World Federation of International Music Competitions Excludes Tchaikovsky Competition

The World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) has removed the International Tchaikovsky Competition from its ranks. The decision was made following an Extraordinary General Assembly on April 13, 2022, at which an "overwhelming majority" of members voted for the Tchaikovsky Competition to be removed from the Federation.

Held once every four years, the Tchaikovsky Competition has been running since 1958. Its past laureates include Gidon Kremer, Viktoria Mullova, and Daniil Trifonov.

However, the competition is also supported and organized by a range of figures who have close ties to the Russian administration, most notably Russia's President, Vladimir Putin. Conductor Valery Gergiev currently serves as the Co-Chair of the competition's Organizing Committee.

"Many laureates of the Tchaikovsky Competition are among the leading artists of today," said the WFIMC in a statement.

"However, in the face of Russia's brutal war and humanitarian atrocities in Ukraine, the WFIMC as an apolitical organization cannot support or have as a member, a competition financed and used as a promotional tool by the Russian regime."

"While our first and foremost goal must always be the active support of young artists, and right now particularly Ukrainian artists, the WFIMC affirms its previous statement against blanket sanctions on all Russians and against the discrimination and exclusion of individual artists, based on their nationality," the statement continued.

"In times of war especially, we believe it to be essential to maintain a dialogue with those who trust us and who share our values, the same way as we trust them."