Following a series of performances playing the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano, Turkish pianist Can Cakmur was awarded 1st prize at the 10th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. In regard to his experience competing with the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX, Can shared, “The Shigeru Kawai touch is very comfortable – I just imagine the sounds I wish to make, and the piano almost plays itself.”
Watch Can’s winning program on the incomparable Shigeru Kawai SK-EX. Enjoy!
Stage I
Andante and Variations in F minor Hob. XVII-6, Joseph Haydn
Sonata in A minor K. 175 (L. 429), Domenico Scarlatti
Stage II
Out of Doors, Sz. 81, Bela Bartok
Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, Ludwig van Beethoven
Stage III
Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-flat Major, D960, Franz Schubert
Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Final Stage
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, S. 124, Franz Liszt
Award Ceremony
Polonaise-fantasie, Op. 61, Frederic Chopin
About the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX Concert Grand Piano
Unveiled in 2001 as the flagship instrument of the Shigeru Kawai line, the SK-EX concert grand piano is hand-crafted in limited numbers following a unique ‘prototyping’ creation process. In order to achieve the supreme range of expression required in a concert piano, each instrument utilizes a variety of carefully selected materials, with premium aged spruce soundboards. Shigeru Kawai instruments adopt the advanced Millennium III keyboard action, featuring extended wooden keys and advanced ABS Carbon action parts, providing superior speed and responsiveness than conventional wooden action parts, allowing pianists to express a greater range of feeling and emotion in their performance.