Abuzar Manafzade is a multi-talented young Azerbaijani artist who is an international prize-winning pianist, conductor, and composer. Born in Baku, he comes from a musical family and started taking music lessons at the age of seven. At nine, he won the "Azerbaijani Young Pianists Competition," the first of many international awards to come.

 

Manafzade completed his Bachelor's Degree in Piano at the Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory in Istanbul, studying under the guidance of Prof. Bahar Tokay. He also studied Theory-Composition with Prof. Hasan Uçarsu and Orchestral Conducting with Prof. Antonio Pirolli. Afterward, he pursued further studies at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz, where he obtained his Master's Degree in Piano under the tutelage of internationally acclaimed pianist, Prof. Oleg Marshev.

 

In addition to his training as a pianist, Manafzade also pursued his passion for conducting, becoming the first Azerbaijani to complete the five-year Diploma program in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts of Vienna in 2022. There, he studied with the world-renowned conductor Prof. Dr. Johannes Wildner, and led some of the most prestigious orchestras in Europe, such as the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna and many others at world-class concert halls such as the Wiener Konzerthaus Großersaal, Wiener Musikverein Großersaal, and more. He worked as Assistant Conductor in Neue Oper Wien after his graduation.

 

Abuzar Manafzade’s exceptional accomplishments include winning 18 prizes in international piano competitions and performing in numerous countries across the globe, including Austria, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Germany, Holland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the USA, and Uzbekistan.

 

Manafzade's artistic development was enriched by attending piano masterclasses by renowned artists such as Boris Petrushansky, Oxana Yablonskaya, Rolf Plagge, Lilya Zilberstein, Milena Mullova, Tamara Poddubnaya, Toros Can, and Milan Franek. As a conductor, he also benefited from attending masterclasses led by Marin Alsop, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, and Boris Perrenoud.

 

As mentioned before, Abuzar Manafzade comes from an extremely musical family. In addition to solo piano performances, he collaborates with his family on interesting projects. Manafzade always takes great joy in combining his skills and simultaneously performing concerts and recordings on the piano while also conducting.

 

As a composer, Manafzade is well-known for his piano pieces and has recently composed his first opera. He also composed the first concerto for Balaban and Symphony Orchestra.

 

Abuzar Manafzade currently resides in Vienna, Austria, and continues to give concerts all around the world as a pianist, conductor, and composer.

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Competitions:

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Conducting:

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-2023: 11th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductor (Qualified to be participant among 260 applications as a result of the video elimination)

-2021: 3rd Antal Dorati International Coducting Competition (Qualified to be participant as a result of the video elimination)

-2021: “Ionel Perlea” International Conducting Competition (Qualified to be participant as a result of the video elimination)

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Piano:

-2020: Cleveland Virtu(al)oso International Piano Competition, Online, Semifinalist
-2019: “Adilia Alieva International Piano Competition”, Annemasse/France, 3rd Prize
-2019: “Stradella International Piano Competition”, Stradella/Italy, 4th Prize
-2018: “Classic Pure International Music Competition”, Vienna/Austria, “Grand Prix”
-2018: “Vigo International Piano Competition”, Vigo/Spain, Semifinalist
-2016: “Young Concert Artists Auditions”, New York/US, Semifinalist
-2013: "International Music Competition" Albena/Bulgaria, 1st Prizes at "Solo Piano" and "Piano 4 Hands" categories, 2nd Prize at "Piano
Duo" category, 3rd Prize at "Musical Family" category
-2013: "International Piano Competition", Baden-Baden/Germany, 1st Prizes at "Solo Piano" and "Piano 4 Hands" categories
-2013: "Pera International Piano Competition", Istanbul/Turkey, 1st Prize at "Piano Duo" category
-2009: "Lyuba Entcheva International Piano Competition", Sofia/Bulgaria, Honorary Mention
-2009: "Pera International Piano Competition", Istanbul/Turkey, 3rd Prize
-2008: "Karaelmas University National Piano Competition", Zonguldak/Turkey, 2nd Prize & Special Jury Award "Rachmaninov Prize"
-2006: "German-Austrian Music Competition", Burgas/Bulgaria, Diploma
-2006: "Onay Sanat Piano Competition" Istanbul/Turkey, 2nd Prize
-2004: "Galleria International Piano Competition", Istanbul/Turkey, 1st Prize
-1999: "Azerbaijan Young Pianists Competition", Baku/Azerbaijan, 1st Prize