Issue #587

11.11.11 - 17.11.11

Turkish pianist debuts in Tbilisi

Zeinef Uchbasharan, one of Turkey’s leading pianists, performed before his first Georgian audience November 5 at the grand concert hall of Tbilisi State Conservatory.

During the Mozart Evening, organized by the Turkish Embassy in Georgia, conductor Vakhtang Machavariani of the Turkish presidential symphony orchestra, conducted the program of Overtures from Don Giovanni; The Marriage of Figaro; The Magic Pipe and piano concert No 20 in D minor by Mozart. Turkish Ambassador Murat Burhan called the evening “an important step” in developing cultural relationships between Georgia and Turkey.

“Zeinef Uchbasharan is a very successful pianist from Turkey, while Vakhtang Machavariani is the great professional with a huge experience of working with Turkish musicians and not only. His grandfather was one of the first Georgian ambassadors in Ankara,” said Burhan. “So I think those two artists together is a good example of warm relationships between the two countries.”

Zeinef Uchbasharan, a noted Turkish artist was designated a “woman of distinction in the year 2003.” She is the recipient of the American Liszt Society Award. Uchbasharan has released CDs featuring the music of Liszt, Schubert, Mozart, Scarlatti, Beethoven, and various 20th century composers. She has given many concerts in Europe and the United States.

Uchbasharan recalled her Georgian debut with special emotion.

“I have heard much of how difficult it is to perform in front of Georgian audience. They are people with refined taste for music,” Uchbasharan said. “Though I felt at ease while playing on the stage, I felt their warm attitude, their involvement in the process. We created a positive mood together with the great director Vakhtang Machavariani and the orchestra. I took pleasure working with them.”

Despite the conductor‘s vast experience with Turkish musicians, Machavariani says it was the first time that he worked with a Turkish piano soloist. Because of lack of time the artists had only one rehearsal before the concert, for the second time they met on the stage an hour earlier before the concert.

“The situation was quite complicated. We had a little time to fit to each other and had to perform the work, Mozart piano concert N20, which everybody knows,” recalled Machavariani after the concert standing in the crowd massed behind the stage to congratulate the artists.

“Of course there were some difficulties that we had to overcome during the concert. I think we did our best to please the audience and give them those emotions they were expecting from the evening,” Machavariani added.

The audience appeared more than pleased. Zaal Abramia, 56, was standing in the last row on his tiptoes, applauding the artists and trying not to pass over any details or movements on the stage. He graduated from the institute for theater and film 30 years ago and said he traveled from the regions to attend.

“I turned out to be in Tbilisi for some reason. While walking in the street I passed by the poster,” Abramia said. “As soon as I saw it I felt it was what I needed after uninteresting, hard working days to regain the interest in everyday life.”

Still, there was one more obstacle for him as it was an invitation-only event. To achieve his goal Abramia didn‘t surrender to fate and without any invitation he succeeded to enter the building. Soon he was sitting among the other guests with the same expectation of getting pleasure that turned out to be justified.

By Mariam Sutidze

10.11.2011