and on demand via a dedicated digital platform produced by medici.tv, the world's leading classical music channel. Nearly 350 hours of live performances, along with extensive editorial coverage with exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and archival video will be presented for free. All content from the Competition will remain available online until 2027. Watch the entire Tchaikovsky Competition on: tch16.medici.tv.

The dedicated tch16.medici.tv digital platform was officially launched on May 17, 2019 at a press conference in New York City. The platform will stream the entire Tchaikovsky Competition live and create additional exclusive video coverage of live content of the 13-day competition. The stream's reach will be further extended through both public screenings, as well as through an extensive network of online media partnerships made possible by the official tch16.medici.tv video player embed.

Operated by a team of over 250 people, the #TCH16 platform also boasts two new digital initiatives for this edition: a 24-hour news channel will broadcast Competition highlights, behind-the-scenes coverage, archival footage, and more exclusive video content around the clock. It will launch on June 14, a few days before the Competition which begins on June 17. Also new this year is the online Audience Choice vote, which will allow audiences worldwide to support their favorite contestant; it will be open to the public during the final round of the competition.

Four years ago, the medici.tv webcast established a record in the industry, gaining over 10 million views with users following the Competition from 187 countries and from 13,000 cities. A massive impact on social media was another unprecedented success with a reach of over 6 million users.

The XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition sets the highest standards among world music competitions. Leading concert halls, orchestras, and festivals from around the world are eager to offer their stages to its laureates and talented participants. Along with many other post-Competition performances, Maestro Valery Gergiev will introduce Competition prizewinners at a recital at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on October 27, 2019 (presented by The Mariinsky Foundation of America). Further recitals featuring Competition prizewinners are scheduled for the 74th International Duszniki Chopin Piano Festival (August 9, 2019), the world's oldest piano festival, and at the MPHIL 360 Festival in Munich (January 31 February 2, 2020). Also in October 2019, Japan Arts will feature Competition winners in a large-scale tour of Japan, followed by a high-profile visit to South Korea arranged by Credia International, with the following schedule:

October 8, 2019 : Tokyo, with Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

October 12, 2019: Osaka, with Japan Century Orchestra

Other cities in Japan to be announced

October 15, 2019: Seoul at Seoul Arts Center

One Grand Prix among all Categories: USD $100,000 in addition to a 1st Prize cash award from his or her respective category.

Further prizes are as follows:

1st Prizes USD $30,000 and Gold Medals awarded in piano, violin, cello, male voice, female voice, winds, and brass

2nd Prizes USD $20,000 and Silver Medals awarded in piano, violin, cello, male voice, female voice, winds, and brass

3rd Prizes USD $10,000 and Bronze Medals awarded in piano, violin, cello, male voice, female voice, winds, and brass

4th Prizes USD $5,000 and Diplomas awarded in piano, violin, cello, male voice, female voice, winds, and brass

5th Prizes USD $4,000 and Diplomas awarded in piano, violin, cello, winds, and brass

6th Prizes USD $3,000 and Diplomas awarded in piano, violin, cello, winds, and brass

7th Prizes USD $2,500 and Diplomas awarded in winds and brass

8th Prizes USD $2,000 and Diplomas awarded in winds and brass

In addition to the Competition prizes, there will be one special prize: a vocal prize in memory of Dmitri Hvorostovsky with a cash prize of USD $15,000 and a performance in Krasnoyarsk, the hometown of the famous singer. The Prize is made possible by the patronage of vocal jury Chair Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Metropolitan Opera Chairman of the Board Ann Ziff.

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