The 7th Competition Laureates (l.-r.) G. Tomassi; S. Pedroni; I. Itin; R.-B. Chen; Y. Kasman; M. Philippov International Jury: Marcello Abbado (Italy); Dmitri Bashkirov (Russia); Joseph Banowetz (USA); Jose de Sequeira Costa (Portugal); Dean Elder (USA); Noel do Carmo Flores (Austria); John Lill (UK); Hiroko Nakamura (Japan), Pnina Salzman (Israel); Joaquin Soriano (Spain); Valentin Gheorghiu (Romania); Arie Vardi (Israel); Prof. Tzvi Avni, Chairman (Israel). Laureates and Prizes: First Prize: Giorgia Tomassi , Italy - The Arthur Rubinstein Award, Gold Medal and $10,000. "The Audience Prize" $ 3,000 - sponsored by "Yediot Aharonot" (daily press). Programme performed: Mozart - Sonata in C Major, K 330; Chopin - Etude in C Major, op.10, no.1; Liszt - Transcendental Etude no.7 in E flat Major (Eroica); Scriabin - Etude in C sharp Minor, op.42, no.5; Rachmaninoff - Sonata in B flat Minor, op.36 (1931); Bach - Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, WTC II; Gideon Klein - Sonata for Piano (1943): movement I; Scriabin - Fantasy in B Minor, op.28; Brahms - Variations on a theme by Paganini, op.35 (Books I and II); Beethoven - Sonata in D Minor, op.31, no.2; Liszt - Sonata in B Minor; Faure - Piano Quartet in G Minor, op.45; Beethoven - Concerto no.1 in C Minor, op.15; Rachmaninoff - Concerto no.3 in D Minor, op.30. The Competition Management assured the First Laureate additional prizes: a large schedule of over 50 concert and recital appearances worldwide, among them: USA tournee - 15 concerts with orchestra; Japan - 8 concerts, sponsored by the Yamaha Corporation; Israel with the Israel Chamber Orchestra under Shlomo Mintz; Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland. Second Prize: Simone Pedroni, Italy - Silver Medal and $ 5,000. The Chopin Magazine (Tokyo) Prize - $ 3,000 for the best rendition of chamber music. Giorgia Tomassi and Simone Pedroni Third Prize: Ilya Itin, Russia - Bronze Medal and $ 3,000. Fourth Prize: Ruei-Bin Chen, Austria - $ 1,000. Fifth Prize: Yakov Kasman and Maxim Philippov - both from Russia - Joint award - $ 1,000 each. The Kawai Company Prize - an upright piano - for best interpretation of Gideon Klein’s "Sonata" was awarded to Richard Ormrod (UK). Tal Weissman and Alon Goldstein were jointly awarded the prize: "Outstanding Israeli Competitor". The initial announcement (1990) of the 7th Competition was followed by enquiries from 900 pianists (35 countries); of these, 140 (25 countries) completed official application forms. The Screening Committee selected 52 pianists (16 countries), specifically recommended by prominent figures in international music. Forty pianists arrived in Tel Aviv to compete for the Arthur Rubinstein Award. The judges, critics, reporters, and audiences concurred that the accomplishments demonstrated by competitors who reached Stage III (chamber music and recitals) surpassed the average "Podiumreife". The Arthur Rubinstein Orchestra (Lodz) with conductor Ilya Stupel participated in the semi-final and final stages of the contest, as well as in the Laureates Gala Concert and Prize Distribution Ceremony before an audience of 3000 devotees who brought the Competition to a rousing finale in Jerusalem. The President of the State of Israel, and Mme Aniela Rubinstein, Honorary President of the Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society, distributed the prizes in the presence of distinguished official guests and numerous visitors from across the globe. The international media centered its attention on the 7th Competition for almost two weeks, and the Mann Auditorium was packed to the rafters while the audience waited until the early hours for the Jury to announce its decision. All stages of the contest were broadcast live on "Voice of Music"; TV showings were widely relayed. Yamaha Corporation’s goodwill ensured individual practice pianos through the generous services of Yamaha’s Tel Aviv representatives. An upright piano was available in each competitor’s hotel room. In keeping with their tradition, the world renowned piano manufacturers, Steinway & Sons, Yamaha Corporation and Kawai Company made available their superior concert grand instruments and expert maintenance technicians during all stages of the Competition.

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