A large number of prestigious competitions are held in St. Petersburg. Our city, its history,
unique architecture, and cultural traditions are aimed at a beautiful, sublime future. One
of the leitmotifs of this St. Petersburg symphony was the competition for young pianists,
which gave a start in the world of art to many famous musicians, such as Miroslav
Kultyshev, Alexander Lubyantsev, Andrey Korobeynikov, Lukas Genyushas, Alexander
Mutuzkin, and Sergey Redkin, Valentin Malinin, and Timofey Kalmykov.
The founders came to a single conclusion: to preserve the high level of the Russian piano
school, its traditions, and to give a real young talent the opportunity to demonstrate their
artistic abilities.
Over the years, the International Competition for Young Pianists "Step to Mastery" has
not only successfully helped to identify talented performers and provided them with the
opportunity to perform in the best concert halls of Russia and Europe, but also became a
new "step" in the organization of creative competition.
At the origins of the competition were the teachers and graduates of the school.
The chairman of the jury, People's Artist of Russia, professor of the St. Petersburg
Conservatory Ekaterina Murina, made an invaluable contribution into the organization of
jury's work in the past twelve competitions.
The jury in different years included representatives from Italy, Argentina, Austria,
Germany, Poland, Lithuania, China, France, Serbia, South Korea and Australia.
High level of performance skills of the participants, objectivity and impartiality in assessing
their performances by the jury, clear organization of the events, friendly attitude and warm
welcome of the participants and guests of the competition were noted by the observers
of the European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY). On their
recommendation, in 2000, the competition "Step to Mastery" (first of the Russian
competitions) was accepted into EMCY.
In the first competition 43 representatives from five European countries took part, but
already after the tenth, the number of participants exceeded 1.000 young musicians from
30 different countries. What attracts young pianists to participate in the “Step to Mastery”,
many of whom are already laureates of national and international competitions. First of
all, is the high rating of the competition and, of course, the desire to perform in the final
round with the Academic Symphony Orchestra in the Grand Hall of the Saint Petersburg
Academic Philharmonia. Online internet broadcast of all auditions gives the music
community an excellent opportunity to compare and evaluate achievements of various
piano schools of the world.
At the EMCY General Assemblies, the "Step to Mastery" competition has repeatedly been
noted as the most successful European piano competition for young people. Participants
from 19 countries, including Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Canada, China, Korea, Costa
Rica, Taiwan, Turkey, Croatia, Switzerland and Russia, have passed to the first round of
the 12th International Competition "Step to Mastery".
Санкт-Петербургская детская школа искусств имени Ю.Х. Темирканова является соискателем за право носить имя великого мастера, дирижёра мировой величины Юрия Темирканова, и было бы символично посвятить Международный конкурс юных пианистов «Ступень к мастерству» его памяти.
There is no doubt that the young participants of the 13th competition will demonstrate the
highest level of performing skills, passion and devoted love for their chosen work, thereby
creating an atmosphere of a great piano festival, the final chord of which will sound within
the walls of his native Philharmonia of Yuri Temirkanov.
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