# Music with "Turkish" themes



## ZombieBeethoven (Jan 17, 2012)

I will be vacationing in Turkey in a couple months. Any ideas for music listening, including but not limited to opera, before I go. Anybody familiar with Ankara or Istanbul and have recomendations for music in or around those cities in early September?


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Mozart`s "The Abduction from the Seraglio" is great - there are fine recordings by Solti, Beecham and Harnoncourt, among others.
Beethoven´s Variations on a Turkish March has a good recording by Richter - 




The best Turkish composer is Adnan Saygun, moderately modern. Others are Ulvi Cemal Erkin and Necil Akses.
All are well represented on you-tube.

You will find a great deal of very interesting music shops on the fascinating Istiklal street i Istanbul, and a lot of shops for musical instruments on the steep walking street leading up to it from the Bosporus bridge. My personal favourite street in Istanbul is the Turnacibasi, leading slightly downwards about half-way through Istiklal - try a stroll there too.

I´d also recommend the Pierre Loti cafe; take the ferry from near the Bosporus Bridge and the lift from the landing place below the Pierre Loti Cafe.


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## Renaissance (Jul 10, 2012)

Given your nick I would recommend you (in case you don't know it) Turkish March Op.113 from Beethoven. But it is really short.


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

http://www.youtube.com/user/GameMusicCompiIation


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Joen is right by what I know, Ahmet Adnan Saygun is the Turkish composer with biggest international 'profile.' He knew Bartok and was influenced by him to do similar things with Turkish folk musics. There is a great disc of Saygun's solo piano music on Naxos, some of it quite original.

In terms of European composers, look to esp. middle Europe at turn of 19th century (either side of 1800). Some have been mentioned. There was a Turkish thing in vogue then. Further examples -

Mozart - Violin Concerto #5 'Turkish' - the final movement, with these percussive beats that where copied from Turkish military musics (another one is his 'Rondo alla Turca,' a movement from one of his piano sonatas, I think KV331. There is a famous arrangement for jazz trio by Dave Brubeck, 'Blue rondo a la turk')
Haydn - Sym. #100 'Military' - similar use of percussion to Mozart above
Weber - Abu Hassan (an opera, the overture displays Turkish feel)
Cornelius - Barber of Bagdad (another opera, I have not heard it, but apparently it is available on cd, another one of these Turkish 'fad' pieces)
Beethoven - 'Turkish March' from 'The Ruins of Athens'

More recently -

Bartok - the dances in Bulgarian rhythm that conclude the solo piano set of etudes 'Mikrokosmos' are apparently really in Turkish rhythm. Musicologists now think that, as Bulgaria was for 150 years colonised by the Ottoman Turks, who bought their music there. I can't tell the difference myself, I am no expert, but this is just an interesting one from 'left field' so to speak.


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