Jury
Alexander Tchaikovsky
Chair
Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
Yuri Bashmet
Muratbek Begaliev
Quan Do Hong
Felix Kruglikov
Tolegen Mukhamejanov
Borja Quintas
Alexander Radvilovich
Valery Voronov
Alexander Tchaikovsky
Russia
People’s Artist of Russia (2005)
Born in Moscow in 1946, Alexander Tchaikovsky graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1972, where he studied composition with Tikhon Khrennikov and piano with Heinrich Neuhaus and Lev Naumov. He completed his postgraduate training under Khrennikov. In 1985, he won First Prize at the International
Composition Competition at the Holibush Festival in New Jersey.
He is active as an educator and public figure in the music world, regularly giving masterclasses in the USA, Canada, Germany, and other countries, and serving on competition juries. He is the author of numerous critical articles in music journals and has served as composer-in-residence at the Bad Kissingen Summer Festival (Germany, 1988) and the Scotia Festival of Music (Canada, 1995).
Tchaikovsky has taught at the Moscow Conservatory since 1977, where he is now Professor and Head of the Composition Department (since 1997). A long-time member of the Union of Composers of the USSR and later Russia, he currently serves as Chairman.
In 2002, he founded the Young Academies of Russia music festival. He served as Professor and, from 2005 to 2008, as Rector of the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
Since 2003, he has been Artistic Director of the Moscow State Philharmonic.
Tchaikovsky has composed 15 operas—including Tsar Nikita and His Forty Daughters, The Three Musketeers, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Violist Danilov, The Chess King, and Yermak—as well as ballets (The Government Inspector, Battleship Potemkin, The Queen of Spades), oratorios, Russian Requiem, eight symphonies, musicals, instrumental concertos, chamber works, and music for film and theater.
He is a recipient of the Moscow City Prize, the Shostakovich International Prize, and the Russian Government Prize for Culture (2016). He has been awarded the Order of Friendship.
Yuri Bashmet
Russia
People’s Artist of the USSR. Laureate of the USSR State Prize and multiple Russian State Prizes.
Yuri Bashmet transformed the viola from a modest ensemble instrument into a brilliant solo voice. His artistry has vastly expanded the viola repertoire, with over 50 works written especially for him.
He was the first violist in history to present solo recitals in the world’s major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall (New York), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Barbican Hall (London), and the Berlin Philharmonie.
He has worked with many of the world’s greatest conductors, including Rafael Kubelík, Valery Gergiev, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Charles Dutoit, Kurt Masur, Kent Nagano, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov, and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
As both soloist and conductor, Bashmet performs with top orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston Symphony Orchestras.
He founded the first and only International Viola Competition in Moscow.
Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation (2022). Recipient of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland," 2nd, 3rd, and 4th classes. Bashmet also holds high honors from other countries, including Commander of the French Legion of Honor, the highest order of the Republic of Lithuania, and the title Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana.
He is Artistic Director of 15 festivals across 8 countries.
In 2012, Bashmet founded the All-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Since 1978, he has taught at the Moscow Conservatory, where he currently serves as Professor and Head of the Viola Department.
Valery Voronov
Belarus / Germany
Born in Moscow in 1970, Valery Voronov studied composition at the Belarusian State Academy of Music under Dmitry Smolski and at the Cologne University of Music with Krzysztof Meyer (composition) and Hans Ulrich Humpert (electronic music). He also attended masterclasses with Georg Katzer and George Crumb at Rheinsberg Castle.
He co-founded the avant-garde composers’ collective Resistance of Materials and is a laureate of international competitions held by the W. Richard Foundation (Germany), the Witold Lutosławski Competition (Warsaw), and the New Music Days seminar (Vienna). He lives and works in Berlin.
He was awarded a scholarship from the Tübingen Society for Contemporary Liturgical Music (2003), was composer-in-residence at the Festival of Nations (Germany, 2004), and received prizes at the Pythian Games (St. Petersburg, 2005, 2011), the Schiedmayer Celesta Prize (Stuttgart, 2009), and the Da Capo Prize of the 4th Brandenburg Biennale (2010).
His compositions include a symphony, instrumental concertos, orchestral, choral, vocal, and chamber music, as well as works for theatre and applied genres.
