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Beisembayev plays Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
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A very young Alim
© Olivia da Costa
Winning the Leeds International Piano Competition, Britain’s leading contest of its kind, is the dream of many a youthful concert pianist. For Alim Beisembayev, the dream came true in September 2021. ‘It was an incredible, absolutely unforgettable moment,’ he remembers. ‘I still sometimes have to pinch myself. It’s hard to believe that now I am part of the Leeds history.’ He shot to victory performing Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in the final with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrew Manze, and scooped not only first prize, but also the medici.tv audience prize and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Prize for contemporary performance. High praise greeted him in the press, the Guardian terming him a ‘worthy winner’ with ‘real musical personality’. And the audiences who have watched him growing and developing over his years of study in the UK capital felt happily vindicated.
Beisembayev arrives to meet me in central London, over tea; but in some ways he would not seem out of place wielding a martini, shaken not stirred. Soft spoken, with impeccable English honed since his arrival
