The world’s first international music competition based on video recordings “Far East Cup”, 1996, Vladivostok, Russia. In 1996, when music competitions were held exclusively live, and the Internet and digital technologies were not widely available, Aleksander Shpak came up with an idea and organized the world’s first international music competition based on video recordings. This event was revolutionary and anticipated the emergence of remote music competitions, which have now become the norm. In 1996, Aleksander Shpak was a student at the Academy of Music in the Far East (Vladivostok, Russia), which is located thousands of kilometers from Europe. He dreamed of participating in international competitions, gaining experience from the world’s best masters. The opportunity to travel to international competitions was very limited and problematic due to the severe financial crisis in Russia. Since Aleksander was passionate about video filming and video editing, this led him to the idea of organizing a competition that would take place remotely, through video recordings! This gave musicians from remote regions, such as the Far East, the opportunity to connect with the international music world. Thus, the idea was born to invite participants to record their performance on a videotape and send it to the competition—for the first time in the history of music competitions. In 1996, there was no YouTube, widely accessible Internet, or digital platforms for video sharing. The only possible way to participate remotely was by recording a video on a cassette.
The competition was supported and organized by one family: Aleksander Shpak – author of the idea, organizer, producer, and co-creator (together with his wife) of the video collection based on the competition results; Elena Belashova (Aleksander’s wife) — secretary of the competition and co-organizer; Nina Shpak (Aleksander’s mother) — the main financial sponsor and spiritual mentor. The competition was a private initiative, but to obtain official legal status, Alexander Shpak reached an agreement with the Primorsky Krai Music Society, under whose legal auspices the competition was held. Before the start of the competition, A. Shpak and E. Belashova carried out serious preparation: the conditions were developed, postal mailings were sent out, and correspondence, applications, and videotapes were processed. The competition gathered many participants from Russia, China, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus (no entry fees were required). The organizers and the jury worked for free, except for a video equipment specialist. Video equipment at that time was very expensive, and renting the equipment was necessary for this format of a video-based competition. Participants independently recorded and sent videotapes, which in 1996 was expensive and technically challenging, but still, it was significantly cheaper than traveling to the competition, covering 8-9 thousand kilometers. The competition was held in the large hall of Music School No. 1 in Vladivostok, which provided the venue under an agreement with the Primorsky Krai Music Society. A television and VCR were installed. Host Elena Belashova announced the participants. Aleksander Shpak demonstrated the video recordings to the audience. The audience applauded as if the musicians were performing live. The jury consisted of professional musicians and professors. Winners were announced publicly, as in classical competitions. This approach made the competition as close as possible to a real competition, despite its remote format. After the competition ended, participants received diplomas, commemorative medals, and a video collection, which was prepared for all participants as a keepsake and for their further professional growth. The competition became a significant event and gained recognition. Different opinions emerged. Some people did not believe that a remote competition could be successful. Over the years, the format of remote competitions became popular, but in 1996, it was an innovation! This competition anticipated the emergence of online music competitions, which are now held worldwide. Today, many music competitions use a remote format – but in 1996, it was a revolution and an innovation. Now, cassettes have been replaced by Internet platforms (YouTube, Zoom, cloud storage), but the concept and principle of remote competition have remained the same. Important: This competition showed that music competitions can be accessible to everyone, regardless of geographic location and financial capabilities. Thus, Aleksander Shpak came up with and, together with his family, created the world’s first international music competition based on video recordings, which created a new form of distance competitions and laid the foundation for their further development.
