Saratov Conservatoire invites young pianists to take part in the competition

REGULATIONS OF VI BENDITSKY INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION

Saratov, February 20 – May 06, 2026

I. General information

1.1. The Regulations establish the order, terms, aims and tasks of the VI Benditsky International Piano Competition (hereby – the Competition).

1.2. The founders of the Competition are the Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of Saratov region.

1.3. Organizers of the Competition are Saratov State L.V. Sobinov Conservatoire and Saratov Regional Educational and Methodical Center.

1.4. Aims and tasks of the Competition:

• Development of international artistic relations;

• Supporting professional and artistic development of talented children and youth;

• Development of musical and pedagogical traditions of Russian and foreign piano performing schools;

• Development of teaching skills;

• Attracting attention of society to saving the artistic potential of Russia.

II. The order of the Competition

2.1. Contest period: February 20 – May 06, 2026

2.2. Participants of the Competition are pupils of children’s musical schools, schools of arts, special musical schools (hereby Schools) aged from 10 to 17; Students of Musical colleges (secondary professional level); Students of underground, master, postgraduate training courses and concert performers from any country under 30.

2.3. Auditions are held in 4 age groups:

I group (10 – 13 years old) – pupils of Musical schools and centers of additional education for children;

II group (14 – 17 years old) - pupils of Musical schools and centers of additional education for children;

III group – students of Musical colleges (secondary professional education)

IV group – students of higher educational level in the sphere of culture and arts and concert performers under 30 inclusively.

Age of participants is defined on the April 29, 2026.

2.4. The program of a participant should comply with the requirements set out in Annex I to the Regulations. All compositions should be performed by heart. Participants can’t change their program after sending the application.

2.5. The qualifying round of the Competition is held for all participants online (by video) from March, 1 to March, 15, 2026.

2.6. To apply, fill in the form by the link: https://forms.yandex.ru/u/68bac182e010dbb238d32373 before February 20, 2026 and attach following documents:

• application (see Annex 2) in Word or PDF. The document should be duly stamped and signed by the Head of the sending organization;

• scan copy of the birth certificate or passport (the main page and registration) in PDF;

• consent to processing personal data (see Annex 3, according to the age of a participant) in PDF;

• one colored photo (at least 2 Mb with the resolution 1300*1300)

• Video record of the qualifying round Program. Please, send the link to the Internet resource. Video should be signed with the name and surname of the participant and age group (For example: Benditsky Competition_Wang Li_the II group) .

2.7. For any additional information about the Competition, including information concerning the Program requirements contact the Organizing Committee by phone or e-mail.

2.8. Documents, photos and videos, sent to the Organizing Committee, are not returned.

2.9. The Organizing Committee has the right to reject an application before the beginning of competitive auditions, if it does not comply with the Regulations, informing the participant about this decision by e-mail, specified in the participant’s application.

The lack of necessary information or the provision of erroneous and/or unreliable information may be the reason for rejecting the application. The Organizing Committee does not correct errors in diplomas, caused by typos in application or registration data.

2.10. Participants, who successfully passed the qualifying round, will be informed about admission to the II round of the Competition not later than March 15, 2026. The second round will be held as public auditions in the concert Halls of Saratov State L.V. Sobinov Conservatoire on April 29 – May 06, 2026. The information will also be published on the websites of Saratov Conservatoire http://sarcons.ru/ and Saratov regional educational and methodical center соумц.рф.

2.11. Public auditions of the Competitions consist of one round for participants of the I and II groups, two rounds for the III group and three rounds for the IV group.
2.12. According to the Organizing Committee decision, the list of performers starts from the letter “B”, the first letter in surname of “Benditsky”, and follows the alphabet order. This order keeps till the end of the Competition.

2.13. No more than six participants of the IV group could be admitted for the III (final) round. The Academic symphony orchestra of Saratov A. Schnittke Philharmonic takes part in the final public auditions of the IV group participants.

2.14. Laureates of the Competition take part in the final concert in the Great Hall of Saratov L.V. Sobinov Conservatoire free of charge.

2.15. Jury members will hold master-classes within the frame of the Competition.

2.16. The Organizing Committee provides participants with free attendance of all competitive auditions and concerts, and schedules free acoustic rehearsals in the halls.

2.17. Foreign participants apply for visas in Russian Embassies and Consulates themselves.

III. Jury members of the Competition

3.1. The Organizing Committee defines Jury members for the qualifying round and Saratov Regional Educational and Methodical Center confirms it by the order.

3.2. For assessment of public auditions, the Organizing Committee in coordination with the Ministry of Culture of Saratov region invite well-known experienced musicians. The Jury members for public auditions are confirmed by the order of Saratov Conservatoire Rector.

3.3. Performances of participants are evaluated within 10 points system according the following criteria:

• Level of technical skills;

• Emotional and artistic interpretation;

• Persuasiveness of interpretation;

• Accordance of repertoire to age and individual characteristics of the performer;

• Artistry and stage culture;

• The degree of complexity of the program.

3.4. The Jury keeps the right:

• to stop the performance if it doesn’t follow the regulations;

• not to award all prizes;

• to share awards between performers or redistribute them among the winners of the same and different age groups;

• to award participants with the special prizes;

• to award Grand-Prix of the Competition.

3.5. Decision of the Jury members is formalized by the protocol of the Jury meeting; this decision is final and can’t be reviewed. The prize-winning places are determined by the open vote of the Jury members. In case of a tie, the decision is made by the Chairman of the Jury.

3.6. Winners of the Competition get diplomas, monetary prizes or valuable gifts. Monetary prizes are subject to tax according to Russian Federation Law.

3.7. Results, documents of the Competition and diplomas will be published on the website of Saratov regional educational and methodical center соумц.рф in the branch “Competitions” («Конкурсы») -> Benditsky international piano competition.

IV. Financial terms

4.1. The Competition is financed from federal and regional budgets.

4.2. Participants or the sending organizations pay travel expenses and accommodation expenses during the Competition themselves.

4.3. Saratov State L.V. Sobinov Conservatoire makes its own decision concerning participation fees. Participation fee should be paid before February 27, 2026. Payment confirmation (scanned copy of the receipt) should be timely sent to the Organizing Committee by e-mail benditsky_konkurs@mail.ru. with participant’s name written in the topic of the letter.

Detailed information about participation fee is available on the official website of Saratov Conservatoire http://sarcons.ru/ in the branch “Competitions”. Participation fee is not returned, if participant refuses to take part in the Competition.

V. The Organizing Committee

5.1. If the application does not follow these Regulations, the Organizing Committee has the right to reject an application before competitive auditions begin, informing the candidate about this decision.

5.2. The Organizing Committee keeps its right to record public auditions of the Competition and share it with radio, TV and the Internet. The Organizing Committee has an exclusive right to audio and video records and their sharing.

5.3. The Organizing Committee Contacts:

Saratov Regional Educational and Methodical Center.

Address: 410031, Saratov, Volga Street, 32

Website: соумц.рф

Phone: 8 (845 2) 44-80-60, 8 917 208 40 60, add. 306

(Erdzhany Gayane Eduardovna)

Saratov State L.V. Sobinov Conservatoire

Address: 410012, Saratov, Stolypin Av., 1

Website: sarcons.ru

5.4. On issues concerning program of the Competition contact

Professor of Saratov Conservatoire Piano Department Irina

Anatolievna Khrulkova by phone 8-905-326-16-49 or email:

irinahrulkova@mail.ru.

5.5. Official e-mail of the VI Benditsky International Piano Competition Organizing Committee: benditsky_konkurs@mail.ru.

General information