The Knushevitsky anniversary competition is open!

The Grand Opening of the 5th anniversary Svyatoslav Knushevitsky International Cello Competition was held in the Great Hall of the Saratov State Conservatory named after Leonid Sobinov on September 2.

– “The Svyatoslav Knushevitsky Competition was born here on the initiative of the Saratov musicians.”- says the Director of the competition Sergei Usanov – It was first held in 2012, and it is symbolic that we are holding the fifth anniversary competition within the walls of one of the oldest conservatories in Russia. This competition is of great interest in the world. This year we received a record number of applications – over a hundred. 70 participants were pre-selected. But not everyone was able to come because of the covid restrictions. Nevertheless, young cellists from Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Korea, from the Center and South of Russia, from Tatarstan and Siberia, from the Volga region and, of course, from Saratov, gathered here.

“The competition is unique, first of all, because it is the only one among cellists, which is why performers all over the world are so interested in it,” says Igor Gavrysh, the Chairman of the Jury. – The lofty idea of founding a competition named after the great cellist Svyatoslav Knushevitsky was realized thanks to the support of the SAFMAR charitable foundation. Without this our undertakings had no prospects of implementation. Thanks to this support, today we have again gathered young cellists in Saratov. Many of them already have a number of victories behind them. I think that we will have a new stratum of performers.

The Concerto for cello and orchestra, opus 85 by Edward Elgar performed by the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Saratov Philharmonic under the direction of the chief conductor, the People’s Artist of Russia Alexander Rudin as the musical part of the Grand Opening, could be watched live on the website kultura.rf. The solo cello part was played by Dali Gutserieva, to whom this stage brought her first great success 7 years ago . After all, it was here in 2014 that she won a gold medal at the II Knushevitsky Competition.

– The Svyatoslav Knushevitsky competition became my first big artistic test, and I have the warmest memories of that time, – shared Dali Gutserieva. – Winning the competition gave me more self-confidence. This quality is enhanced from concert to concert, of which over the years I have already had a lot. To young musicians who are just trying themselves in the contest, I want to advise not to be afraid of anything, study a lot, be artistic and believe in yourself!

The anniversary competition is open. A rich program with concerts of guests, master classes and selection auditions, so exciting for all participantsare ahead of us is We will find out the names of the winners and diploma holders of the competition on September 10.

I am happy that the Svyatoslav Knushevitsky Cello Competition is reviving the musical competition movement after a long time of restrictions! – says Kirill Rodin, a Professor of the Moscow Conservatory, a Jury member . – It will be equally difficult for all the contestants on this stage, but a musician needs to overcome difficulties, this is exactly what tempers the creative character. There are no losers in our competition. The best will receive prizes, and for those who will not be among the winners, this participation will motivate them to enhancement. I hope that from the number of today’s participants new bright performers will come out about whom we will talk, whom we will see on the stages of the world.