Activity

From October 18^th till October 27 ^st, 2010 the Investment Program Foundation is holding the Sixth Paganini Moscow International Violin Competition, supported by the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, the Government of Moscow and Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory.

The Competition consists of Eliminatory, Semifinal and Final auditions, which take place at the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory:          

October 18^th 2010-The Official Opening and the Draw of the Sixth Competition                                              

October 19^th — 21^st-The First Audition                                                                                                    

October 22^nd —23^rd -The Semifinal Audition                                                                                           

October 25^th -The Final Audition                                                                                                              

October 26^th -Press-conference on the results of the Sixth Competition                                                 

October 27^th -The Final Concert of the laureates and the jury members of the Sixth Competition

The winners will be awarded with diplomas and the following prizes:                                                                                                                                                        

1^st prize – $50 000 (fifty thousand) and a statuette of Paganini holding a violin;                                         

2^nd prize – $25 000 (twenty five thousand);                                                                                           

3^rd prize – $15 000 (fifteen thousand).

The Competition’s History

The First Competition was held in November-December of 2003. It became “a remarkable event in the culture life of Russia but not only Russia, having brought up the best national violin ‘forces’ to the capital” (the Itogi magazine and the Culture TV channel). The Competition’s results overcame the most optimistic expectations: “The Moscow Violin Competition demonstrated again that Russia’s music education is one of the world’s best” (a CNN’s spot on the First Competition’s results).

The Second Competition was successfully held at the end of 2004. Its grand prix holder got the right to play an Antonio Stradivari’s violin during one year. Incidentally, it is that particular instrument which “causes the greatest interest among the adepts both in Europe, Japan and the United States” (the Valeurs Actuelle magazine).

In 2005, the Foundation held the Third Competition. An important event of the competition occurred right before its beginning: Mr. Maxim Viktorov, Chairman of the Violin Art Foundation’s Board of Trustees (now Chairman of the Investment Program Foundation’s Council) and the Legal Intelligence Group’s Managing Partner, purchased a Carlo Bergonzi violin, which belonged to Niccolò Paganini, at the Sotheby’s auction in London on November 1, 2005. During November 21–29, 2005, the violin was presented to the public for the first time within the framework of the “Ex-Paganini in Moscow” exhibition organized by the Foundation in the A. S. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. On December 1, 2005, ex-Paganini enjoyed its premiere at the Final

Among the participants of the Fourth Competition were 50 violinists from 20 countries: Armenia, Brazil, Czech, China, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, North Korea, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, USA, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The jury that included this year Boris Belkin (Belgium), Giya Kancheli (Georgia), Mihaela Martin (Germany), Alexander Rudin (Russia), Saulius Sondeckis (Lithuania), Sergey Stadler (Russia), Viktor Tretyakov (Russia), Michel Schwalbe (France), the jury’s executive secretary Nachum Erlich (Finland) has decided to award the following competitors: Kyoko Yonemoto (Japan) – 1 ^st prize, Rodion Petrov (Russia) and Nadir Khashimov (Uzbekistan) – 2 ^nd prize, Eugen Tichindeleanu (Romania) – 3^rd prize.

The jury of Fifth Competition entered: Ida Haendel (Great Britain), Tatiana Grindenko (Russia), Alexander Rudin (Russia), Dmitriy Sitkovetsky (Great Britain), Sanlius Sondeckis (Lithuania), Sergey Stadler (Russia), Vladimir Fedoseev (Russia), Nahum Erlich (Israel/Finland) – the defendant secretary of the jury. Based on the competition results the first prize was not awarded. The laureates of the second prize became: Pavel Milukov (Russia) and Olga Volkova (Russia). The third prize achieved Antal Szalay (Hungary) Yura Lee (South Korea) At that, traditionally the competitors that became laureates of one prize, each received it in full force and effect.