Final of the VII International Young composers competition

Not just German roots unite Schnittke and Richter – two great musicians of the twentieth century from different generations and areas of musical creativity. Both lived сcolorful lives, full of brilliant artistic breakthroughs and dramatic collisions. Both had an enormous influence on world art over the last century, and yet both often went against the grain, defying the prevailing conventions of Soviet art. Sviatoslav Richter never performed the music of Alfred Schnittke, who over the decades followed the creative development of the great pianist with close attention; but the greatest representative of the Russian pianist school, G. Neuhaus, was always open to the new and did not like the beaten track… An avant-garde artist and “musical dissident” who spent decades battling for his right to public recognition, Schnittke in his compositions had his roots in the centuries-long tradition of European art…

The two musicians also shared a passion for chamber music. Sviatoslav Richter’s passion for ensemble music is well known – among his partners on stage were the greatest instrumentalists of his time on numerous occasions. The author of vast oratorio and symphonic works, Alfred Schnittke composed his chamber opuses with particular trepidation; even today his Piano Quintet remains one of the most repertoire works of the late twentieth century.

For the first time in the history of the Sochi Competition there are two nominations: a chamber ensemble with piano (trio, quartet or quintet) and a string quartet.

As always, the finals will take the form of an open concert where the winners will be announced.

The jury of the VII International Competition of Young Composers for the Sochi Festival consists of Yuri Bashmet, artistic director of the International Winter Arts Festival, Professor, People’s Artist of the USSR; the chairman of the jury – one of the leading composers of Russia, People’s Artist of Russia, Head of the Composition Department of the Moscow Conservatory, Professor Alexander Tchaikovsky; Belgian composer, teacher and art manager, organizer and director of international music festivals Patrick de Clerc, associate professor at the Moscow Conservatory and guest pro Tchaikovsky; Associate Professor at the Moscow Conservatory and Visiting Professor at the Escuela Superior de Música Katarina Gurska in Madrid, Chairman of the Moscow State Conservatory Young Composers Club Kuzma Bodrov; Belarusian composer Valery Voronov, now living in Germany; Italian-Swiss composer Oscar Bianchi and Alexey Syumak, associate professor at the Moscow Conservatory and guest of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory.