‘The King of the Keyboard’ to play at international music festival

The sixth International Şefika Kutluer Festival will run until Dec. 22 with the theme "East Meets West." As a part of the festival, Kutluer, a pianist, will share the stage with Stephane Blet who achieved fame as the "King of the Keyboard." The duo will perform a large repertoire with various examples that range from classical music to jazz. Blet, who is also the creator of the "Leyla Gencer Award," has composed about 300 pieces including two concertos, compositions for violin, sonatas for violin and piano and 12 Turkish rhapsodies. To honor his achievements and contributions in Turkish music, the government awarded him a medal in 1996. Blet caused a stir in the music industry by adapting Liszt's unforgettable "Faust Symphony" to piano, and marked people's memories with his unforgettable "Liszt Marathon."

After winning the ACEG Award for "Pianist of the Year" in 2007, Blet dedicated most of his time to teaching. He gave music lessons at Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris between 2001 and 2008, and offered master classes around the world. He also wrote articles on Chopin and Mazurka, and authored 12 studies on musicology.

When: Dec. 10
Where: MEB Sura Hall, Ankara