Born in Split on the Dalmatian coast of Yugoslavia in 1962, Kemal Gekić could already pick out accurate melodies on the piano at age one and a half. He received his early musical training from his aunt, Prof. Lorenza Batturina, and in 1978 entered the class of Prof. Jokuthon Mihailovic (a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory) at the Art Academy of Novi Sad, Yugoslavia. He earned the highest mark ever granted a diploma exam recital in 1982, and was immediately appointed to the faculty of the piano department which he now directs.
In 1985 he created a sensation at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, where his individual, spectacular playing provoked a mixed response from the conservative members of the jury but won the hearts of audience and critics alike. He subsequently began performing extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, Canada, the USSR, Japan, the Southeast Rim and, of course, Yugoslavia, with broadcasts on RAI Italy, TV Portugal, RTV Lower Saxony West Germany, Intervision, POLTEL Poland, RTV USSR, TV Yugoslavia, Egyptian TV, Radio Canada and NHK Japan. In 1988 history repeated itself when Gekić was eliminated from the Montreal International Competition after the semifinals. Public indignation reached such fervour that fans organized a sell-out protest recital and awarded him the proceeds as a Peoples' Prize. During the early 1990's Gekić went into seclusion for a further period of intensive study, seeking even higher levels of perfection in his art. Since 1996, Gekić has toured Japan, Germany, Canada and the USA as well as appearances in Copenhagen, Paris, Zagreb, Belgrade and other major cities.
