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An 11-year-old pianist from Gaziantep has claimed two first-place victories at the 7th Danubia Talents Liszt International Music Competition in Rome, including a top award alongside her mother and teacher.
Elif Anastasia Cavdar secured the "assoluto" first prize in the 10–13 age category after scoring between 99 and 100 points. She also won the teacher-student category performing with her mother, Renata Popovych Cavdar, at the event held from July 13 to 17.
Cavdar, the daughter of a Ukrainian musician who moved to Türkiye after marriage, first took an interest in the piano at age six while watching her mother's students practice. After five years of training under her mother's guidance, she has already placed in multiple national and international competitions.
Cavdar attributed her achievements to regular and disciplined practice. Noting that performing on stage alongside her mother gives her immense confidence, Cavdar said: "At the very least, I know I play more confidently. I know I can recover if something goes wrong, because my mother is beside me.''
''I started this journey with my mother, and I will continue it. I also believe she will always be behind me. I might go to different schools or different countries, but my mother will always be behind me," she added.
Her mother, Renata Cavdar, admitted that balancing the roles of parent and educator has not been easy. Expressing that watching her daughter perform is equally thrilling for her, Renata said: "Playing together with my child is a wonderful feeling. At this age, it's not just my daughter; children in general want to progress through music.''
''I recommend they build up their technique. They need to practice by playing a lot of scales, etudes, Baroque-era works and classical sonatas," she noted.
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Renata expressed her desire for her daughter to continue her education at a conservatory, highlighting that the young pianist has already participated in numerous competitions and stage performances.
"Last November, she won first prize at a competition we attended in Budapest. After the new year, we were invited to Kyiv, where she performed with a symphony orchestra to mark the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster," Renata said.
"She also won first prize last year at the Sunart-Ist International Piano Competition and Festival, and this year earned the right to perform with the orchestra. We also performed with an orchestra in Istanbul. At the 7th Danubia Talents Liszt International Music Competition in Rome, she won the assoluto first prize in the 10-13 age category, and we were also awarded first place in the teacher-student category, in which we performed together," she added.
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