# Ahmed Adnan Saygun



## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

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*Ahmed Adnan Saygun* (1907-1991) was one of Turkey's most prominent composers, described in The Times obituary as "the grand old man of Turkish music, who was to his country what Sibelius is to Finland, what de Falla is to Spain and what Bartók is to Hungary" (15 January 1991)." He was a member of The Turkish Five, a group of "pioneering composers who composed their most outstanding music in the early years of the Republic of Turkey" and were at the forefront of the push for westernization. Yet, he is still almost unknown outside of his home country.

CPO has done a great job reviving some of Saygun's masterpieces (such as the Second and Third Symphonies, and to a lesser extent the Third String Quartet). He has been described as an "oriental Bartók," but that is not true to the composer, who composed in a unique idiom.


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