Konstantin Eduard Ishkhanov was born in 1970 in Baku. Later he moved to Moscow and after he permanently moved to Europe. In 2012, Konstantin Ishkhanov founded the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) non-profit organization, which was aimed at initiating and promoting cultural and educational projects in Europe. Mr. Ishkhanov took time out from his busy schedule to answer a few questions for us…
You are the founder of the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) non-profit organization. Please tell us about it. How did it come about? How long has it been in existence? What are your main accomplishments and goals with the organization?
I founded the EUFSC in 2015 in Malta originally to promote cultural and educational projects in Europe. Since its inception, the Foundation’s portfolio of projects has now increased, comprising of festivals, international music competitions, concert series, world premieres, ballet productions, exhibitions, and numerous other cultural events are being held in various countries across the globe.
We support and promote culture, to inspire interest in various types of modern art, also the Foundation supports young talented musicians and gifted children. Another important role that the EUFSC plays is to highlight and promote Maltese composers, musicians, ensembles, and orchestras.
What do you attribute the organization’s global success to? How did the EUFSC expand to America, Asia, etc?
When I founded the EUFSC and started organizing small classical music concerts, I was truly surprised to realize how interested the audience was, how grateful all the people leaving the venues after the performance were. I started to receive some calls and emails with queries as to when the next events would be taking place. I think that was the moment when I realized that my support towards culture can become something even more special. Thereafter we launched various projects across Europe, which soon after expanded into many other countries in various continents. Today I am proud to say that we hold events in around 27 countries around the world.
Tell us about the annual Malta International Music Festival. How did that come about? Who has been involved? What is so important about it?
Malta International Music Festival is among the most notable events that we hold. It features many internationally acclaimed classical music stars such as the legendary Grigory Sokolov, Maxim Vengerov, Salvatore Accardo, Nikolai Lugansky, Ray Chen among others. Within the Festival, every 3 years, we hold the Malta International Piano Competition, which is the final stage of a series of 14 international competitions around the world, with all the winners from these competitions taking part in the final stage in Malta.
You have received several awards for your work, including becoming the first and only foreign holder of the highest cultural award of Malta for “Unique” contribution to the culture of Malta. Congratulations! What does winning this type of award mean to you?
For me personally it was a great honour to be nominated for this prestigious award, and it was very moving for me, to have been recognized by high authorities who have valued and appreciated my contribution towards the local cultural scene.
What are your future plans for the organization? How has COVID-19 affected the EUFSC and its agenda?
Unfortunately, COVID-19 has not just affected us but brought our activities to a stand still, having had to cancel many events and festivals during the past four months. I’m afraid that because of the pandemic, all the venues will remain closed for a while, and we will not be able to launch our planned projects, concerts, competitions and festivals. So much work has already been done during the past year to prepare this year’s events. But life must go on. We are on stand-by preparing for the first opportunities which will arise, to relaunch our activities. Meanwhile, our first Festival after Covid-19 lockdown will take place in Armenia in July, and the first open-air festival open for public and audiences will take place in Italy in August. We are very hopeful that very soon, concert venues will be able to re-open and start receiving public again. https://www.facebook.com/KonstantinIshkhanovofficial/