He has taken part in major contemporary music forums in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and France, and appeared at the Warsaw Autumn, Sound Ways (St. Petersburg), and the Yuri Bashmet Arts Festival in Moscow.
His music has been performed by Liana Isakadze, Yuri Bashmet, the Moscow Soloists, the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, eNsemble (St. Petersburg), the Svetlanov State Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Academic Orchestra, the Belarusian State Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Warsaw Philharmonic. Conductors include Justus Frantz, Reinbert de Leeuw, Nikolai Alexeev, and Fyodor Lednev.
Alexander Radvilovich
Russia
Born in 1955 in Leningrad, Alexander Radvilovich graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in 1978, where he studied composition with Sergei Slonimsky and orchestration with Boris Tishchenko. He later attended masterclasses with Witold Lutosławski, Brian Ferneyhough, Ton de Leeuw, Paul-Heinz Dittrich, and Louis Andriessen.
He is a prizewinner of composition competitions in Russia, Switzerland, and Germany; a recipient of the Saint Petersburg Government Prize in Literature and the Arts; and has been named "Teacher of the Year" in Arts and Culture by the Russian Ministry of Culture.
A member of the Union of Composers of Russia and Professor at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, he has led masterclasses in Russia, the UK, the US, Austria, Germany, Israel, and North Macedonia. He was the first Russian composer to teach at the Darmstadt Summer Courses.
He serves on juries of national and international composition competitions. A PhD in musicology, he is the author of the book The Instrumentation of Contemporary Music and several academic articles.
From 1989 to 2022, Radvilovich was founder and Artistic Director of the International Festival of New Music Sound Ways.
His works include four symphonies, four instrumental concertos, the opera Such Is Life based on texts by Daniil Kharms, The Passions of Judas (apocryphal texts), the dystopia Big Brother (texts by Orwell, Zamyatin, Huxley, and Hesse), Sinfonia Sacra for choir and ensemble, two cantatas—From the Time of Rurik (Old Russian and Scandinavian chronicles) and The Radiance of Darkness (poems by Tristan Tzara), Alpine Requiem for vocal quartet, percussion, and piano, Funeral-Triumphal Fanfares for orchestra, and narrated orchestral fairy tales, including The Legend of the Violinist, Incredible Stories, and The Galoshes of Fortune. His catalogue also includes chamber, vocal, and choral works.
Borja Quintas
Spain
Borja Quintas graduated as a pianist from the Royal Conservatory of Madrid under Joaquín Soriano and completed postgraduate studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Viktor Merzhanov. He also studied opera and symphonic conducting there with Vladimir Ponkin.
He has collaborated with numerous orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra and the State Symphony Orchestra “Novaya Rossiya.” He has worked with leading European opera houses and performed with renowned singers such as Plácido Domingo, Javier Camarena, María Bayo, and Alexander Vedernikov, as well as instrumentalists including Oxana Yablonskaya and Alexander Ramm. He has also conducted leading Spanish choral ensembles.
Quintas devotes particular attention to 20th- and 21st-century music. He has conducted several world premieres in partnership with ensembles such as Moscow’s Studio for New Music and continues to collaborate with contemporary composers.
He has performed across most European countries, as well as in Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and at the Vatican before Pope Benedict XVI.
For 12 years he served as Principal Conductor of the Soria Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted the Russian Opera Theatre in Moscow and led the Madrid State Children’s Choir until 2015
His recordings have been released by Naxos and Melomics Records.
He currently serves as Professor of Conducting at the Aragon State Conservatory and teaches at the Katarina Gurska Academy in Madrid. He is also Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra and Choir of World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid (JMJ), the Symphony Orchestra of the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM), and the University of Navarra Symphony Orchestra.
Quan Do Hong
Vietnam
Born in Hanoi in 1956 to a family of musicians, Do Hong Quan studied piano at the school affiliated with the Vietnam National Conservatory of Music. He graduated in composition from the Moscow Conservatory under Albert Leman (1981), where he also completed postgraduate studies in composition and conducting under Professor Leonid Nikolayev. He later pursued advanced training in both disciplines at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris.
He has served as Vice Chairman of the Central Council for Literature and Arts and was Chairman of the Vietnam Musicians’ Association (2005–2021). He currently heads the Union of Vietnamese Literature and Arts Associations.
Do Hong Quan has composed for theatre, symphonic and chamber ensembles, and choirs.
