The Eurasian Stars International Piano Competition marked its return to Kazakhstan in 2023, celebrating its fifth edition by returning to Astana, the city where its journey started way back in 2017.
Taking place from April 25th to April 28th, this fifth iteration of Eurasian Stars welcomed talented young pianists from around the world to compete for a prize fund of €15,000, as well as the chance to win entry into the invite-only Classic Piano International Competition that will be held in Dubai in 2024.
The competition was once again hosted on the grounds of the Kazakh National University of Arts, with applicants presenting a wide range of compositions from within the classical oeuvre, including a contemporary piece from Composer-In-Residence Alexey Shor. An esteemed jury panel consisting of Gülsin Onay (Turkey), Sara Assabayeva (Kazakhstan), Gulzhamilya Kadyrbekova (Kazakhstan), and Nikita Mndoyants oversaw the performances during the contest’s two rounds, with many of them going on to remark on the high level of talent displayed by the entrants at this year’s event.
Assabayeva, for instance, noted that ”the high level of participants was especially noteworthy, and the use of a specially written composition as a mandatory work allowed the performers to offer their own individual interpretations, which is always very informative. The music of Alexey Shor’s sonata is permeated with melodism; it is a single harmonious canvas, revelling in a grandiose culmination and with a poetry of musical thought that is favourable for the perception of listeners, as the composer speaks deeply and sensitively to the human soul.”
Kadyrbekova, her colleague on the panel, made similar observations regarding the repertoire, stating that “the programme was assembled in such a way as to reveal different sides of the competitors’ creative individuality as well as personality, and it also included a contemporary piece with a lot of interesting aspects. It is not an easy work, but one that needs to be understood, disclosed and conveyed. The sound palette is richly coloured, and it forces one to listen. It’s amazing, like a reflection of the human soul, and it requires a mature attitude to life. It was an excellent choice for such a competition, and I believe it deserves to be performed on a world stage and deserves a place within the piano repertoire.”
After the end of the Final Round, which saw performances from eight different finalists, the jurors delivered their verdict, with Salih Can Gevrek being named as the First Prize winner, Mark Vaza taking second place, and Mikhail Kan winning the award for Third Prize. The trio split the €15,000 prize fund between them, with Can Gevrek taking home €7,000, Vaza €5,000, and Kan €3,000.
In addition, all three prize winners, along with the fourth and fifth placed contestants, also won the right to take part in the Classic Piano International Competition, where there will be a groundbreaking total prize fund of €250,000 awaiting the most accomplished amongst them. This is due to the fact that this year’s Eurasian Stars competition was also part of the ‘14 Ways to Dubai’ initiative, a globe-spanning project made up of 14 pre-selection contests hosted in different countries, with the five top-ranked pianists from each stage winning entry to Classic Piano 2024, set to be organised under the auspices of the InClassica International Music Festival.
Speaking after the competition ended, First Prize awardee Can Gevrek said that “I had a very special experience in Astana in this prestigious competition with very high level artists. I am extremely grateful to receive the First Prize which gave me confidence that there are audiences that like to listen to my performances! I put a lot of thought into my programme choices as I wanted to show many different facets of my personality and give the listener a structured programme. I really liked the Shor piece because I very much appreciate it when I hear new music written with a tonal, melodic approach. I think there are infinite possibilities to discover as a composer regarding tonal music. It only depends on one's creativity, and I very much enjoyed this new work; I think it has a great range of expressions, characters and connections between those elements which unifies the sonata in a very unique way, and is extremely well written for the instrument, always conveying different stories, pictures and characters. It is wonderful to perform on stage and the audience also never loses interest, so I will perform it in my concerts for sure!”
Onay, one of the juror’s at this year’s event, also had her say regarding the contest’s programme, declaring that “it’s a very good idea to have contemporary pieces included, both for the composers, who need to get their works to different people with different voices, and also for, the competition participants, the pianists, who get to show their creativity with a relatively new piece like this because they’ve never heard it before so it’s all themselves and that’s very important, it makes a big difference. And this work by Shor was a great choice I think, it is like a bridge from the classical to the contemporary. It has very very rich colours and is very beautiful, I really like it very much”.
Aiman Mussakhajayeva, the Rector of the Kazakh National University of Arts
Ultimately, it was Aiman Mussakhajayeva, the Rector of the Kazakh National University of Arts, who had the final say on Eurasian Stars 2023. As one of the people who have been most closely involved in the organisation and management of this event, Mussakhajayeva naturally holds the competition very close to her heart, and noted in one of her speeches that, “Eurasian Stars provides a platform for talented young pianists from all over the world to showcase their skills and abilities, giving many the chance to mark their professional debuts. As with every iteration, I am sure that this 2023 edition has been the source of unforgettable memories, invaluable professional advice, and new friends and colleagues, and it is my sincere hope that this event may continue to return again and again for countless years to come, for the benefit of all our young pianists as well as our art form itself!”
