New Year to be a feast for the eyes and ears

İş Sanat is getting ready for the upcoming year with the impressive Johann Strauss Orchestra, pianist Helene Grimaud and ballads from the Caspian as well as poetry performances by the great Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet and more.

An incredible New Year's concert blending music and comedy

Etched in the memories of music lovers, the Johann Strauss Orchestra returns to the stage of İş Sanat with an exclusive performance for 2016, under the direction of maestro Rainer Hersch. The concert will blend popular waltzes and polkas with incredible dance and a little bit of comedy. The soprano Samantha Hay will also accompany the orchestra on stage and offer an entertaining concert with her strong voice. Maestro Hersch began his professional life as an economist but has since devoted his career to music - his childhood passion - and comedy. Having graced some of the most prestigious comedy stages across the U.K., he was invited to perform at the Edinburgh Festival 13 times. The artist has been featured as a guest on numerous television shows and regularly gives comedy performances at London's famous Southbank Cultural Center. Hersch has made a name for himself among professional comedians thanks to the programs he hosted for Classic FM and the famous BBC radio station. The artist was named "comedy genius" by the New York Times, The Stage and See Magazine has and performed in over 30 countries worldwide. So far, he has collaborated with prominent orchestras including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Tasmana Symphony. Those who missed the combination of brilliant dance shows and entertaining orchestral music accentuated by beautiful costumes should save the date for this season's performance on Jan. 5.

Ballads: From the Caspian to Anatolia

İş Sanat continues to devise new and original projects. The concert titled, "Ballads from the Caspian to Anatolia" promises music lovers a night of musical delight. The concert will feature young musicians who will perform ballads from different geographic areas. The musicians to be featured in the concert include tenor İhsan Ekber, the renowned representative of Turkey in many international competitions, vocal artist Münevver Özdemir, who performs with the state-run TRT network's choral groups, and Turgay Coşkun, who is known to stun music lovers with his original technique in zither. The concert will take the audience on a musical tour of the Caspian and Anatolian regions, with magical ballads live in concert on Jan. 7 at 8:30 p.m.

The verses of international poet Nazım Hikmet brought to life

İş Sanat has been giving life to the verses of various poets onstage for more than 10 years. This season, the newest arrangements of Nazım Hikmet's poems will be featured on a brand new stage organized by İş Sanat. Selected poems from the collection titled, "Memleketimden İnsan Manzaraları" (Human Landscapes from My Country), written by Hikmet during his time in a prison in the 1940s under terrible living conditions, are arranged by Atilla Birkiye and adapted for stage by Mehmet Birkiye. Under the musical directorship of Serdar Yalçın, the "poetry concert" titled "Bir Tren Kalkar Haydarpaşa Garı'ndan" (A train leaves from Haydarpaşa Terminal) will feature Tilbe Saran, Hümay Güldağ, Hakan Gerçek, Bülent Emin Yarar and Metin Belgin onstage. Bringing to life the bittersweet memories of people who lived in these lands, Nazım Hikmet's masterpiece will be staged on Jan. 11 at 8:30 p.m.

The spirit of Renaissance kept alive by piano

Poetic performances and flawless technique will bring pianist Helene Grimaud to the stage with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, Considered a modern example of a woman from the Renaissance, the pianist's bold performances have had a groundbreaking effect on the music industry. Grimaud made her astonishing debut when she shared the stage with the Orchestre de Paris, upon the invitation of famous maestro Daniel Barenboim, following her Tokyo performance in 1987. With her various studio records, She has won many awards with a number of studio recordings, including Choc du Monde de la Musique, Diapason d'Or, Grand Prix du Disque, Midem Classical and Echo Klassik. The Basel Chamber Orchestra which accompanied world-renowned musicians such as Julia Fischer, Daniel Hope, Tabea Zimmermann, Renaud Capuçon, Giuliano Carmignola and Bobby McFerrin will share the stage with the French pianist, performing compositions by Stravinsky, Bach, Prokopyevsk and Mozart on Jan. 19.

Songs that cross the Bosporus with Candan Erçetin and Kardeş Türküler

Reminiscent of the waters of the Bosporus and a melodic blend of various places, languages, religions and melodies, the band Kardeş Türküler brings the music of Anatolia, Mesopotamia, the Balkans and Caucasia together with their studio albums and live performances. The band will collaborate with Balkan singer Candan Erçetin, whose pop rhythms and unique melodies make her the best representative of Balkan culture. In the concert titled, "The songs that cross the Bosporus," Kardeş Türküler and Erçetin will perform the new songs which were born out of their collaborative musical talent.

Traditional Turkish legendary character Keloğlan on stage

İş Sanat, which has won the hearts of future art lovers with its entertaining events for children, will stage the musical "Keloğlan" of last season once again for children and adults. A timeless favorite of people of all ages even to 70, the intelligent, lucky and witty Keloğlan finds himself on a series of adventures in his performance of the musical "Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş" (Once Upon A Time). The play brings together the legendary characters of Anatolia and the rich elements of traditional Turkish characters and was written and adapted for stage by Işıl Kasapoğlu. Costumes and puppets were provided for the play by Karina Cheres and Alper Maral provides the music. The performance will feature Pamela Spence and Serkan Keskin and Keloğlan's new adventure will take the stage on Jan. 10 at 3:00p.m.

Young stars at Milli Reasürans

Several years ago, İş Sanat initiated the "Shining Stars" series to Milli Reasürans to show support for young musicians and help them to gain the stage experience. Now, violinist Ezgi Sarukçıoğlu and pianist Başak Merev will be guests of the "Shining Stars" series in January. During the free concert on Jan. 25, Sarıkçıoğlu will perform the musical compositions of Ysaye, Beethoven and Wieniawski while Merev will perform Bach, Scriabin, Beethoven, Chopin and Saygun.