Brandt Competition

On April 3-5, 2026, in concert halls of Saratov Conservatoire auditions of the second and third rounds of the II All-Russian Willy Brandt competition of brass and percussion instruments performers took place. Auditions were opened to the public and broadcast online. The first, qualifying, round was held online (by video).
The competition traces its history back to 1996, when the first Trumpeters competition dedicated to Willy Brandt was held in Saratov under the Russian Ministry of Culture, International Guild of Trumpeters, General Consulate of Germany and regional government. The Chairman of the Jury was an outstanding trumpeter, the People’s Artist of Russia, Prof. Timofey A. Dokshizer. The initiator of the competition was Prof. of Saratov Conservatoire Anatoly D. Selyanin. The results of the event were summarized as follows: “The trumpeter competition has never been such a celebration of music!”
Since that time, the competition has significantly expanded the list of majors, invited to participate. Nowadays not only trumpeters, but all brass and percussion performers can take part in it. This year, 64 out of 80 applicants were allowed to participate in the second round.
The Jury was headed by Honoured Artist of Russia, soloist the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, the Head of Brass and Percussion Instruments Department of St. Petersburg Conservatory Dmitry A. Vorontzov. Among the Jury members were soloist of the Bolshoy Theater Fedor A. Shagov, Professors of Saratov Conservatoire Valentin I. Statnik, Anatoly D. Marienko, Assistant Professors Alexander P. Danilenko and Yury N. Dolgov. The program of the competition included master-classes of D.A. Vorontzov and F.A. Shagov.
According to the established tradition, “Brandt-Brass Ensemble” and Jury members performed on the Competition opening ceremony. The closing ceremony included performances of laureates. Eva Shagova, Nikolay Perekrest, Alexander Alikin, Daniil Alexin, Lev Volkov and Fedor Kiyashkin played for the audience.
Musicians from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Saratov, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Snezhinsk, Marks, Tula, Samara and other Russian cities as well as performers from China and Switzerland took part in the competition.