The Seventh Competition for Young Composers in Memory of Alfred Schnittke and Svyatoslav Richter in Sochi

The Seventh Competition for Young Composers in Memory of Alfred Schnittke and Svyatoslav Richter as part of the Fourteenth Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi

For the first time, two nominations are announced:
1. Piano Trio, Quartet or Quintet
2. String Quartet

The Competition will be held during a period between 10 November 2020 and 25 February 2021
Venue: Organ and Chamber Music Hall in the City of Sochi (Southern Russia)
Deadline for applications: 29 January 2021
Deadline for a payment of the participation fee: 5 February 2021

General provisions

Each competitor must submit one piece in a free form composed by him/her personally for piano trio, piano quartet, piano quintet or string quartet: duration between 10 and 15 minutes.

No pieces earlier published or publicly performed may participate in the Competition.

No more than one piece from one applicant may be submitted for the Competition.

Purposes of the Competition:

• search, recognition of the most talented young composers and support in the stimulation of their professional skills;
• promotion of modern academic music;
• creation of a high professional forum for composers within modern musical process;
• stimulation of the creative contacts between the composers and the performers;
• provision of favorable conditions for interaction between the composers and the audience.

The Organizing Committee:

• Prof. Alexander Chaykovsky, Chairman: People’s Artist of Russia, Acting Head of the Composition Department of Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory
• Prof. Yuri Bashmet: People’s Artist of the USSR, Acting Head of the Viola Department of Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory; Artistic Director of the Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi
• Dmitry Grinchenko: Executive Director of the Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi

The Jury:

• Prof. Alexander Chaykovsky (Russia), Chairman: composer, People’s Artist of Russia, Acting Head of the Composition Department of Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory
• Prof. Yuri Bashmet (Russia): Artistic Director of the Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi, Acting Head of the Viola Department of Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory
• Oscar Bianchi (Italy/Switzerland): composer
• Assc. Prof. Kuzma Bodrov (Russia): composer, teacher at Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, Guest Professor of the Katarina Gurska School of Music in Madrid
• Patrick de Clerck (Belgium): composer
• Atsuhiko Gondai (Japan): composer
• Gabriela Ortiz (Mexico): composer
• Alexei Syumak (Russia): composer, teacher at Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory
• Valery Voronov (Belarus / Germany): composer, teacher of composition and orchestration workshops at the Blackmore International Music Academy in Berlin, Hamburg and St. Blasien

The Competition Procedure

The Competition consists of two rounds: the First Round (Elimination Round, in absentia) and the Second Round, which is to be held publicly.

The Elimination Round is held during a period between 10 November 2020 and 29 January 2021 and implies an examination of the participants’ scores by the judges. This round is anonymous.

An anonymous list of the second-round competitors’ identifying passwords will be published on the official website of the Winter International Arts Festival not later than 5 February 2021.

The selected participants should arrive in Sochi according to the dates indicated in the official notification issued by the Organizing Committee.

The Second Round is held on 25 February 2021 at the Organ and Chamber Music Hall in the City of Sochi as a public concert performance of the scores.

Prizes:

• the first prize: 150,000 rubles
• the second prize: 75,000 rubles
• the third prize: 50,000 rubles
• two diplomas of 25,000 rubles each.

The Jury has the right:

• to award special prizes;
• to divide the amount of any prize between several laureates within the established prize budget;
• to award not all of the diplomas and/or awards;
• not to award any diplomas and/or awards.

All the prizes and awards will be paid to the Competition laureates in rubles, with taxes to be deducted under Russia’s legislation.

Upon the Organizing Committee’s consent, any public organizations, including foundations and/or mass media, may establish any additional prizes, awards and/or gifts for the competitors of the second round prior to the Competition.

All decisions of the jury shall be final and irrevocable.

Conditions for the participants of the Second Round

All transportation costs for a round trip to Sochi and other expenses directly or indirectly related to the participation in the Competition shall be paid either by the competitors themselves or by their sponsoring organizations.

