'Kazakh Mozart' stuns at gala concert in Beijing
SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and Assistant Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Zhang Hanhui made opening speeches. After that, eight pianists of the Shanghai Eight countries, who gave their solo concerts at the SCO Headquarters from September 2017 to May 2018, demonstrated their art to the audience: Talgat Arakeyev of Kyrgyzstan, Madina Fayzieva of Uzbekistan, Nikhil Sardana of India, Varvara Kutuzova of Russia, Shahbaz Abdullah of Pakistan, Jannat Khuseynzoda of Tajikistan, and Tian Jiaxin of China.
Kazakhstan was represented by Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin, a young Kazakh composer and pianist, one of the winners of "100 New Faces of Kazakhstan" project. He performed Nocturne in C Sharp Minor No. 20 by Frederic Chopin and his own composition The Lament of a Migrating Bird (based on the same-name story of Chingiz Aitmatov).
"This concert is of utmost peacekeeping and unifying importance just as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It goes without saying that art plays an enormous role in the rapprochement of cultures and peoples," Rakhat-Bi Abdyssagin told Kazinform correspondent.
It is to be recalled that the talented composer and pianist, a graduate of the Kazakh National Conservatory and Accademia Musicale Santa Cecilia di Bergamo, was awarded the Grand Prix of the International Piano Festival in Prague when he was only 11 years old.
The gala concert concluded the Nine Magic Notes cycle of eight chamber music evenings held within the framework of the "SCO Is Our Common Home" Program at the SCO Headquarters.
