Another summer ushered by hot acts at Istanbul music fest

Sponsored by Borusan Holding, the 43rd Istanbul Music Festival by the Istanbul Culture and Arts Foundation (İKSV) is preparing to present another engaging program for music enthusiasts from May 31 to June 29. This year's program was announced during a press meeting this week, on Feb. 3. Taking the floor at the meeting, Yeşim Gürer Oymak, the festival director said the free open-air concert series "Sunday Classics," which attracts a great deal of interest, will be extended and presented under the title of "Weekend Classics." The upcoming festival will host almost 600 local and international artists in Istanbul, including Yuri Bashmet, Boris Berezovsky, Emmanuelle Haim, Angela Hewitt, Paavo Jarvi, Kim Kashkashian, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Christian Tetzlaff, Gidon Kremer and Yuja Wang, along with prestigious ensembles such as the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Franz List Chamber Orchestra, the Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra and the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic. The festival's guest orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen will perform two concerts.

The 43rd edition of the festival will introduce two world premieres and three Turkish premieres. Comprising symphony and chamber orchestras, vocal concerts and recitals, the event will host 27 concerts. Similar to its previous editions, the festival will be held at Istanbul's highlighted venues. The Heybeliada Hagia Triada Monastery will be a concert venue for the first time. Some of the other festival places are the Hagia Irene Museum, the St. Antoine Church, Süreyya Opera House, the Austrian Cultural Office, the Surp Vortvots Vorodman Church, İş Sanat Concert Hall, the Lütfi Kırdar Conference and Exhibition Center and Boğaziçi University's Albert Long Hall. The Weekend Classics will enchant festival-goers at the Garden of the Consulate General of Netherlands, the Selamiçeşme Freedom Park, the Sakıp Sabancı Museum Garden, and the Austrian Cultural Office Garden.

Cultural Landscapes as festival theme

Since 2011, the İKSV has organized the festival with different themes. This year's theme will be "Cultural Landscapes." Throughout the festival, the concert series will make reference to the nationalist movements that emerged in 19th-century Europe and which shaped the continent's borders, along with the folkloric elements in music that increased during this period. The theme of cultural landscapes is centered on identity, belonging and geography. In a world where cultural differences are disappearing at a fast pace, the festival will bring local rhythms, harmonies and tones into life and their impacts on classical music traditions. Concerts will feature unique music that reflects the composers' historical identity and cultural richness.

WEEKEND CLASSICS PROGRAM

The free open-air concerts "Sunday Classics," which were introduced for the first time last year, were enjoyed by a large portion of festival visitors. This year, these concerts will take place either Sunday or Saturday. The concerts will be available to a limited audience and take place at the gardens of the Consulate General of Netherlands, the Sakıp Sabancı Museum Garden and the Austrian Cultural Office. Free bookings can be made through the e-mail address "rezervasyon@iksv.org".

I - Bach and Dutch

Contemporaries

Maestro and alto player Simon Murphy and soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto will perform the works of Bach, Telemann, Handel and Vivaldi, as well as these great artists' contemporaries, along with the members of the New Dutch Academy during the first concert of Weekend Classics series. The concert, which will present Europe and the "Cultural Scenery" from Bach's Europe and the Netherlands to the audience, will take place at the garden of the Consulate General of the Netherlands on İstiklal Avenue.

When: June 6 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: The garden of the Consulate General of the Netherlands

II - Domo Emigrantes

Domo Emigrantes promotes the folklore of the south of Italy and the Mediterranean area by blending it with ethnic elements, jazz shades, original arrangements and many instruments from around the world. The band, which has played at many venues, concert halls, squares and clubs both in Italy as well as all over the world since 2009, proves the emotional power of music once more by performing at cultural events. Making a name for themselves with their albums that were released in 2011 and 2014, the ensemble will perform Neapolitan and Tarantella songs that they professionally mixed, with Mediterranean warmth promising a lovely Sunday morning at Selamiçeşme Freedom Park.

When: June 14 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Selamiçeşme Freedom Park

III - Minetti Quartet

Composed by violinists Maria Ehmer, Anna Knoop, Milan Milojicic and cellist Leonhard Roczek, Minetti Quartet is regarded as the latest musical sensation from Austria. The ensemble, which was named after a theater play by Thomas Bernhard, will gave two concerts within the frame of the festival. Regarded as the rising star of 2008-2009 season by ECHO, the Quartet has been a welcome guest at various chamber music festivals across the world, as well as at Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Konserthuset in Stokhold, Mozarteum in Salzburg, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and prestigious venues in Vienna such as Konzerthaus and Musikverein. Minetti Quartet also won the first place at the International Rimbotti String Quartet Competition in Florence, the Haydn Award at the International Haydn Competition in Vienna and the Honoree Award at the International Schubert Competition in Graz. The band will present a pleasant program, including String Quartet No.10 in E flat Major, D87 by Franz Schubert and String Quartet No.6 in B flat Major, Op.18 by Ludwig van Beethoven on Jun. 20.

When: June 20 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Consulate General of Austria, Austrian Cultural Office Garden

IV - Semplice Quartet

Founded in 2009, Semplice Quartet claimed a large fan base thanks to their concerts in important concert halls such as Caddebostan Cultural Center, Fulya Sanat, Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, İzmir Sanat, Pera Museum, Notre Dame de Sion and Millî Reasürans following their debut concert at Süreyya Opera. The quartet has made a name for itself with social responsibility projects, and the concerts that they gave as a part of these projects at Young Classic Music Musicians Festival and City Theaters Children's Festival. The ensemble, which gives space to the compositions of Turkish composers in their program, has a colorful repertoire ranging from classical to contemporary music. During their concert that will take place in the garden of Sakıp Sabancı Museum, the Semplice Quartet will present a program featuring the compositions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Dimitri Shostakovich, Joaquin Turina, Oğuzhan Balcı and Bela Bartok.

When: June 28 at 10:30
Where: The Garden of the Sakıp Sabancı Museum