Contestants_1910_Fifth_ANTON_RUBINSTEIN_COMPETITION

The Anton Rubinstein Competition is the name of a music competition that has existed in two incarnations. It was first staged in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

between 1890 and 1910, and prizes were awarded for piano playing and composition. Since 2003, it has been run in Germany as a piano competition only.

Original competition

The original Anton Rubinstein Competition was staged by

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ran ...

himself in 1890. Two prizes of 5000 francs were awarded to the winners in composition and piano. Winners include: * 1890 ( St. Petersburg): Nikolay Dubasov, piano;

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

, composition (Concert Piece for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 31a) * 1895 ( Berlin):

Josef Lhévinne Josef Lhévinne (13 December 18742 December 1944) was a Russian pianist and piano teacher. Lhévinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: ''Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing''. Asked how to say his name, he told ''The L ...

, piano; Henryk Melcer-Szczawiński, composition (Konzertstück, Piano Trio) * 1900 ( Vienna): Émile Bosquet, piano;

Alexander Goedicke Alexander Fyodorovich Goedicke (; 9 July 1957) was a Russian and Soviet composer and pianist. Goedicke was a professor at Moscow Conservatory. With no formal training in composition, he studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory with Galli, Pave ...

, composition * 1905 ( Paris):

Wilhelm Backhaus Wilhelm Backhaus ('Bachaus' on some record labels) (26 March 1884 – 5 July 1969) was a German pianist and pedagogue. He was particularly well known for his interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin and Brahms. He was also much adm ...

, piano; Attilio Brugnoli composition, (

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

took second prize). * 1910 ( St. Petersburg): Emil Frey, composition prize (Piano Trio), diploma to Frank Merrick; Alfred Hoehn, piano. (Other piano finalists included

Issay Dobrowen Issay Alexandrovich Dobrowen (; 9 December 1953) Itschok Zorachovitch Barabeitchik, was a Russian/Soviet- Norwegian pianist, composer and conductor. He left the Soviet Union in 1922 and became a Norwegian citizen in 1929. Biography He was bo ...

Edwin Fischer Edwin Fischer (6 October 1886 – 24 January 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century. Biography Fischer was born in Basel and studied m ...

Artur Lemba Artur Lemba (24 September 1885 – 21 November 1963) was an Estonian composer and piano teacher, and one of the most important figures in Estonian classical music. Artur and his older brother Theodor (1876-1962) were the first professional piani ...

and

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein Order of the British Empire, KBE OMRI (; 28 January 1887 – 20 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

.) According to ''The Musical Times'' of October 1, 1910, the Fifth International Competition for the Rubinstein prize commenced on August 22. Two prizes of 5,000 francs were offered, for composition and for piano playing. The two successful competitors were both German musicians – Emil Frey (as composer; he was actually Swiss) and Alfred Hoehn, professor at the Hoschsche Konservatorium in Frankfurt (as pianist; he was actually Austrian). Diplomas for excellence in piano playing were awarded to

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein Order of the British Empire, KBE OMRI (; 28 January 1887 – 20 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

, Emil Frey and

Alexander Borovsky Alexander Borovsky (also spelled Borowski and Borowsky; 1889-1968) was a Russian-American pianist. He completed his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1912 with a gold medal and the Anton Rubinstein Prize. Early life and career Alex ...

. The Board of Examiners consisted of only Russian musicians.

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov ( – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental i ...

, Chairman of the Jury, presented the awards. The first prize for pianists graduating from

Saint Petersburg Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory () (formerly known as the Petrograd Conservatory and Leningrad Conservatory) is a school of music in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty member ...

was named after Rubinstein as well; Sergei Prokofiev won the prize in 1914; Maria Yudina recalled that she and her classmate

Vladimir Sofronitsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Sofronitsky (or Sofronitzky; , ''Vladimir Sofronitskij''; – August 29, 1961) was a Soviet-Russian classical pianist, best known as an interpreter of Alexander Scriabin and Frédéric Chopin. His daughter is the Canadian ...

had won the prize in 1920.

Revived competition

Since 2003, the "Anton G. Rubinstein" International Piano Competition has been revived in Dresden, Germany. Winners include: * 2003: Gabriela Martinez * 2005: Kateryna Titova * 2007:

Amir Tebenikhin Amir Tebenikhin (born 1977) is a Kazakhstani pianist. He won the 1999 Vianna da Motta Competition - the last winner for 11 years when Akopova won the competition. He subsequently made his recording debut for Naxos Records and performed at the C ...

* 2009: Alexej Gorlatch * 2012: Hao Zhu File:Contestants_1910_Fifth_ANTON_RUBINSTEIN_COMPETITION_Group_Sitting.jpg, Participants in the 1910 Anton Rubinstein Piano Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. Seated at far left Alexander Borovsky File:Judges 1910 fifth Anton Rubinstein competition St. Petersburg.jpg, Judges 1910 Anton Rubinstein Piano Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia

References

{{reflist

External links

Directory of International Piano Competitions

Music competitions in Germany Piano competitions