12 January 2024

Next generation of piano superstars set to perform in Canberra this year

| Ian Bushnell
man and piano

Turkish musician Korkmaz Can Sağlam is known for thrilling, powerful, sensitive and emotion-filled performances. Photo: Piano+.

An exciting young Turkish musician who wowed the 2023 Sydney International Piano Competition is coming to Canberra this month.

Twenty-four-year-old Korkmaz Can Sağlam took out the People’s Choice Award, dazzling audiences with his dynamism, intensity and brilliant expressiveness.

He will perform music by Bach, Shostakovich, Chopin and Liszt at the Wesley Music Centre in Barton on 30 January at 7:30 pm, kicking off a national tour as part of the Piano+ 2024 Emerging Artists Recital Series, which shines a light on the future of classical music.

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Piano+ says Korkmaz Can epitomises the highest aspirations of the Sydney International Piano Competition with his thrilling, powerful, sensitive and emotion-filled performances.

He began his musical education at the Bilkent University, Music and Ballet Primary School in Ankara at the age of seven.

After studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music in the US, he received his bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School in New York.

He has performed in concert halls across the world, including New York, Salzburg, Paris, Nice, Brussels, Cleveland, Verona and Istanbul.

His first studio album, featuring works by Scriabin, Handel, Schubert and Rachmaninoff will be released by the Sono Luminus label in early 2024.

Also coming to Canberra later in the year as part of the Series is 19-year-old pianist Reuben Tsang, the second youngest competitor in the 2023 semi-finals.

He will perform on 25 March at the Wesley Music Centre.

Jeonghwan Kim, winner of both the First Prize and Eileen Joyce Best Overall Concerto Prize, will play in Canberra on 11 October at the Wesley Music Centre.

Piano+ is an exciting new company emerging from the almost 50-year-old Sydney International Piano Competition. It will nurture artists, offer further musical experiences annually and present the competition every three years.

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This year, it will also mount the International Recital Series in 2024, bringing four of the world’s piano superstars to Canberra to perform at the Snow Concert Hall.

Grammy-nominated Seoul pianist Joyce Yang, acclaimed for her superb musicianship and sheer joy, will perform on 14 May.

Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček – celebrated for his unique blend of power, lyricism and nuance – is set for 30 August.

Trailblazing British/Hungarian pianist Alexandra Dariescu, who demonstrates fearless curiosity and ground-breaking innovation in her work, will perform on 18 October.

Award-winning French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, one of the most engaging live performers of his generation and one of the world’s foremost exponents of Claude Debussy and Robert Schumann, will perform on 1 November.

Tickets for both Series are available from the Sydney Opera House.

Original Article published by Ian Bushnell on Riotact.

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