Turkish pianist KCS is the Grand Prize winner of the 2022 Alexis Gregory Vendome Prize, where he was also awarded the Recording Prize. 

Can Sağlam has performed in concert halls such as the Morgan Library & Museum’s Gilder Lehrman Hall in New York, Wiener Saal in Salzburg, Verbrugghen Hall in Sydney and in other venues in cities such as Paris, Nice, Brussels, Cleveland, Verona and Istanbul. He has appeared in festivals such as the Gümüşlük Classical Music Festival, Antalya Piano Festival and Bellapais Music Festival. This season, he will appear at the 2024 Sydney Festival as the winner of The Rex Hobcroft People’s Choice Prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition, as well as in concerts with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by James Judd and New Manhattan Sinfonietta conducted by Gürer Aykal.

Born in 1999 in Ankara, he began his musical education with Gamze Kırtıl at the Bilkent University’s Music and Ballet Primary School at the age of seven. After studying with Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music, he received his bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School, where he was a recipient of the Ahmet Ertegün Memorial Scholarship and the Susan W. Rose Piano Fellowship twice.

In 2018, he was accepted as a scholar of “Young Musicians on World Stages” (YMWS), led by Güher-Süher Pekinel. During his studies, he has had the chance to work with musicians such as Jacques Rouvier, Pavel Gililov, Boris Berman, Ilya Itin, Michel Beroff, Jean-Francois Heisser, Gabriela Montero and Emanuel Ax. He is currently pursuing graduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the direction of Maestro Babayan.

1-6. Suite in D minor, HWV 428 (1720)
George Friderick Handel
I. Prelude 1:02
II. Allegro (Fugue) 2:28
III. Allemande 2:06
IV. Courante 1:02
V. Air & 5 Variations 4:03
VI. Presto 1:57

7-9. Piano Sonata No.1 in D minor, Op.28 (1908)
Sergei Rachmaninoff
I. Allegro Moderato 12:31
II. Lento 8:41
III. Allegro Molto 13:53

10. In the Silence of the Secret Night,
Op.4 No.3 from 6 Romances (1893) 2:42
Sergei Rachmaninoff (tran. Earl Wild)

11. Bozlak (2023) 6:20
Ilayda Deniz Oğuz

Total time: 56:51
Release date: March 22, 2024
UPC: 053479227201

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Quotes & Reviews

“Violinists Zachary Carrettin and Yueun Kim deliver outstanding playing in Bach’s Double Concerto in D minor. Festival Artistic Director Mina Gajić – whose work as a superbly accomplished pianist I have long admired and reviewed – makes the D minor keyboard concerto sound as if it had been written for her. Both the gifted vocal soloists – soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg and mezzo-soprano Claire McCahan – sing with impeccable command of the JC Bach sacred Baroque style. Cellist Coleman Itzkoff provides a rock-solid foundation throughout the concert. All six artists shine in the closing concert of the indispensable Boulder Bach Festival.” - Rafael DeAcha, All About The Arts

“When Korkmaz Can Saglam says, “I have been living with these works by Handel and Rachmaninoff for many years now … and knew that, sooner or later, I had to leave my own mark on them,” it's easy to forget the words are coming from a pianist in his mid-twenties rather than someone armed with decades of professional experience. One might have much the same reaction while listening to the Turkish pianist's debut release Solace and being struck by the maturity of his interpretations and the seeming effortlessness with which they're realized. … Certainly, the six diverse parts of the Handel suite allow the pianist to strut his stuff, so to speak. Saglam's technical proficiency is convincingly demonstrated in his graceful handling of the “Prelude” and “Allegro (Fugue),” his fingerwork in the latter impressive. Whereas his rendering of the elegant “Allemande” is notable for its sensitivity, his treatment of “Air & 5 Variations” captures the fluidity of his transitions from one dynamic variation to the next. The concluding “Presto” is taken at a breathless clip, with Saglam meeting the challenge handsomely. … the Alexis Gregory Vendome Prize aims to discover exceptionally talented artists hoping to embark on professional careers and to expose them to a broad audience. Many of the award's recipients have gone on to distinguished international careers, and based on the prodigious playing captured on Solace it seems very possible that Saglam could join that list.” - Ron Schepper, Textura