By Heidi Trautmann

Months of work, lessons and exercises for hours, again and again to repeat a passage that does not come right yet, tears of despair, no time for friends, that is the normal day of a piano student…..but then comes the moment when they have to prove, when the budding musicians have to prove that all of it was worth it. Now, they still have their teacher at their side to encourage them when it means: Go on stage, it is your turn!

Rauf Kasimov and his piano students are for years now a phenomenon well known to us, under his hands talents are developing and growing up; he seems to be able to open up the students’ full potential. He has my admiration in this.

On 12 October we will be able to convince ourselves of the progress his students have made during the last year. The list of students starts with the youngest one, Suna Alsançak, who just had won a first prize in her age group in Bulgaria, continuing with Azra Say Ötün, Sonya Ben, Nursel Hançer, Helin Hersek, Gökçen Mertoğlu, Ilke Aslım, Batu Özgün, Onur Zaifoğlu, Yaroslaw Kwiatkowski, Miriam Marancos, Ipek Zorba, Erol Emmioğlu, Emine Husren.

Many of them we have applauded to during the last years’ concerts, some of them are on the threshold of adulthood and finishing their school education and having to think about their future. It is such a pleasure to see them grow up.

Let us look forward to this lovely concert, starting at 19.30; tickets of TL 20 are available at the Bellapais Office, Kybele Restaurant and at the Entrance.

Here is a photo of last year’s concert.