in the 1920s, it became a tradition for musicians to gather and perform at the house on may 7 each year to commemorate tchaikovsky's birthday. noted pianists, including vladimir horowitz, were given the privilege of playing tchaikovsky's grand piano in his salon. beginning in 1958, winners of the annual international tchaikovsky competition, including van cliburn (1958), mikhail pletnev (1978) and boris berezovsky (1990), were also invited to come to klin to play his piano. musicians from the competition began a tradition of planting oak trees in the garden.