APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR THE 1st STEPANOV INTERNATIONAL FLUTE COMPETITION!

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR 
THE 1st STEPANOV INTERNATIONAL FLUTE COMPETITION!

PROVISION
ON THE 1st STEPANOV INTERNATIONAL FLUTE COMPETITION

1. MAIN PROVISIONS
 
1.1 The 1st International Competition of Flute Players named after F.V. Stepanov is held in the specialty “The Art of Concert Performance on Orchestral Wind Instruments” and is aimed at support, development of performing skills and popularization of this specialty.
The competition is named after Fyodor Vasilyevich Stepanov, an outstanding flautist, the first Russian professor of wind instruments in Russia and the founder of the Russian school of flute playing.

1.2 The founder of the 1st International Stepanov Flute Competition is the N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory.

1.3 The compositions of the Organizing Committee and the Competition Directorate are formed by the founder.

1.4 The composition of the Competition Jury is formed and approved by the Competition Organizing Committee.

1.5 Aims and objectives of the Competition:
- Preservation and development of the best traditions of the domestic school of flute performance; 
- Identification, support and encouragement of gifted and promising young musicians; 
- Enhancement of professional skills, improvement of flutists' performing culture;
- Attracting attention and increasing the prestige of flutists' performance; 
- Exchange of creative and professional experience.
 

2. NOMINATIONS, TERMS
AND PROCEDURE OF THE COMPETITION

2.1 Competitive auditions are held in the specialty “Flute”.

2.2 The competition is held in two age groups:
- Junior group from 12 to 17 years old (inclusive). 
- Senior group from 18 to 30 years old (participation in the Senior Group of persons under 18 years old is allowed).
- The age of the participant is determined at the time of the opening of the in-person part (II round) of the competition - March 24, 2025. 
2.2 Competition auditions shall be held:
- Junior Group in two rounds: the I-st qualifying round is held in absentee format (by video recordings), the II-nd round - in-person from March 26 to 27, 2025 in St. Petersburg. (Participants of the younger group can attend all the competition events).
- Senior group in three rounds: the I-st qualifying round is held in absentee format (by video recordings), the II-nd and III-rd rounds - in person from March 24 to 30, 2025 in St. Petersburg.

2.3 Competitive auditions of the III-rd round shall be accompanied by a symphony orchestra.

2.4 At the end of the competition auditions, a final gala concert accompanied by a symphony orchestra will be held, in which the winners of the competition will take part.

2.5 The Organizing Committee provides concertmasters for rehearsals (free of charge 25 min. before each round). If additional rehearsal time is necessary, it is paid in accordance with the rates set by the administration of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. 
Concertmasters are provided free of charge for competition performances. Competition participants have the right to perform with their own accompanists. This information must be specified in the application form.

2.6 Schedule of the IInd and IIIrd rounds of the Competition:

3. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION
 
3.1 All participants of the competition are obliged to comply with the terms and conditions of these regulations.

3.2 Professional musicians-performers (students and graduates of secondary and higher professional music educational institutions) from Russia and other countries can take part in the competition.

3.3 The entry fee is 5000 rubles. The entry fee shall be paid before submitting documents for participation in the competition. The entry fee is non-refundable.

3.4 Foreign participants shall pay the entry fee in Yuan of the People's Republic of China at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on the day of transfer of funds to the account or in rubles upon arrival in the territory of the Russian Federation through the branches of PJSC “Sberbank of Russia”.

3.5 The entry fee does not include bank commission. The applicants for participation in the Competition shall independently pay for bank services for transfer of the entry fee.
3.6 All expenses related to the organization of video recording, travel, meals and accommodation of the contestants and accompanying persons shall be borne by the contestants themselves or at the expense of the sending organization.
 

4. SUBMISSION AND TERMS OF CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS

4.1 In order to participate in the competition it is necessary to send a package of documents (application form) to the e-mail address of the competition: flute@conservatory.ru  
4.2 The package of documents (application) to be sent to the contest includes:
1) a completed application form (Appendix No. 1) in two formats: a MicrosoftWord document and a scan of the completed application form with the participant's signature;
2) creative biography (resume) of the performer in Word format;
3) concert photo (1 piece) in high resolution;
4) a link to the contest video recording (see item 5 of these Regulations);
5) a receipt with a bank stamp on payment of the entry fee (or online payment receipt) (Appendix No. 2).

4.3 The deadline for submitting a package of documents (applications) for participation in the competition is from September 1 to December 10, 2024 inclusive.

4.4 Applications submitted later than the deadline will not be considered.

4.5 By sending photo and video materials to the Competition Organizing Committee, the participant automatically confirms his/her consent to the use of the materials by third parties (organizers, jury members, other participants of the Competition). 

4.6 Applications are processed by the Contest Organizing Committee and the contest videos are evaluated by the jury from December 11 to 25, 2024. 

4.7 The results of the 1st absentee round will be published no later than December 26, 2024 on the website of the St. Petersburg Conservatory  (https://conservatory.ru). 

4.8 The Organizing Committee undertakes to send notifications of the results of the absentee auditions to all participants of the 1st round and official invitations to the 2nd round within 3 days after the official announcement of the results on the Conservatory's website, i.e. not later than December 29, 2024.

5. REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITION VIDEO MATERIALS

5.1 The video recording must contain a performance of a piece from the first round of the Competition, as defined in clause 7 of these Regulations.

