Ten days ago, local audiences had a rare treat, as a major event in the world of classical music brought not one or two, but a whole constellation of stellar artists to Ankara for the ICMA Award Ceremony and Gala Concert. Hosted by the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra and conductor Işın Metin, the event took place on Saturday, March 28 at the Bilkent Concert Hall. Itself the recipient of a “Special Achievement Award” from the ICMA, the BSO accompanied other award winners in the concert portion of the event.
The International Classical Music Awards (IMCA) are given annually to artists from around the world, selected by a 16-member jury of leading music writers from a number of countries; the award ceremony is held in a different city each year. During this year’s ceremony, ICMA President Remy Franck presented awards to musicians and ensembles including Dmitrij Kitajenko, Christian Tetzlaff, Yury Revich, Jodie Devos, Evgeny Koroliov, Xiao-Mei Zhu, Adam Fischer, Wu Wei, John Holloway, the Seoul Philharmonic and the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra as well as BIS Records CEO Robert von Bahr.
Following the ceremony, the gala concert took place at the Bilkent Concert Hall. The concert opened with three solo performances, the first two by pianists: Zhu Xiao-Mei played the Aria from Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” and Evgeni Koroliov, the Andantino from Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A major, D. 959. Next, the virtuoso Chinese sheng player Wu Wei fascinated the audience with a “Dragon Dance.”
The BSO then took the stage, and conductor Adam Fischer summoned Mozart’s spirit into the hall with the overture from the composer’s “Le Nozze di Figaro.” Belgian soprano Jodie Devos, the “Young Artist of the Year” in the vocal category, displayed a ravishing tone in arias by Delibes and Bernstein, while the Young Artist in the instrumental category, Yury Revich, provided a stunning violin solo in Sarasate’s “Carmen Fantasy.”
Conductor Alexander Liebreich brought great power and intensity to the Intrada from Witold Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra, and violinist Alexander Sitkovetzky offered a moving performance in Andrzej Panufnik’s Violin Concerto. Yet another violinist, “Artist of the Year” Christian Tetzlaff, was both energetic and lyrical in the Finale of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Finally, Lifetime Achievement Award winner Dmitrij Kitajenko conducted the BSO in an enchanting rendition of music from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and “Nutcracker” ballet scores.