18.12.2009, Hürriyet Daily News

Pianist Fazil Say finishes his 'Istanbul Symphony' ISTANBUL

Turkey's internationally known pianist and composer Fazıl Say completed a symphony that features the beauty of the seven-hilled city of Istanbul. The "Istanbul Symphony," which will make its world premier at the Fazıl Say Festival in Dortmund, Germany on March 10, 2010, will meet Turkish audiences in October 2010 as part of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture project.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Say said he had been working on the symphony for some time and recently finished it. He said that during the Fazıl Say Festival in Dortmund, the "Istanbul Symphony" would be performed by the WDR Cologne Orchestra and conducted by Howard Griffiths.

Say said the work would be performed for the first time by the same orchestra in Turkey in October 2010. "Many orchestras have included the symphony in their 2011 program. I have made a symphony of seven parts for the seven-hilled city. In this way, it appears as a 45-minute grand symphony to be performed by 110 musicians," Say said.

Say also added that talks continue with some Turkish orchestras to include the Istanbul Symphony in their program.

Say said the work is made up of seven parts and each of them features a different side of Istanbul under different titles. "As well as a 110-person orchestra, the symphony also includes traditional Turkish instruments just like in my '1,001 Nights in Harem,'" he added.

He said he uses traditional instruments like the reed flute, kanun, bandir and drum in his symphony, which includes the following parts: "Nostalji" (Nostalgia), "Tarikat" (Religious Order), "Sultan Ahmet Camii" (Blue Mosque), "Hoş Giyimli Genç Kızlar Adalar Vapurunda" (Merrily Clad Young Ladies Aboard the Ferry to the Prince's Islands), "Haydarpaşa Garından Anadolu'ya Gidenler Üzerine" (About the Travelers to Anatolia Departing from the Haydarpaşa Train Station), "Alem Gecesi" (Carousal Night) and "Final" (Finale).

Meanwhile, Say, who has been touring Europe for some time, will meet an audience in Ankara on Friday as the guest of the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by Bilkent Symphony Orchestra Art Director Işın Metin, the orchestra will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "KV.414 piano concerto No:12" and Leos Janacek's "1X1905."

The guest of Bilkent Symphony Orchestra

The Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, which is a UNICEF Turkey Goodwill Ambassador, will also perform UNICEF's song "Lullaby" for the first time in Turkey. The song has been composed by UNICEF Canada Goodwill Ambassador Steve Barakatt for the 20th anniversary of the Children's Rights Convention. The orchestra will also perform Polish composer Dmitri Shostakovich's "Op.47, Re minor Symphony."

Say performed the last concert of 2009 in the German city of Munich over the weekend. Performing in the 1,200-person capacity Prinzregenten Concert Hall, Say played works from Mozart and Russian composers Mussorgsky and Prokofiev. Say said that in 2009 he performed a total of 120 concerts, 100 of which were in foreign countries, and planned to give the same number of concerts in 2010.