During the vote of the General Assembly on April 13, 2022, the World Federation of International Music Competitions decided by an overwhelming majority of its members to immediately exclude an event such as the Tchaikovsky International Competition.
The appeal of the institution states:
“Many winners of the Tchaikovsky Competition are among the leading artists of our time. However, in the face of Russia’s brutal war and humanitarian atrocities in Ukraine, the WFIMC (World Federation of International Music Competitions) as an apolitical organization cannot support or have a competition among its members that is funded and used as an advertising tool by the Russian regime.
Although our first and foremost goal will always be to actively support young artists, especially Ukrainian artists, WFIMC reaffirms its previous statement against general sanctions against all Russians and against discrimination and exclusion of individual artists by nationality. Especially during the war, we consider it important to maintain a dialogue with those who trust us and share our values, just as we trust them. “
President of the Federation Peter Paul Kainrat
Secretary General Florian Riem
For reference, the Federation was founded in 1957. Currently, its members are 120 leading music competitions and festivals, including such prestigious competitions as the Queen Elizabeth Competition (Belgium), the Frederic Chopin Competition (Poland), the Prague Spring Festival (Czech Republic), the International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Volodymyr Horowitz. (Ukraine) and others.
