The XIII Vianna da Motta International Music Competition was completed with the prize giving ceremony on May 3, 1999 and The First Prize Winner was Amir Tebenikhin, a 21-year old from Kazakhstan. Mr. Tebenikhin received the Grand Prize from amongst 30 contestants representing 17 different countries that were chosen from over 80 applicants. The 6 prize winners performed their final concerto stage with The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Leon Gee. The competition also hosted 3 Honorary Observing Members of the press and the Foundation has received the following quotes on their reviews of the competition:

Amir Tebenikhin's performance of Prokofiev Concerto No. 3 allowed the young student
of the Moscow Conservatoire to indisputably top the competition...He has the ability to
make his piano sing.... This pianist really has soul.
--Orianne Nouailhac, Piano Le Magazine (France)

21-year old Amir Tebenikhinfrom Kazakhstanis a great talent with an exorbant technique and a rectilinear, highly inspired way of playing.
--Reinhard Schulz, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany)
The Foundation would like to give thanks to all of the contestants, jury members and The Cultural Institute of Macau for helping to produce another successful event in the rich history of The Vianna da Motta Competition.

Amir Tebenikhin was born in Kalingrad City in the Moscow region and has studied at The Baiseitova College and The Almaty Conservatory in Almaty, Karaganda. He currently studies at The Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Mikhail Voskresensky and has performed in concerts at Almaty Philharmonic Hall and with The Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra. Since winning First Prize in May 1999, Mr. Tebenikhin has performed the 3 debut recitals in New York, London and Paris (as part of his First Prize winnings), along with other concerts as listed below:

The Foundation is pleased to announce the return of The Vianna da Motta International Music Competition to Lisbon, Portugal for the next edition, XIV, which will take place in July 2001. All of the previous competitions were held in Lisbon before the competition located to the territory of Macau, Far East Asia for the last two editions, XII (1997) and XIII (1999). Watch for news in the next newsletter which will provide further detailed announcements of this forthcoming competition, including precise dates, deadlines and the issuance of the competition brochure.

The Newest CD Release: JILL LAWSON / MARIA ROSTOTSKY
Piano Works of Schumann. Bartók, Brahms and Ravel

It has been a busy year for the Foundation's CD label, VMF. We are proud to announce our 4th release of 1999, which is a combined recording by the 2nd and 3rd Prize Winners of The XII VDMIMC (1997). This recording was awarded to Jill Lawson (2nd Prize, nationality: Portugal) and Maria Rostotsky (3rd Prize, nationality: Sweden) as part of their prize winnings from the 12th edition of the competition. In March 1999, Ms. Lawson and Ms. Rostotsky traveled to Lawrence, Kansas, USA to record this CD at Swarthout Recital Hall at The University of Kansas. The CD was recorded on a KAWAI EX Piano, kindly provided courtesy of The Kawai Corporation. This debut CD recording of both artists consists of a varied repertoire with Ms. Lawson performing SCHUMANN Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13 and Ms. Rostotsky performing 3 shorter works, BARTOK Suite, Op. 14; BRAHMS Three Intermezzi, Op. 117 and RAVEL La Valse. This CD will serve as a fine addition to the growing catalog of recordings for the VMF label, which will continue to release recordings by Sequeira Costa and former and future prize winners of The Vianna da Motta Competitions.

COMING UP IN THE NEXT ISSUE:

• Detailed infommation regarding the upcoming XIV edition of The Vianna da Motta Intemational Music Competition in Lisbon, Portugal (July 2001)

• Information on 2 upcoming CD releases by Sequeira Costa: a re-release of an original SUPRAPHON recording of SCHUMANN Carnaval & RAVEL Gaspard de la Nuit (to be released on the VMF label); and a recording of piano works by Vianna da Motta, (to be released on the NAXOS label)

• News of recent activity, and critiques concerning the 3 debut recitals of XIII VDMIMC First Prize Winner Amir Tebenikhin

% Happy Holidays %

Until next time, Best Wishes from The Vianna da Motta International Music Foundation