Among his best-known works are the opera Red Leaf, the ballets Memories of a Wild Time and The Moment of Immortality, Vietnamese Rhapsody, violin and piano concertos, the symphonic fantasy The Discovery of the Land, and many others. He also composes for film and has received national film festival awards.
He is a laureate of the State Music Prize and the State Prize for Literature and Art.
His music has been performed in Russia, the United States, Germany, France, Japan, China, Colombia, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
As a conductor, he has led the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, the Russian State Symphony Orchestra of Cinematography, the symphony orchestras of the Tashkent Opera Theatre, the National University of Colombia, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and the Hanoi Conservatory, among others.
He currently serves as Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.
Felix Kruglikov
Russia
Born in 1953, Felix Kruglikov graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory in 1973 with degrees in conducting (under Arvid Jansons and Ilya Musin) and composition (under Vladislav Uspensky).
In 1980 Leonard Bernstein selected him for a fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Center. In 1982 he became assistant conductor to Zubin Mehta at the New York Philharmonic, where he also substituted for Leonard Bernstein, conducting Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 in 1985, as well as stepping in for Klaus Tennstedt and Gennady Rozhdestvensky.
In 2004 he conducted the Russian premiere of Giya Kancheli’s Liturgy “Mourned by the Wind” in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, performing alongside Yuri Bashmet and the “Novaya Rossiya” State Symphony Orchestra.
Kruglikov now focuses intensively on composition. His Funeral Music, dedicated to the victims of the 2011 disaster in Japan, premiered at the 10 th Moscow Easter Festival (2011) with the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev.
In 2019 his cantata God Preserves All Things—set to texts by Anna Akhmatova, including excerpts from Poem Without a Hero, Requiem, and 1940s verse—premiered in Tbilisi and later at the Mariinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg.
In 2024 the same venue hosted the world premiere of Kruglikov’s cantata on poems by Marina Tsvetaeva. In 2025 his choral cycle White Nights, based on texts by Mandelstam, Pasternak, Akhmatova, Tyutchev, and Rilke, was premiered by soloists, choir, and the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra.
Tolegen Mukhamejanov
Kazakhstan
Laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Honored Artist of Kazakhstan.
Born in 1948 in the Semipalatinsk region, Tolegen Mukhamejanov graduated in composition from the Kurmangazy Kazakh State Conservatory in Almaty under Gaziza Zhubanova, and completed postgraduate studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexey Nikolaev.
His works include symphonies, the symphonic poem Makhambet, the opera Aldar Kose, and the rock opera Zher-Uiyk (“Promised Land”). He has also written musical comedies, choral and chamber music, film and theatre scores, romances, popular instrumental works, and songs performed by Alibek Dnishev, Roza Rymbayeva, Irina Ponarovskaya, Nurzhamal Ussenbayeva, Stas Piekha, Leonid Serebryannikov, and the group Na-Na.
He is also a poet and author of poetry collections, and a member of the international organization Poets of the World.
Mukhamejanov has taught at the Almaty Conservatory. In 1987, he was appointed Director of the Abai State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, and from 2012 to 2014, served as Director of the Astana Opera Theatre.
He is President of the International Public Fund “Congress of Spiritual Concord” and President of the International Association “Peace through Culture.”
He holds Kazakhstan’s Order of Parasat and Russia’s Order of Friendship.
Muratbek Begaliev
Kyrgyzstan
People’s Artist of the Kyrgyz Republic (1998), Laureate of the State Prize of the Kyrgyz Republic
Born in 1955, Muratbek Begaliev studied at the Republican Specialized Music School and graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1984, completing postgraduate studies under Mikhail Chulaki.
In 1991, he received a UNESCO scholarship and completed a one-year residency at the German Cultural Center. He won the Grand Prix at the 1983 International Young Composers Competition in Moscow for his symphonic poem The Last Day of Pompeii.
Begaliev is a leading figure in Kyrgyzstan’s contemporary composition school. His works include three symphonies, a symphony based on the Manas epic, orchestral, choral, and chamber music, scores for film and theatre, and numerous popular songs.
A special part of his career is his long-standing creative friendship with writer Chingiz Aitmatov. Several works were inspired by Aitmatov’s writings, including the dramatoria The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years, Nostalgia–Passacaglia for chamber orchestra, and Hymn to the Creator.
