Can it really be four years since the last International Tchaikovsky Competition, when I listened to six cellists in three days play his Rococo Variations in St Petersburg? Yes it is, and here I am again, this time in Moscow, to hear the composer’s Violin Concerto six times in three days of finals.
First, though, I was asked to do a mini interview about the competition for the Ukrainian TV channel Kultura. The fact that I hadn’t heard anything yet was not considered an obstacle. I then proceeded to the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall for the first night of the final round (25 June). This is a splendid hall, and very white.