This is one of a series of concerts of piano variations that is being mounted jointly by Beşiktaş Municipality and Artisan Organizasyon. On this occasion pianist Cem Babacan, currently on the teaching staff of Istanbul Maltepe University Conservatory and a member of the Keyboard Charitable Trust foundation in London, is to play the Variations for the Healing of Arinushka, written in 1977 by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (1935-); Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C minor, dating from 1806; the 1946 Theme and Seven Variations by the Turkish composer Bülent Arel (1919-1990); César Franck’s Prelude, Fugue and Variation in B minor, Opus 18, written for organ between 1860 and 1862 and arranged for piano by Harold Bauer; and Tchaikovsky’s 1873 Theme and Variations in F major, Opus 19 No 6.
An (unsigned) article on the Çukurova University website has this to say about Cem Babacan’s musical career: ‘Cem Babacan was born in Ankara in 1988. After winning first prize at the Yves Nat International Piano Competition (France) in 2007, he gave his first recital in Europe at the International Serignan Piano Festival. In 2008, upon invitation, he took part in a concert held at New York Steinway Hall. Babacan, who also won the Yamaha Scholarship Award that same year, completed his education at the Hacettepe University State Conservatory as first in his department and faculty, and then continued his piano education at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Alexander Mndoyants and his assistant Ekaterina Mechetina. During the 4-year education he received here, he won first prize in all the competitions he entered.’
Issue 67, December 2024
Beauty in the Wilderness
