The 44th Istanbul Music festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, will welcome around 600 local and international artists and orchestras including İdil Biret, Murray Perahia, Gautier Capuçon, Angel Blue, Gerard Causse, Herbert Schuch, Patricia Petibon, Alice Sara Ott, Maria Joao Pires, Antonio Meneses, Maxim Vengerov, Richard Galliano, Sylvain Luc, plus some of world's leading orchestras including the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Venice Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Swan, the Artemis Quartet, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and this year's resident guest orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic.The festival, which will run between June 1 and June 24, will host two world premieres and one Turkey premiere and 26 performances by symphony and chamber orchestras, recitals and specials projects that will take place in 17 different venues.A new addition to the festival this year is the "Music Route" concert series, which will take music lovers on a magnificent journey at new venues including the Surp Yerrortutyun Church, the Church of Panayia Isodion, the Saint Antoine Lower Church, the Palais de Hollande Chapel, and the Crimea Memorial Church, all being used as concert venues for the first time.The free activities at the festival, the Weekend Classics, are to take place in the Austrian Culture Office Garden, Fenerbahçe Park and the Garden of Sakıp Sabancı Museum. The theme of this year's festival, which has scheduled its program with different themes since 2011, is "If music is the food of love, play on," inspired by Shakespeare and to honor the great playwright.Here are some suggestions that will be a joy for the ears:
Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra & Dmitry MasleevThe 2015 winner of the International Tchaikovsky Piano Award, Dmitry Masleev, and conducted by Sacha Goetzel, resident at the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, will take the stage for the opening ceremony of the 44th Istanbul Music Festival. The Hamlet Suite by Shostakovich will also be performed at the concert.When: June 1Where: Lütfi Kırdar Convention & Exhibition Centre
İdil Biret: The Piano Marathone of a VirtuosoOur great piano virtuoso, who has left her mark on the second half of the 20th century, is celebrating her 75th birthday in 2016 with a three-concert marathon, featuring a wide repertoire ranging from the Baroque to 20th century music. Biret, who has been an inspiration for the passing of the "Genius Children Law" in Turkey as she mesmerized musical authorities from a very early age, has given 2,000 performances on five continents with some of the best orchestras and conductors in the world, showcasing her unique technique, rendering and style. Further, Biret has won awards in many countries including France, the U.K., Italy and the U.S. plus becoming one of the first names to win the title "state artist."When: June 2, 5, 8Where: Boğaziçi University, Albert Long Hall;Süreyya Opera HouseHaigia Eirene Museum
Orchestra Of The Swan: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"Inspired by the famous verse by Shakespeare, "If music be the food of love, play on," the English bard will be commemorated with "A Midsummer Night's Dream" concert, composed by Mendelssohn. The concert will bring together the Orchestra of the Swan, an ensemble based in Shakespeare's hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon, soprano and winner of 2015 Leyla Gencer Singing Listener's Choice Awarded Ayşe Şenoğul and the theater actress Tilbe Saran. Further, the Orchestra of Swan will also host the young British violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen in Medelssohn's final large orchestral work, "Violin Concerto."When: June 3Where: Hagia Eirene Museum
Menuhin Music Academy Soloists & Maxim VengerovThe Istanbul Music Festival will celebrate the 100th birthday of Yehudi Menuhin, one of the most important violinists of the 20th century with a concert to be performed by young musicians that have adopted and commemorate his legacy.The International Menuhin Music Academy, Established by Yehudi Menuhin, who attended the first festival, the first Istanbul Music Festival by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts will take the stage with Maxin Vengerov, one of the best violin virtuosos today. Founded in 1977 with the aim of establishing connections between musicians and students in order to pass on Europe's musical heritage to future generations, have offered the chance for young musicians to work with some of the leading names including Nadia Boulanger, Benjamin Britten, Pablo Casals, Gaspar Cassado, George Enescu, Arturo Toscanini and is now offering young musicians to get more stage experience with the Menuhin Academy Soloists Ensemble it has established.Maxim Vengerov, who was assigned as the music director of the academy in 2011, is one of the most sought-after soloists of classical music stages.When: JuneWhere: Lütfi Kırdar Congress and Exhibition Center
Music for Kids: The Witch and the MaestroThe 44th Istanbul Music Festival also features a special project for children this year with the "Witch and the Maestro." Written by British conductor Howard Griffiths and composed by Fabian Künzli, this musical fairy tale aims to introduce classical music to children in an entertaining manner. Bergüzar Korel, who has received many Best Actress awards for her acting will be narrating the fairy tale while the Brandenburg State Orchestrate will perform the music. "The Witch and the Maestro," which has also received the Best German Children's Literature Orchestra Award is recommended for children above the age of four.When: June 12Where: Uniq Hall İstanbul
