FIU Orchestral Masterworks Finale: Beethoven’s 'Emperor' with Kemal Gekic

The FIU Symphony Orchestra, under the masterful direction of Javier Jose Mendoza, presents an evening of monumental works in their final concert of the season. The program opens with Barber's lively "Overture to The School for Scandal," a piece brimming with wit and energy. Afterwards, the orchestra will perform Shostakovich's 9th Symphony, and the concert will close with extraordinary pianist and FIU Artist-in-Residence Kemal Gekic will take to the stage, performing Beethoven's majestic "Emperor Piano Concerto," celebrated for its grandeur and virtuosic demands.

Join us for an evening that celebrates the enduring genius of Beethoven, Barber, and Copland, featuring performances that will resonate long after the final note!

About Kemal Gekic, Piano

Flamboyant, daring, provocative, exciting, seductive and sensitive are some of the words used to describe one of today’s most formidable pianists, Kemal Gekic, whose playing has been acclaimed worldwide by public and critics alike. His daring approach to tone and form, marked him as a maverick in the musical world, a distinction he welcomes: the very strength of his artistry challenges, provokes, intrigues. “Gekic rides the charismatic edge of genious” R. Dyer, Boston Globe “He is something like a general who has learned all the rules in the book and is therefore free to ignore them in the time of war” James Roos, Miami Herald “His playing is transcendental as well as incandescent” John Ardoin, Dallas Morning News]
Performing worldwide from a vast repertoire, Kemal Gekic presents fascinating, uncompromising and ever-changing interpretations , always generating frenzied audience enthusiasm. As a recording artist, Kemal Gekic has won accolades in Europe, America and Japan for insightful, original views of the music. His outstanding Rossini-Liszt transcriptions (Naxos) won “The Rosette” of The Penguin Guide for Music, while his recording of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes (JVC) is generally considered to be the best recording of a set in history. Born is Split, Croatia, Kemal Gekic got his early training from Prof. Lorenza Baturina. He graduated the class of Prof.Jokuthon Mihailovic at the Art Academy of Novi Sad and was immediately given a faculty appointment by the piano department which he eventually directed until 1999. Since 1999 he has been Artist in Residence at the Florida International University Wertheim School of Music.

Programs on his life and his performances have been broadcast by RAI Italy, TV Portugal, TV Yugoslavia, NHK Japan, POLTEL Poland, RTV Lower Saxony West Germany, RTV USSR, Intervision, CBC and PBS.
Mr. Gekic performs regularly in the United States, South America, Europe and Asia and most recently he has appeared as a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic, Warsaw Symphony and NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan and performed several recitals in different countries.Kemal Gekic is also a representative of the Miami International Piano Festival worldwide.

Host or Publisher FIU Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music