On its February calendar, Iş Sanat is offering a wide range of online events from Turkish classical and folk song concerts to fairy tales for children. The programs will be recorded live at the Iş Sanat's cultural center in Istanbul's Levent district and will premiere on the organization's social media accounts, mainly YouTube.
Let's take a look at some of the entertaining events taking place in the lineup.
Esteemed Turkish State Opera and Ballet artist Zeynep Halvaşi will perform two exclusive concerts as part of the program. First, she will sing classical Turkish musical pieces in the “Heart-filling Songs” concert on Feb. 5. Then on Feb. 6, the distinguished artist will be joined by Cengiz Özkan, a master of the bağlama – a traditional Turkish stringed instrument – in “Cloud on top of Cloud.” Composer and maestro Oğuzhan Balcı will be arranging the musical works of the shows.
On Feb. 14, Valentine's Day, Iş Sanat will present a special concert with Turkish classical music and opera artist Efruze and the Cinema Symphony Orchestra. The performance, “Timeless Love Songs,” will take listeners on a journey through time with beloved songs of romance.
Mezzo-soprano Ekin Bezirganoğlu and pianist Senem Zeynep Ercan will take the stage on Feb. 20 with their concert “Istanbulied.” The duo will perform pieces of lied, a German music tradition of setting poetry to classical music and creating a piece of polyphonic music.
Stories from Haldun Taner – one of the leading Turkish literary figures of the Republic era, popular playwright and short story writer – will meet literature lovers on Feb. 8. The event “Human, Just a Tool” – prepared by Atilla Birkiye and adapted for the stage by Mehmet Birkiye – will feature Taner's famous stories including "Iznikli Leylek" (“Stork from Iznik") and "Sancho'nun Sabah Yürüyüşü" ("Sancho's Morning Walk"). The works will be narrated by a talented voiceover cast consisting of Tilbe Saran, Metin Belgin, Bülent Emin Yarar and Hakan Gerçek.
There will also be events that children can enjoy every Sunday in February with Is Sanat Fairytale Theater. The kids' program includes various classical performances like “The Wizard of Oz,” accessible online on Feb. 7, and “The Elves and the Shoemaker” on Feb. 14. In addition, children will be able to watch “Beauty and the Beast” on Feb. 21 and “The Ant and the Grasshopper” on Feb. 28.
The Milli Reasürans Chamber Orchestra will present their repertoire of baroque music on Feb. 25 under the baton of maestro Oğuzhan Kavruk. In the concert, violinist Özgecan Günöz and oboe player Sezai Kocabıyık will each have a solo performance. The unique event will take listeners through the 400-year-old history of baroque music, reintroducing romantic pieces of the Western art music period of the 17th and 18th centuries.
On Feb. 12 a new series will also meet with audiences. “Watch from Rehearsals,” the first iteration of the unique program will feature French playwright Moliere's five-act comedy “The Miser.” The event, directed by Semaver Kumpanya, will present the play in the unusual setting of a reading rehearsal.
Moreover, Iş Sanat's “Let Me Introduce” series, in which musicians explain symphony orchestra instruments, will continue with harp and piano in February. The “Reading Theater” series, in which parts of classical plays are performed, will include William Shakespeare's “Macbeth” on Feb. 3, “The Merry Wives of Windsor” on Feb. 17 and Moliere's “The Imaginary Invalid” on Feb. 10.
There will also be reading sessions with authors in Is Sanat's “From its Author's Sound” series. On Feb. 1, writer Aslı Tohumcu will read parts of her book “Abis,” author Gönül Paksoy will read from her “Wasteless Kitchen” on Feb. 8 and Ertuğ Uçar will voice chapters of his book “The Night Journey” on Feb. 15.
