During his studies Gekic won prizes at many international piano competitions (F.Liszt in Parma, Italy, Viana Da Motta in Lisbon, Portugal), but it was after he earned his master's degree in 1985 -the year of his appearance at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland, that marked a turning point in his career. He began receiving invitations to perform abroad, including several from the Chopin Society of Hannover, Germany which had awarded him a special prize for best sonata performance at the competition. A recording of his Warsaw performances sold 60,000 copies in Germany and 80,000 copies in Japan. Upon hearing these live performances the producers of JVC VICTOR from Japan signed an exclusive contract with Gekic (1988), which resulted in a series of prominent albums featuring solo and orchestral compositions by Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. This also led to his longtime association with Japan, where he became a pianistic idol whose numerous concerts are frequently televised on the national television (NHK) and also regularly recorded live by The Kemal Gekic Society and supported by the Kemal Gekic Fan Club of Japan.