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The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition staged its grand opening concert in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on June 15th at 7pm. The concert featured the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev; soloists from the Mariinsky Theatre; Olga Borodina, who is on the jury of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition; Daniil Trifonov, who was First Prize winner at the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition; Alexander Malofeyev, who won the first prize at the 8th International Tchaikovsky Youth Competition; and Georgy Ibatulin, who won the first prize at 14th “The Nutcracker” International Television Competition for Young Musicians. Hosts on this occasion were Valery Gergiev and Denis Matsuev. The Competition takes place in Moscow and Saint Petersburg from June 15th to July 3rd, 2015. There were 623 applications to enter the Competition from 45 countries: Russia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Vietnam, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Spain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Canada, China, Colombia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, North Korea, the USA, Taiwan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Finland, France, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Sweden, Switzerland, Estonia, South Korea, and Japan. Competitors in the piano, violin and cello disciplines must be between the ages of 16 to 32 as of the opening date of the Competition (15 June 2015). In the voice discipline competitors must be between the ages of 19 to 32. The Competition has accepted 36 pianists, 25 violinists, and 25 cellists. The outcome of the preliminary auditions of vocalists will be available on June 19th. DATES AND VENUES The competitor performances for piano take place in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory; for violin in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory (for Rounds I and II) and in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Round III); for cello in the Small Hall of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic (Rounds I and II) and in the Grand Hall of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic; and for voice in Mariinsky II and the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre. The announcement of the winners and the award ceremonies will be on July 1st at 7pm in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. The gala concerts of the winners will be held in Moscow and Saint Petersburg: on July 2nd in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and on July 3rd at 7pm in Mariinsky II where the winner of the Grand Prix will also be announced. JURY On the jury for piano are: Dmitri Bashkirov, Boris Berezovsky, Michel Béroff, Peter Donohoe, Sergei Dorensky, Barry Douglas, Denis Matsuev, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Alexander Toradze, Vladimir Feltsman, Klaus Hellwig, and Martin Engström. On the jury for violin are: Salvatore Accardo, Yuri Bashmet, Maxim Vengerov, Liana Isakadze, Leonidas Kavakos, Ilya Kaler, Boris Kuschnir, Mihaela Martin, Vadim Repin, Roman Somovic, Viktor Tretyakov, Maxim Fedotov, Michael Haefliger, Nikolaj Znaider, Vera Tsu Wei Ling, and James Ehnes. On the jury for cello are: Wolfgang Boettcher, Mario Brunello, Jian Wang, David Geringas, Clive Gillinson, Alexander Kniazev, Mischa Maisky, Ivan Monighetti, Sergei Roldugin, Martti Rousi, Lynn Harrell, Jan Vogler, and Myung-Wha Chung. On the jury for voice are: Sarah Billinghurst, Olga Borodina, Eva Wagner-Pasquier, Julia Varady, Larisa Gergieva, Mikhail Kazakov, Thomas Quasthoff, Dennis O’Neill, Mikhail Petrenko, Tobias Richter, John Fisher, and Chen-Ye Yuan. AWARDS The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition will award a total of 6 prizes for pianists, 6 prizes for violinists, 6 prizes for cellists, 4 prizes for male voice and 4 prizes for female voice. A single winner of the Grand Prix—US$ 100,000 in addition to the amount of the First Prize—may be selected from among the First Prize winners. The amounts awarded as prizes in the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition in each discipline are: 1st Prize of US$ 30,000 and the Gold Medal 2nd Prize of US$ 20,000 and the Silver Medal 3rd Prize of US$ 10,000 and the Bronze Medal 4th Prize of US$ 5,000 and a Diploma 5th Prize of US$ 3,000 and a Diploma 6th Prize of US$ 2,000 and a Diploma In addition there will be a prize of US$ 2,000 and a Diploma for the best performance of a chamber work in Round II (for piano, violin, and cello). In each discipline the jury will award a Diploma and a runner-up prize of US$ 1,000 to the two best competitors in Round II who are eliminated from Round III. The jury may choose to split prizes (except for the Grand Prix) depending on the outcome of the competitions and within the quantity of prizes allowed or choose not to award some of the prizes. In addition, the jury may award Diplomas and prizes of US$ 1,000 to the best accompanists in the Competition (up to two in each discipline). ONLINE BROADCAST OF THE COMPETITION On 15 April 2015 the International Tchaikovsky Competition and medici.tv announced an agreement to disseminate all the events in the Competition via live internet streaming from 15 June to 3 July 2015. This partnership will enable viewers anywhere in the world to access 18 days of continuous live internet broadcasts free of charge. The performances by the 120 competitors from different countries will be shown in real time from Moscow (for piano and violin) and Saint Petersburg (cello and voice). CHILDREN’S COMPETITION For the very first time the International Tchaikovsky Competition has conducted children’s competitions that commemorate the 175th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s birth. The first competition took place in children’s music schools for piano, violin, cello, and voice. The second competition in secondary schools was for the best graphic art and essays on the subject of Tchaikovsky’s works. All 85 of the Russian Federation’s constituent districts participated in the children’s competitions. The prizes for the winners are trips to Moscow from June 28th to July 2nd to attend events in the XV International Competition. The best graphic art and essays will be on display in special exhibitions.