In 1993, on Begaliev’s initiative, Kyrgyzstan established its first National Conservatory, which he has led as Rector. Under his leadership, it has become a major center of musical culture in the country and Central Asia.
He is a founding member and board member of the Council of CIS Conservatory Rectors and serves as Chair of the International Association of Kyrgyz Composers, Performers, and Musicologists. He takes part in the TURKSOY Festival of Turkic Composers and has served on juries of numerous international competitions.
His awards include the Order of Manas, the CIS Interstate Prize Stars of the Commonwealth, the TÜRKSOY Gold Medal, the French Honorary Order for Artists, and the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
Azerbaijan
People’s Artist of Azerbaijan, Professor.
Born in Baku in 1947, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh graduated from the Baku State Conservatory as a pianist in 1970 and as a composer in 1972 She has taught at the Conservatory since 1976 and was appointed Professor of Contemporary Music and the History of Orchestral Styles in 1990.
As a pianist, she is recognized as a master interpreter of 20 th-century European and American composers, the Soviet avant-garde, and traditional Azerbaijani composers. Her international debut took place in 1976 with the Piano Sonata In Memoriam Alban Berg. In 1999 she became the first woman invited as Composer-in-Residence at the Internationale Musikwochen in Lucerne.
In 2000 she was awarded a fellowship by the Academy of Arts in Berlin, where she has primarily resided since. Ali-Zadeh’s catalogue includes solo, chamber, ensemble, and orchestral works, regularly performed on prestigious stages around the world. Her compositional style is defined by a unique fusion of Azerbaijani musical traditions and contemporary Western techniques.
She has collaborated extensively with the Kronos Quartet, resulting in the release of a dedicated album featuring her works.
Among the leading performers of her music were Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Evelyn Glennie, Ivan Monighetti, David Geringas, Julius Berger, Wu Man, and Hilary Hahn.
In 2019 she was awarded the Aga Khan Music Award. Her 75th anniversary was celebrated internationally—from the United States to Denmark and Norway—with music festivals and academic conferences dedicated to exploring her distinctive compositional voice.
Her opera Intizar, centered on the tragic events in Karabakh, has been part of the repertoire of the Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theatre since 2007 Franghiz Ali-Zadeh is a corresponding member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Chair of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan, Artistic Director of several international music festivals, and a jury chair for international competitions in the United States, Germany, and Turkey. She was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2008 She is the recipient of many national honors, including the Ugur (“Success Award”) and Zirve (“Top Prize”) awards.
Born in Baku in 1947, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh graduated from the Baku State Conservatory as a pianist in 1970 and as a composer in 1972 She has taught at the Conservatory since 1976 and was appointed Professor of Contemporary Music and the History of Orchestral Styles in 1990.
As a pianist, she is recognized as a master interpreter of 20 th-century European and American composers, the Soviet avant-garde, and traditional Azerbaijani composers. Her international debut took place in 1976 with the Piano Sonata In Memoriam Alban Berg. In 1999 she became the first woman invited as Composer-in-Residence at the Internationale Musikwochen in Lucerne.
In 2000 she was awarded a fellowship by the Academy of Arts in Berlin, where she has primarily resided since. Ali-Zadeh’s catalogue includes solo, chamber, ensemble, and orchestral works, regularly performed on prestigious stages around the world. Her compositional style is defined by a unique fusion of Azerbaijani musical traditions and contemporary Western techniques.
She has collaborated extensively with the Kronos Quartet, resulting in the release of a dedicated album featuring her works.
Among the leading performers of her music were Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Evelyn Glennie, Ivan Monighetti, David Geringas, Julius Berger, Wu Man, and Hilary Hahn.
In 2019 she was awarded the Aga Khan Music Award. Her 75th anniversary was celebrated internationally—from the United States to Denmark and Norway—with music festivals and academic conferences dedicated to exploring her distinctive compositional voice.
Her opera Intizar, centered on the tragic events in Karabakh, has been part of the repertoire of the Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theatre since 2007 Franghiz Ali-Zadeh is a corresponding member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Chair of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan, Artistic Director of several international music festivals, and a jury chair for international competitions in the United States, Germany, and Turkey. She was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2008 She is the recipient of many national honors, including the Ugur (“Success Award”) and Zirve (“Top Prize”) awards.