Fazıl Say goes on tour for his new album ‘First Songs’

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Pianist and compose Fazıl Say will share stage with Serenad Bağcan, the soloist of his album ‘First Songs.’

Internationally acclaimed Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say is coming together with his fans in a concert tour visiting cities across Turkey. The tour is to promote Say’s recently released album “İlk Şarkılar” (First Songs), which gathers works from renowned poets that he first put to music 20 years ago, with the interpretation of vocalist Serenad Bağcan.

The first concert of the tour was performed on Dec. 11 at the İzmit Sabancı Culture Center. After the concert, he said that audiences showed great interest both in the album and the concert.

The “First Songs” tour will continue on Dec. 23 until Dec. 27. Following the concerts to be held in the southern provinces of Antalya, southern Adana, İskenderun, Gaziantep and Mersin, Say will take the stage in Ankara, İzmir and the northwestern province of Bursa in January 2014. Besides works from “First Songs,” Say will also perform pieces by figures such as Mozart and Chopin.

Poems were composed

“First Songs” was released in November, and includes musical interpretations of the works of famous poets, including Nazım Hikmet’s “My Country,” Metin Altıok’s “I Fall” and “In This Weird World,” Cemal Süreya’s “Four Seasons,” Ömer Hayyam’s “I had a Conversation with the Mind,” Can Yücel’s “Elegy to the Sardine,” Pir Sultan Abdal’s “I Asked the Yellow Crocus,” Orhan Veli’s “I Feel Blue” and “I’m Listening to Istanbul,” and Muhyiddin Abdal’s “Human, Human.”

Say says his biggest interest is reading poetry and he has grown up with the major poets. “It is always a great pleasure for me to compose these poets, a great honor, and has been a major task throughout my life. I have to say that it is very special to meet with Turkish music lovers with these songs, which I first composed 20 years ago,” he says.