CEM BABACAN
Pianist / Assistant Professor
ABOUT
Cem Babacan
Described as “a musician who has mastery over his instrument and an amazing interpretive power, despite his young age” by conductor Howard Griffiths in the Swedish press and as “an extraordinary performer, virtuosic and poetical” by Fazıl Say, Cem Babacan born in 1988. Gave his first recital at the International Serignan Piano Festival after being awarded the first prize at the Yves Nat International Piano Competition (France). He was then invited, in 2008, to a concert held in New York Steinway Hall and awarded the “Yamaha Scholarship Award” in the same year. After graduating from Hacettepe University State Conservatory with the highest academic degree in his department and faculty, he was admitted to the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and studied piano under Alexander Mndoyants and his assistant Ekaterina Mechetina. During his four-year education in the Conservatory and in the following years, he won the First Prize in all the competitions he took part in. Among these competitions are the Second National Kamuran Gündemir Piano Competition (2011), First National Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory Piano Competition (2012), and Gümüşlük International A.A. Saygun Piano Competition (2013).
The recital he gave in Tonhalle, Zurich, one of the most significant venues in Europe, in the spring of 2012 was met with wide acclaim, particularly from the Swedish press. Following this recital he was invited to Brandenburgsiches Staatsorchester (Germany) as a soloist and gave concerts. He graduated from Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory with the highest distinction, a “red diploma” in June 2012.
Babacan, performed as a soloist with different orchestras, including the Presidental Symphony Orchestra (Turkey), Bilkent Symphony, Ankara Youth Symphony , Eskişehir Municipality Symphony, Bursa Region State Smphony , Çukurova State Symphony, Antalya State Symphony, Karsiyaka Municipality Chamber Orchestra, Izmir State Symphony, Hacettepe University Symphony, Philarmonia Antalya, Orchestra Academic Baskent, Gazi Youth Chamber , Mersin Opera Orchestra under such conductors as Francesco La Vecchia, Alessandro Cedrone, Antonio Pirolli, Francesco Di Mauro, Raoul Grüneis, Rengim Gökmen, Burak Tüzün, Ibrahim Yazıcı, Alparslan Ertüngealp, Can Okan, Ender Sakpınar, Oğuzhan Kavruk.
Cem Babacan has performed at many prestigious concert halls and festivals such as London Steinway Hall, Moscow Conservatory Rachmaninov Hall, Small Hall and White Hall, 3. Region Concert Hall in Paris, Renens Municipality Concert Hall in Lausanne, Auditorium Assurances in Vendome, Festival Classics (Switzerland), Antalya International Piano Festival (Turkey) Gümüşlük International Music Festival (Turkey), IKSEV International İzmir Festival, KK Beethoven 250 and also performed together with the artists such as Celine Moinet, Rui Lopes, Ellen Jewett, Nikita Mndoyants, Başar Can Kıvrak, Gökhan Aybulus, Deniz Toygür and Nil Kocamangil.
In 2018, Babacan made the world premiere and the recordings of Cem Oslu’s Piano Concerto with İzmir Festival Orchestra and Ateş Pars’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Hacettepe Symphony Orchestra. In the same year, together with pianist Başar Can Kıvrak he also made
the Turkish premiere of Max Bruch’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra with the Presidental Symphony Orchestra.
The artist, currently teaches in İstanbul Maltepe University Conservatory and also the member of Keyboard Charitable Trust in London. He continues his career as soloist as well as with chamber music.
