Today in the Sheraton Hotel was held a press conference dedicated to the opening of the II International Violin Competition of Vladimir Spivakov. It was attended by: Artistic Director of the Contest, People's Artist of the USSR Vladimir Spivakov, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Bashkortostan Amina Shafikova, Chairman of the jury Mikhail Kopelman (USA) and jury members - Boris Kushnir (Austria), Qian Zhou (Singapore), Takashi Simizu (Japan) and Sergei Dogadin (Russia), as well as representatives of the media.

The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Bashkortostan Amina Shafikova made a welcoming speech. She noted that a large-scale musical competition is held with the support of the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Ministry of Culture of the republic, Ufa city Administration, and with the assistance of a large number of like-minded people.

Amina Ivnievna introduced the jury members of the Contest, as well as a guest from New York, the outstanding violinist Julie Reed, who will stay in Ufa throughout the contest.

Maestro Vladimir Spivakov, in turn, thanked the Ministry of Culture of the republic for organizing a large-scale competition. He noted that the members of the jury were chosen by himself - the famous musicians, whom he knows personally and trusts their professionalism.

According to Maestro, the victory in this contest gives a powerful start in the musician's career.

"For me this competition is very important for many reasons, but the most important, perhaps, is that after the first contest, 7,5 thousand children came to music and began to study it. I believe that children should engage in music, not necessarily professionally - it is a comprehensive development for them anyway. We have done something more than just a music contest; I expect that some star will shine again. Because the start of Daniel Lozakovich, the winner of the first contest, is really cosmic", - Vladimir Spivakov emphasized.

The maestro spoke about the prizes that will be awarded to laureates of 1, 2 and 3 degrees.

"We have three incredible instruments - the work of the famous violin master of his time Riccardo Antonazzi of 1912. He is a very famous master, and the violin is in perfect condition. I am grateful to Julie Reed for helping me to find this violin and keeping it for our Contest. Also in the prize fund are the instruments made by Jules Grangjon (Paris, 1848) and Igor Ulitsky (Moscow, 2017). For participants who will become owners of these instruments, this would be a huge gift", - said Vladimir Teodorovich.

A guest from New York, violin master Julie Reed thanked for the invitation to take part in such a large-scale musical project.

"Thank you very much for the invitation, I am very glad to be in Ufa, here I am for the first time. Today I was lucky to visit the National Museum of Bashkiria and get acquainted with the history of your republic. Vladimir asked me to find a violin for him, and I found an excellent version of Antonazzi's work. I really postponed it, and kept it for your participants", - she noted.

A guest from Singapore, a member of the jury of the contest, Tsian Zhou said that she gladly agreed to participate in the project.

"It seems to me that in the 21st century any competition is an excellent opportunity to be heard, and it is also an opportunity to meet with professionals whose opinions and skills are worth their weight in gold. First of all, this is not politics, but art, for us the most important thing is for a new the generation of musicians grew like creative people and the performers began to see it. "

The Second International Violin Competition of V. Spivakov started today. Tomorrow, on September 18, in the small hall of the State Concert Hall "Bashkortostan", will begin competitive auditions.