The Competition Procedure

The competition will be divided into several stages:
• for the Younger Group — one preview and two auditions;
• for the Elder Group — one preview and three auditions.

The preview is organized remotely by way of analyzing the candidates’ videotapes or DVDs (see the “Competition Programs” section for recommendations). According to the results of the preview, the Organizational Committee will select the competitors and inform them about their eligibility to participate not later than the 1st of October, 2008. If a candidate’s VT or DVD cannot be watched in a regular manner due to the carrier’s defect or any other damage caused by its transportation or otherwise, the Organizational Committee may prohibit that candidate to participate in the competition.

Only the competitors selected after the preview will recite during the first audition.
A maximum of a half of the first audition participants may recite during the second audition. A maximum of three pianists will be admitted to participate in the third audition.

The order of performances will be established by the draw and will not be changed until the end of the competition.

The auditions will be held publicly in the Concert Hall of Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory’s Central Music School.

One acoustic rehearsal with a minimum duration of 10 minutes will be granted to every competitor before every audition.

The competition’s laureates and diploma winners will participate in its final concert, as well as in the laureates’ and diploma winners’ concerts scheduled by the Organizational Committee, on a free basis.

The 1st prize laureate of the competition may be awarded with an opportunity to recite with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra (directed by maestro Xu Zhong).

The copyright for all audio- and video-recordings of the competition’s auditions, final concert, opening and closing ceremonies, as well as for their distribution, copying and translating through radio or TV, shall exclusively belong to the Central Music School.

The competitors must recite all pieces by heart. No piece performed during the first audition may be repeated during the second one.

Recitals of the third audition competitors will be accompanied by the Central Music School’s symphony orchestra.

The Competition Jury

Upon results of the preview, a commission appointed by the Organizational Committee will grant the competitors their access to the first audition.

Prominent performers and music teachers will become members of the jury.

The jury may decide to shorten a competitor’s program.

All decisions of the jury will be final and irrevocable.

The Competitor’s Prizes

Titles of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize laureates of the “Dedication to Ferenc Liszt” Fifth International Competition will be awarded to the winners, and the money premiums of $5000, $3000 and $2000 will be paid to them respectively. The competition grand prix will amount to $10000.

The best two participants of the elder group’s second audition who are not admitted for the third audition will get the competition diplomas, and the money premium of $500 will be paid to each of them.

The competition jury may:
• grant some of the prizes and diplomas but not all of them;
• divide any prizes between any competitors;
• award special diplomas for the best performances of certain pieces;
• award diplomas to the teachers who trained both the laureates and the diploma holders of the competition.

The competition jury may award any special prizes and premiums to be established by any state or public organizations, by businessmen or commercial entities, as well as by creative unions or charity foundations, with consideration of their respective opinions.

Procedure for Submission of Application to Participate

The application form with a request to participate in the “Dedication to Ferenc Liszt” Fifth International Competition, together with the candidate’s video-recording and his/her set of the documents indicated below (see the form attached), must be sent to: Central Music School (College) of Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, Organizational Committee of the “Dedication to Ferenc Liszt” Fifth International Competition, 4 Maly Kislovsky Lane, Building 5, Moscow, 125009, Russian Federation, not later than the 20th of September, 2008 (inclusive).

The sending date will be determined according to the postmark.

The set of documents attached to the application form must include:
1) a photocopy of either a birth certificate or a national passport’s front page;
2) a letter from school or a photocopy of any music education diploma;
3) a brief bio listing: places of study, full name(s) of main teacher(s), laureate certificates and diplomas awarded at any competitions, festivals, etc.;
4) two photos sized 10 x 15 cm (4 x 6 inches) and made not earlier than the 20th of September, 2007 (both photos must be signed on their rear side!);
5) the video recording (a VT or a DVD).
Please note: the passports of all foreign competitors must expire not earlier than the 31st of May, 2010.

The competitors must pay their accreditation payment of 2,000 Russian rubles (an equivalent of about $85) in cash during their registration. (Please note: due to a forecasted inflation, this amount may be adjusted.)

All traveling, accommodation, medical and other expenses must be paid either by the forwarding organizations or by the competitors themselves.

The Organizational Committee will render assistance to book a hotel in Moscow for both the competitors and the persons accompanying them (upon a timely request).

Foreign competitors must get their passports and Russian entry visas themselves.

On the basis of the Organizational Committee’s decision to grant a competitor an access to participate, it must send him/her an official invitation, which is a reason to ask for a Russian entry visa at the Consular Department of the Russian Federation upon the competitor’s place of residence, not later than the 1st of October, 2008.