Accommodation in Sochi for the participants of the Second Round during a period between 24 and 26 February 2021 will be provided by the Organizing Committee.

Official invitations and visa support for the competitors from foreign countries will be provided by the Organizing Committee.

Once an official notification from the Organizing Committee with an invitation to the Second Round is received, the participant from a foreign country should contact the nearest Russian Embassy or Consulate to start the visa processing, if it is necessary for him/her to enter Russia. All visa expenses are to be paid by the participants themselves or by their sponsoring organizations according to the Russian Consulates’ requirements.

The online application form for participation in the Competition, filled out by the applicant, shall mean his/her unconditional and total agreement with all the provisions of these Regulations.

The Competition participants do not receive any fee either for their performance at the Second Round or for distribution of the recordings and broadcasts of the performance.

The Organizing Committee of the Competition shall be the only owner of an exclusive copyright for both audio- and video recordings, as well as for any radio, TV and/or online translation of all the rounds and the concert of the Competition laureates.

In the event any disputes or disagreements arise in the interpretation of any clauses of these Regulations, the version published in Russian shall prevail.

The Procedure of Applying

The competition is open to professional composers born after 1 January 1986.

The filled-out application form must be accompanied by the following scanned documents:

• the score and the parts, both in a PDF format, marked by the competitor’s identifying password only, which should be invented specifically for this Competition. No scores containing any signs, names or other personal information will be allowed to participate in the Competition;
• a copy of the passport or any other ID (pages with the photograph and the personal signature are required);
• a certificate of music education, either in Russian or in English;
• a certificate from the employer (if employed) or from the educational institution (if a student), confirming the fact employment/studies;
• a curriculum vitae, including: date and place of birth, place of studies (for students), years of studies, names of the teachers, participation in any previous competitions (year, country, city and award), as well as any other important information;
• one recommendation from the educational institution (high school, college, etc.) or two recommendations from renowned musicians;
• one digital photo with a minimal resolution of 300 dpi (portrait-type, neutral background);
• a receipt of the entrance fee payment;

Two printed copies of both the score and the parts should be marked by the competitor’s identifying password only. The envelope should be marked by the real name of the applicant. This parcel should arrive at the Organizing Committee not later than 29 January 2021 to the following address: Russian Concert Agency, 22/2 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, Office 56, Moscow, 125009, Russia.

Both the printed scores and parts should be two-sided and bound. The end of every page in the parts should match with a rest.

The Organizing Committee may reject any application that does not meet any of the requirements indicated above or arrives later than 29 January 2021 due to any failure of the delivery service.

Not later than 5 February 2021, all the competitors admitted to the Second Round shall receive an official notification with the required date of their arrival to Sochi.

An anonymous list of the second-round competitors’ identifying passwords will be published on the official website of the Winter International Arts Festival not later than 5 February 2021.

The registration fee for participation in the Competition will be, optionally, 3500 Russian rubles or 50 euros.

Bank Account Details

The registration fee for participation in the Competition must be forwarded to the following euro bank account of the Winter International Arts Festival:
Limited Liability Company “Winter International Arts Festival”
Russia 109456 Moscow, Ryzanskiy prospect 75/4 – 10
Account: 40702978800010382754 (EUR)
Beneficiary Bank: SOVCOMBANK, CORPORATE BRANCH, Moscow, Russia
SWIFT:COMKRUMM
0230-35982.73Z
Correspondent Bank:
UBS Switzerland AG,
Zurich, Switzerland
SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A
(with a note: payment for participation in the composers’ competition)

Please find the details about the payment in Russian rubles on the Russian webpage.

Contact Information

The Direction of the Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi
22/2 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, Office 56
Moscow, 125009, Russia
Tel/Fax:: +7 (495) 212 1565
E-mail: info@rusconagency.ru
URL: www.wiafs.ru