190 Greetings Dear friends, fans of the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition, Here we are at the beginning of the 17th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. Sadly, we recently marked the 40th anniversary of the death, in 1982, of the great pianist Rubinstein. We usually hold the Competition once every three years, but in 2020 we had to postpone it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, there were still many restrictions on travel and gatherings. But our Artistic Director, Ariel Cohen, came up with a brilliant idea to hold a ”hybrid” event in which all the competitors who could not come to play their recitals in Israel due to the restrictions of the pandemic, played in special centers designated for this purpose in the USA, Great Britain, Germany and China. The Jury heard and watched each competitor live online. The last part of the Competition, namely the chamber and orchestral concerts, with the six finalists, took place in Israel in concert halls, as usual, subject to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on the number of participants. The hybrid method proved to be very successful and we were blessed with wonderful winners. We decided to go ahead this year, even though only two years have passed with the aim of returning to the original schedule, that is, three years from the Competition that was meant to be held in 2020. This time, it will be held in its usual format. All the competitors will come to Israel and we will be able to listen to them and see them as we have always done. Happily, it became clear during the screening of the candidates that the pianistic and artistic level is very high this year and therefore the screening committee decided to increase the number of competitors to 39. Thus, we expect an extraordinary level of performance which will please our friends and music lovers. Sincerely, Abraham ben-Naftali Chairman of the Board, the Arthur Rubinstein International Society
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