# Turkish Classical Music



## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

A while ago, I decided to listen to some music by Turkish composers just for fun, and I remember enjoying a lot of what I heard. I just realized that I've seen very few, if any mentions, of Turkish classical music on TC and was wondering why those composers aren't more well-known. There's a surprisingly large amount of Turkish classical music available on YouTube, so it's not like they're not accessible. A lot of what I _have_ heard was pretty interesting to me. I can't find the pieces I specifically liked now, but I'm sure they're still somewhere on YouTube.

So anyways, I'll leave you guys with Ulvi Cemal Erkin's Köçekçe Suite, and also ask for some suggestions, if any of you know some good Turkish classical music.





(Starts at 0:38)


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I have these and I recommend them (in alphabetical order by performer):

View attachment 55918
View attachment 55919


Ahenk, vol. 1&2

Aydemir and Türkan

Kemence (Turkish violin, I believe) and Tanbur (Turkish long-necked ud)

View attachment 55920


The Art of the Turkish Ud
Münir Nurettin Beken

Particularly exquisite!

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Yasemin
Necati Celik

Beken and Celik... both masters! A favourite.









L'Art du Tanbur Ottoman
Coskun and Cimenli

Exquisite. Solos for tanbur, alternating bowed and plucked. Absolutely heavenly! One of my all-time favourite albums.









Pesrev and Semai of Tanburi Djemil Bey
Eudsi Erguner Ensemble

Kudsi Erguner is a ney (Turkish flute) master of the Sufi (whirling dervish) tradition. Turkish 'orchestral' music? Great! Out of print  But they have many great albums! I used to own lots on LP.









The Art of Taksim
Goksel Kartal

The kanun is a Turkish zither. He has a number of albums and is considered a great master.















Gypsy Rum and Sultan's Secret Door (1st and 2nd albums of 4)
Burhan Ocal and the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble

I think this might be called Fasil and it is festive 'orchestral' music. In a similar vein to Cemil Bey (Kudsi Erguner Ensemble) above.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Trakya Dance Party
Burhan Ocal and the Trakya All-Stars (2nd album)

Trakya is Thrace, the province where the Turkish percussionist originates. Here, he teams up with a gypsy folk group and an Algerian electro-pop wizard to make a dance album à la turka. Very nice.









L'Art du Tanbur
Talip Ozkan

A tanbur master. Great album. Sings on one track. Out of print, I believe. He has a couple out.

Turkish classical music (Ottoman art music) is a blend of the Turkish, Iranian and Arabian traditions.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I guess the system noticed too late that I had too many covers in the first post, so I will just put them here, in order:



























Sorry. That's Ahenk, vol. 1&2; Münir Nurettin Beken; Necati Celik

See 2 posts above for descriptions.


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## SteveVillaMassone (Sep 23, 2012)

thank you for those links, I didn't have any knowledge in this domain.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

musicrom said:


> I just realized that I've seen very few, if any mentions, of Turkish classical music on TC and was wondering why those composers aren't more well-known...and also ask for some suggestions, if any of you know some good Turkish classical music.


Hello, musicrom.

Before you became a member of TC, a thread was created earlier in 2013 into which I and others deposited some info on composers from nationalities rarely in the center of attention:

http://www.talkclassical.com/24352-composers-reception-home-abroad-3.html

One of my posts was on Turkish composers, with a few album images.

Hope this assists ...


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

The now independent republic of Azerbaijan , formerly of the defunct Soviet union which lies on the Caspian sea just north of Iran , has also produced Turkish composers, since the Azerbaijanis and the people of Turkey consider themselves to be one people with a common language and culture , such as Fikret Amirov, Uzeir Hajibeyov, and others . 
Since the independence of Azerbaijan , there has been a saying , "Two nations , one people ".
Ther majority of the Azerbaijani Turks actually live in Iran , where they make up at least a quarter of the population of that country . Som say it's one third . I don't know of any Azeri composers from there, though .
I recently heard a CD of music by Amirov , with the Moscow symphony conducted by the late Antonio De Almeida on the ASV label . It's worth trying .


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## cjvinthechair (Aug 6, 2012)

Prodromides said:


> Hello, musicrom.
> 
> Before you became a member of TC, a thread was created earlier in 2013 into which I and others deposited some info on composers from nationalities rarely in the center of attention:
> 
> ...


That looks like a thread that shouldn't be allowed to wither....much of the fun I have in music nowadays comes from gathering very listenable music from rather unlikely countries; just the sort of thing followers of this site might like.
If anyone's remotely interested, I'd be quite happy to add a country to resurrect the thread ?!


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## Orc (Dec 13, 2014)

Turks got their classical music really through the wish of Mustafa Kemal (their iconic first president). So people in constantinople surely started listening to classical music beforehand, but he really wanted that Turks enter this business too. So he became the patron of the arts and the "leader of the musical revolution".

Turkish classical music tends to be romantic with folk themes and then sometimes really avangardistic. Some stuff that I can recommend for the beginning:





 (istanbul folk song in choir - catchy)




 (great piano work of Saygun)





 (same playfulness)




 (burst later out into orientalism, relaxing)




 (folk tune in orchestra)





 (from adnans 1st symphony)


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Since from nearly the time it was recorded/released in 1992 I have cherished my HUNGAROTON disc (HCD 31528) featuring the *Symphony No. 2 by Ulvi Cemal Erkin* (March 14, 1906 - September 15, 1972) with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Hikmet Şimşek. If these are unfamiliar names, they will become part of your musical vocabulary if you dare to click on the links below and listen to this remarkable symphony.


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

Just discovered Yalcin Tura's _Viola Concerto_.






I really liked the second movement!


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Fazil Say is a current Turkish composer.

Some of his works can be found here:

http://fazilsay.com/works/


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

albertfallickwang said:


> Fazil Say is a current Turkish composer.
> 
> Some of his works can be found here:
> 
> http://fazilsay.com/works/


Thanks! His _Istanbul Symphony_ is pretty cool.


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## Orc (Dec 13, 2014)

another bartok-style folkloric gem:






heavy national choral hommage to the secular republic (opposed to the monarchy)


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