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KEMAL GEKIC Sunday, October 10 – 3:00 p.m. | Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center A native of Split, Croatia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, Kemal Gekic graduated in 1982 from the Art Academy of
Novi Sad with the highest mark ever awarded a diploma exam recital. He immediately accepted a teaching position at the Academy and eventually directed the piano department until 1999. In his school days, he won prizes at the Franz Liszt Competition in Parma, the Viana da Motta in Lisbon, and the Yugoslav Artists’ Competition in Zagreb. His highly individual, risk-taking performances made him a controversial figure at the 1985 Chopin Competition in Warsaw and again at the 1988 Montreal Competition. In both cases, his elimination by the jury precipitated an impassioned show of support from the audience and critics. His ability to touch listeners this way resulted in numerous concert invitations throughout Europe and Canada, and to parts of the former USSR and Japan-Southeast Rim. In his early thirties, Gekic stopped concertizing and entered a period of intensive study to deepen his connection to art and culture. His landmark recording for JVC of the complete Liszt Transcendental Etudes, ranked by many as the all-time best recording of that set, was released soon after. Another noteworthy recording, of Liszt-Rossini transcriptions for Naxos, earned a ‘Rosette’ from the Penguin Guide to Music. Currently being prepared for release by JVC in Japan is his recording of all the Chopin Etudes. Since 1999, Gekic has lived in Miami and is Artist-in-Residence at Florida International University. ALL-CHOPIN
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““Gekic offers nothing that is conventional or merely decorative, he is…a visceral player who invites visceral responses.” —Richard Dyer, Boston Globe |
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