Bach Days in Istanbul for the 10th time

ISTANBUL

The 10th Bach Days in Istanbul will host world-famous classical musicians untl Nov 2.

The 10th Bach Days event, organized with the support of Culture and Tourism Ministry, is celebrating the life and work of the distinguished composer with a new program of concerts this year. This year the concert series started with the EU Baroque Orchestra on Oct. 10 at St. Anthony Church.

The “Istanbul Bach Days,” which has been organized in Istanbul since 1988, will continue with Alexandru Tomescu on Oct. 28 at St. Anthony Church. Tomescu proved himself capable of playing any style of music, especially after the “Paganini – Angel or Demon?” project, a turning point into his career. He is among the first Romanian artists who made a mission out of taking the message of classical music in towns where there are no philharmonic orchestras. Receiving the Stradivarius Elder-Voicu violin in November 2007, he promised he would familiarize a large number of the Romanian public to the sound of the splendid instrument.

Masters in city

The festival has aimed to involve world-famous musicians with a love for the work of composer Johann Sebastian Bach and has attracted a lot of attention, becoming one of the most respected musical events in Istanbul, in a short period of time. This year it will continue with a concert on Oct. 29 with Konstantin Lifschitz at Sabancı Museum’s The Seed concert hall. Lifschitz will play classic piano with different variations. Generally, the “Istanbul Bach Days” has been organized in Hagia İrene and St. Anthony Church for years, but as of 2007 it spread to various other venues all around Istanbul, embracing the city and has become a big Bach feast. Lifschitz has conducted orchestras such as the Moscow Virtuosi, Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra (Moscow), St. Christopher’s Chamber Orchestra (Vilnius), and the Arpeggione Chamber Orchestra (Vienna) among others. He has more than 30 albums to his credit, many of which have received very high praise from the international press. In 2008 he was appointed professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Lucerne and gives master classes around the world.

The classic music lovers will be listening to Alexander Rudin and Hüseyin Sermet on Oct. 31 in Hagia İrene. Rudin is a professor of the Moscow Conservatory, and President of the charity fund “The Musical Assembly.” He is active touring around the world both as a soloist and as a conductor, performing with leading European orchestras. Since 1998, he has been connected without interruption with the Academic Chamber Orchestra “Musica Viva” - one of the foremost chamber ensembles in Russia – which has received the recognition not only of the public, but also of harsh critics and fellow musicians. He will take the stage with Turkish pianist and composer Sermet.

At the Nov. 2 the closing concert, the Barocco Sempre Giovane ensemble will take the stage with Nazlı Erdoğan and Jiri Barta. While Barta will play Haydn, Erdoğan will play Teleman’s viola concerto. Barocco Sempre Giovane (Baroque Still Young) is a chamber ensemble consisting of top young professional musicians, specializing in baroque music. The ensemble was founded in 2004 by cello player Josef Krecmer, who is the artistic director of the group.

Erdoğan’s concert highlights include solo performances at the Forbidden City Hall in Beijing, Telemann’s Viola Concerto at the Menuhin Hall, Hindemith’s Trauermusik at the Wigmore Hall, and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, conducted by Barry Wordsworth, with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra in the Brighton Dome. She has also performed with chamber ensembles at St James’s Piccadilly, St Paul’s Cathedral, and recently in the Royal Albert Hall with an orchestra led by Nicola Benedetti.

Until now “Istanbul Bach Days” with its concerts like “Bach and DJ” and “house concerts” have hosted big masters as Gustav Leonhardt, Sigiswald Kuijken, Bob van Asperen, Andreas Staier, Reinhard Goebel, Pierre Hantai, Roel Dieltiens and important ensembles like Musica Antiqua Köln, Ensemble Of Soloists Hermitage and La Petite Bande.