Isabelle Van Keulen Emsemble & "Tango Nuevo"Isabelle van Keulen, a violinist and viola artist, and her ensemble are coming to the 44th Istanbul Music Festival with their "Nuevo Tango," using a style, created by Astor Piazzola masterfully blending tango melodies with classical music formats and jazz elements. The ensemble established by Isabelle van Keulen in 2011, who along with being a great violinist and a sought after name of the classical music stages and who is renowned for her unique creative projects along with being a frequent guests of acclaimed orchestras as a vocalist, also some of the leading performers of their generation, band neon player Christian Gerber, double bass player, Rüdiger Ludwig and pianist Ulrike Payer.When: June 16Where: Germany Embassy Tarabya Summer Residence
Homage to Edith Piaf: Richard Galliano & Sylvain LucThe 44th Istanbul Music Festival will commemorate the iconic voice of France, Edith Piaf, who interpreted some of the most beautiful love songs of our time, with a special concert. One of the best accordionists of all time whose performances include a wide compositional range from classical music to jazz, Richard Galliano and jazz guitarist Sylvain Luc will be guests of the festival to interpret Piaf's chansons to honor her 100th birthday, which is a part of a project held back in 2015 in Paris.When: June 22Where: French Palace Garden
Show Goes On With 'Weekend Classics'
The Weekend Classics, organized for the last two years by the Istanbul Music Festival and which received a great reception from music lovers, continues with free concerts on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the open-air festival. The first one of these concerts will be held in the Austrian Cultural Office Garden, which will welcome the Viennese String Quartet, Auner Quartet. Aiming to blend music with nature and originality and trying to create new styles, the quartet will be performing the "String Quartet No. 17," dedicated to Haydn, the creator of quartets, and Mozart along with Schubert's "String Quartet No. 13, Rosamunde," which has survived until today as a rare play score that is one of the best expressions of mood and emotions around. The second Week end Classic concert to take place on June 11 at Fenerbahçe Park will host the "Brassolist," an ensemble formed by artists from the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet with a solo performance from Ceren Gündoğdu, during which they will be offering a rich repertoire from jazz to classical Turkish folk songs. The last concert to take place on June 19 at Sakıp Sabancı Museum's Garden, will host 4 Cellos, a young, new and dynamic cello quartet that will perform various deep and soft tones on the cello from Villa-Lobos to Debussy. The multi-award winning young cellist Poyraz Baltacıgil will join the ensemble as the surprise guest of the concert while performing "Kol Nidrei" by Max Burch.
When: June 5, 11, 19
Where: Austrian Cultural Office Garden
Fenerbahçe Park
Sakıp Sabancı Museum's GardenAcademy of St Martin in the Field & Murray Perahia
The festival's Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Murray Perahia, one of the legendary pianists of our time at the Hagia Eirene Museum on June 6 before the concert. The pianist, who has performed in the world's leading concert halls and festivals, recorded countless albums, and received multiple Gramophone awards, as well as two Grammy's will perform with Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, which is one of the chamber orchestras with the highest number of records exceeding 500, as the first guest conductor.
When: June 6, 7
Where: Hagia Eirene Museum
New Addition to This Year's Fest: Music Route
The festival, which has brought breathtaking performances to music lovers, is taking its followers on a different route, a "Music Route," a new addition to the festival this year. The concerts will be held across historic venues in Beyoğlu district. The day full of music will start at the Surp Yerrotutyun Church. Cansın Kara, who was awarded the best Young Soloist at the festival in 2013, will be performing Bach, then continue at the second concert; the Church of Panayia Isodion, where Trio Pax, formed by three young musicians, will introduce the French repertaure to listeners. The concerts will continue at the St. Antoine Lower Church, with the Viennese string quartet, Auner Quarter taking the stage to perform Schubert's "Rosamunde." Daria van de Bercken will perform the "Harpsichord Suit," included in the Handel Piano project, which won her the Amsterdam Award in 2012 at the Palais de Hollande Chapel. The last concert will take place in the Crimea Memorial Church, which will welcome the Festival's 2012 Young Soloist winner Emre Engin and the winner of 2015 Süreyya Opera Hall National Violinist Competition in 2015 along with the Istanbul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hakan Şensoy, where they will be performing the violin concertos of Bach.
When: June 4,
Where: Cezayir GardenSurp Yerrortutyun ChurchChurch of Panayia Isodion
St. Antoine Lower Church
Palais de Hollande Chapel
Crimea Memorial Church