5.2 Videos must be easily accessible via links from the computer or other device of each Jury member, and must not require registration on the platform or downloading the video to view it. 

5.3 Access to the links is the responsibility of the contestant.

5.4 The video recording must ensure the identity of the performer: the contestant must be clearly visible full-length. At the very beginning of the video recording, the performer must clearly and distinctly announce the surname, first name, patronymic (if any) and the title of the work. Videotaping in “self mode” is prohibited.

5.5 The recording of works must be made in the concert hall or in a large classroom in concert clothes. 

5.6 All works of the 1st round shall be performed by heart.                                        

5.7 Video recordings of the live performance of the qualifying program are allowed to participate in the competition. 
Ist round. All three works of the first round may be recorded in different files. Gluing and editing within the works is prohibited.

5.8 Video recordings of poor quality, including recordings with a resolution of less than 720 pixels, are not allowed to participate.

5.9 Videos should be sent as a link to YouTube or to cloud services: Yandex.Disk, Google.Disk, Mail.Ru Cloud (publication of the number in social networks is not allowed). 
 

6. JURY AND SUMMARIZING THE RESULTS OF THE COMPETITION

6.1 The jury of the Competition is composed of leading Russian and foreign flutists.

6.2 Based on the results of absentee auditions of the 1st round no more than 25 participants in each group are allowed to participate in the 2nd round of the Competition.

6.3 Based on the results of the auditions of the II-th round, no more than 8 participants (senior group) are allowed to participate in the III-th round of the Competition.

6.4 The decision of the Jury is final and is not subject to review and appeal. Judicial intervention is excluded. Disputable scores are decided by voting between all members of the Jury.

6.5 The Jury has the right to:
1) not to award all prizes;
2) to divide the places between the participants who have scored the same number of points;
3) award special and additional diplomas and prizes.

6.6 Based on the results of the competition auditions, the following titles shall be awarded to the contestants:
- Contestant (a certificate is awarded to all contestants who have passed the 2nd round)
- Competition Diploma winner (all contestants who have passed to the IIIrd round are awarded with a diploma)
- Competition Laureate (winners of three degrees)

6.7 Cash prizes are awarded to the laureates in the amount of:

JUNIOR GROUP:
Laureate of the I degree: 100,000 rubles.
Laureate of the II degree: 75 000 rubles.
Laureate of the III degree: 50,000 rubles.
SENIOR GROUP:
Laureate of the I degree: 200 000 rubles + Prize named after. A.M.Vavilina (flute from “Atelier Goncharov”)
Laureate of the II degree: 150 000 rubles + memorable gift from the sponsor Laureate of the III degree: 100 000 rubles + memorable gift from the sponsor

Special prizes: 
- From sponsor Atelier Goncharova;
- performance at the Mariinsky Theater Festival;
- performance with the S.V. Rakhmaninov Academic Symphony Orchestra. S.V. Rachmaninov Academic Symphony Orchestra. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor - Alexey Morgunov (Tambov);
- from the Moscow Flute Center.

6.8 At the end of the competition auditions, the final gala concert of the Competition Laureates with the Symphony Orchestra will take place. 

7. COMPETITION PROGRAM

You can download the sheet music from the link: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/JTyEnVDP1oZw_g

Competition works of all rounds must be performed by heart.
Works of the I and II rounds must not be repeated.

JUNIOR GROUP:

I ROUND
(qualifying by video recordings)

1.    A work of the Baroque or Classicist era (without repetition in any version) of the participant's choice.

2.    A work of the Romanticism or XX century at the participant's choice.

II ROUND

1.    A work of the participant's choice:
- W. Mozart. Sonata in F Major, K. 13, Op. 3 No. 4
- W. Mozart. Sonata in C Major, K. 14, Op. 3 No. 5
- W. Mozart. Sonata in B flat major, K. 15, Op. 3 No. 6

2.    C. Pugni “Ballade” from the ballet “Pharaoh's Daughter” (arranged by C. Ciardi - F.V. Stepanov)

3.    Piece for flute and piano, specially written for the competition. (To be published at the end of Round I, no later than 26.12.2024. Performance by sheet music is possible).

SENIOR GROUP:

I ROUND
(qualifying by video recordings)

1.    G. Telemann. 12 Fantasias for flute solo (any fantasy of the performer's choice).

2.    N. Paganini. 24 Caprice for solo violin (arrangement for solo flute) (any caprice at the performer's choice).

II ROUND

1.    A work of the participant's choice:
- C.F.E. Bach. Sonata in E minor Wq. 124, H. 551
- C.F.E. Bach. Sonata in G major Wq. 86, H. 509
- J.-M. Leclair. Sonata in G Major op. 9, No. 7
- J.-M. Leclair. Sonata in E minor op. 9, No. 2 

2.    A work of the participant's choice:
- A. Eshpai. One of the “Three Pieces” for solo flute (1987) 
- S. Gubaidullina. Sonatina for flute solo (1978)
- А. Lurie. “Pan's Flute” for flute solo (1957)

3.    Piece for flute and piano, specially written for the competition. (To be published at the end of Round I, no later than 12/26/2024. Performance by sheet music is possible)

III ROUND

1. W. Mozart. Andante in C major, K.315

2. Helmer - Rainer Sinisalo. Concerto for flute and orchestra (1940).

If you have any questions, please write to the e-mail address: flute@conservatory.ru