Opening press conference of the III International Grand Piano Competition for young pianists took place at the TASS press center today. The event was attended by Denis Matsuev, Artistic director of the competition, Alexey Shalashov, General Director of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, as well as conductor Alexander Sladkovsky, and jury members Boris Petrushansky and Valery Piassetski.

“We are opening tomorrow, this is the happy moment that we have been looking forward to for a year. The competition will create that unique atmosphere that we want to convey to the whole world. Luckily, the Moscow Philharmonic Society and Medici.tv company give us every opportunity to do so. The previous competition boasted the online audience of about three million - just imagine what a boiling point it is, what responsibility for the participants: they have one chance only, they are playing for us and for the whole world today. And it is on the day after the competition that the real story will begin”, Denis Matsuev said.

“Holding the competition right now is vitally important”, Alexey Shalashov emphasized. “A lot of foreign musicians come here, they cannot believe they are lucky to perform alive at last, for many of them have not performed for eight or ten months. We have this great tradition of the Tchaikovsky Competition, which has been gathering the world’s best young musicians for decades. They keep this special attitude towards Russia, towards Moscow, the place where they first gained recognition, for the rest of their lives. And then they return over and over again".

“I recall the previous winners’ names with delight - Sasha Malofeev, Sandro Nebieridze, Eva Gevorgyan, Alexandra Dovgan, the musicians we have performed with in great concert venues”, said Alexander Sladkovsky, chief conductor of the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan. “I highly appreciate being part of the Grand Piano Competition not at the competition stage only, but to keep training these gifted children, to support them as a conductor, to bring them on stage – this is what gives me great pleasure”.

“What I heard at the selection stage was absolutely amazing and left an incredible impression in my soul,” said Boris Petrushansky, professor of Imola International Academy. We need to apply all our intuition to see what the competitors may develop into. We all know how fragile these early talents are. We really hope that after shining at the competition, these young musicians will continue to be successful. It’s a matter of their self-development”.
“While I was listening to young pianists who applied, it suddenly struck me that I had completely forgotten I was listening to children playing. It was completely mature performance by musicians who know all the piano secrets”, confessed Valery Piassetski, director of the Central Music School. “Discoveries happen at every competition, but I have a feeling that we will see something particularly interesting this time.”