Russian virtuoso Denis Matsuev unveils new piano contest for kids

The 1st International Grand Piano Competition for children up to 16 years of age is to be held at the Moscow Conservatory from April 30 to May 5, 2015.

Young pianists will be able to apply on official site of the the competition, which will be broadcast online on Medici.TV, up to March 20, said Russian virtuoso and founder of the competition Denis Matsuev.

"The competition's charter is unusual," said Matsuev. "There will be no screening between the two rounds of the competition, therefore everyone who comes to Moscow to compete after the preliminary video viewing will become laureates and graduates."

The prize fund is $40,000. Five awards worth $5,000 each will be given to the competition's laureates and 10 awards worth $1,000 to the graduates. The main prize consists of the Yamaha AvantGrand Hybrid Piano.

"This will be a killer contest and I don’t envy the jury members," said Matsuev. "Judging by the applications already received, the talent level in the competition is expected to be the same as in the adult Tchaikovsky Competition."

Matsuev adds that he expects most of the applications to come from regions with strong piano traditions and schools: Russia, China and South Korea.

The large international jury will consist of musicians and composers from all over the world, among whom will be British pianist and 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition winner Barry Douglas and renowned teacher and pianist Arie Vardi from Tel-Aviv.

The full jury list will be announced next week, while maestro Matsuev himself will be the jury's honorary chairman without the right of vote.