Articles pre 1990

June 10 1986.

Announcement of the Tchaikovsky competition to take place in Moscow.

International recognition is essential to any soloist's career. And for Soviets, the competition represents an opportunity for contact with young foreign musicians.

Briton Peter Donohoe, who shared top piano competition honors in 1982 with Soviet Vladimir Ovchinnikov, told The Associated Press in 1984 that his concert schedule filled up almost overnight once he had shone in Moscow.
Audiences here reward sparkling new talent with adoring appreciation. Donohoe compared the reception he received in 1982 with that accorded a Beatles concert in the 1960s.

The first round of each competing sector comprises works by two or three classical composers such as Bach and Mozart and a compulsory piece by Tchaikovsky.

In the second round, contestants must offer complex West European works, a piece by Tchaikovsky, a piece by a Soviet composer, and a modern work from his or her own country.

Then it is down to the all-important last round for 12 pianists, 12 violinists, 12 cellists and 16 singers.
Performing with some of the Soviet Union's top orchestras and conductors, each instrumentalist plays two concertos, of which one must be by Tchaikovsky, and each singer performs three arias.

Three of the best young Soviet musicians are too young to enter the contest. But pianist Yevgeny Kisin, 14, and violinist Maxim Vengerov, 11, will join 14-year-old violinist Vadik Repin in showing off Soviet musical training at a gala concert to open the contest this week.

June 11, 1987, Thursday (TASS)

YOUNG SOVIET VIOLINISTS -- GUEST TOURS

NOVOSIBIRSK

Two young soviet violinists, Vadim Repin, 15, and Maksim Vengerov, 12, from Novosibirsk, Soviet Siberia, are scheduled to go on guest tours around the Soviet Union and abroad. The programme will take a year ahead both will visit Britain and France. Besides, this year Maksim will go to Poland and Vadim to Czechoslovakia.

Maksim and Vadim have won prizes at the Wieniawski international competition in Poland which made them famous in the music community.

The young violinists play Stradivari violins from the USSR state collection.

"Maksim and Vadim work very hard. They are ready to play the violin 10 hours a day", their teacher Zakhar Bron said. "The past academic year [September-May] was eventful for them. They had their concerts recorded on disks and made good progress at school".

March 1988.

Maxim was due to perform on the opening night of the “Making Music Together” Festival, a Soviet- American initiative following Glasnost, from March 11th to April 2nd in and around Boston. In the event Sergei Stadler performed the Petrov concerto on the first night.

Sept 9-11th 1988 

V & A Pirelli concerts

Pirelli, the tyre company, is naturally exploiting the £250,000+ it invested in the new courtyard garden at the Victoria & Albert Museum, which bears its name. Next weekend it is sponsoring three concerts there, two featuring young classical musicians, and one jazz, at a reasonable cost of £12,000. They are free, with tickets available from Pirelli.

On Friday Sept 9th the French 19-year-old pianist Helene Grimaud performs; on Saturday Sept 10th it’s the turn of Russian violinist Maksim Vengerov, 14; and on Sunday Sept 11th there are two jazz concerts, with 18-year-old Jason Rebello starring.