Tickling the Ivories at the Miami International Piano Festival

The renowned Miami International Piano Festival, upended by the pandemic as most things were, is back and ready to enthrall audiences once again.

The kickoff concert was held in mid-October, but the season’s “Classical Sundays at Five” performances at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center through March 2022 begin this month with Kemal Gekić Nov. 21 at 5 p.m.

Flamboyant, daring, provocative, exciting, seductive and sensitive are some of the words used to describe Gekić, and his playing has been acclaimed worldwide by audiences and critics alike.

“Gekić rides the charismatic edge of genius,” said R. Dyer of The Boston Globe.

Gekić is a Croatian-born concert pianist who was a child prodigy prior to winning piano competitions worldwide and touring internationally. Idolized in Japan, his performances are frequently televised in that country. His 15 solo albums include five concerts recorded live. Gekić relocated to Miami in 1999 to become professor of piano and artist-in-residence at Florida International University.

His program at the Miami International Piano Festival includes interpretations of works by Handel, Liszt, Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Schumann and more. Tickets are $45-$55.

Six other compelling pianists to be featured in this series include Dmitry Ablogin, Fabio Martino, Nikolay Khozyainov, Ilya Itin, Zlata Chochieva and Ariel Lanyi.

According to its website, the Miami International Piano Festival has presented artists since 1998 “with distinct voices, both emerging and established, who challenge convention by demonstrating that there are important things still to be said in both mainstream and rare repertoire.” It boasts having discovered and presented dozens of innovative talents, and facilitated their introduction to recording companies, concert managements and promoters in the U.S. and abroad.

The Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, located at 3385 NE 188 St. in Aventura, has implemented a number of health and safety guidelines developed in conjunction with its management company, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, and in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic. Guidelines will evolve as the environment changes and may be accessed on the venue’s website.

Ticketmaster is the venue’s only official ticketing service, but tickets may be purchased online at AventuraCenter.org, by phone at 877.311.7469 or 954.462.0222, or in person at the box office Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. and 90 minutes prior to each performance.

The festival’s secondary concert venue is the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach, which will host its “Discovery Series” with performances in January, February and April 2022. To learn more, visit MiamiPianoFest.com.