Istanbul’s first-ever Chamber Music Festival coming soon

ISTANBUL

Within the scope of Academy Festival Istanbul and with the contributions of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Culture Department, the city is getting ready to host a never-seen-before festival called the Istanbul International Chamber Music Festival to bring fresh vibes to the city and elevate the cultural and artistic life.

World-renowned musicians will take the stage at the festival to be held from Sept. 21 to Oct. 2 at the Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall.

Under the main theme of “Nature and Istanbul,” the festival will be organized under the artistic directorship of cello artist Nil Kocamangil and Aycan Altungül. Young musicians will perform with masters of the Istanbul International Music Academy, which is a part of the festival.

In its first year, the Istanbul International Music Academy will host famous cellist and trainer Gary Hoffman, pianist Caspar Frantz and violinist Svetlin Roussev.

Young artists, who continue their education at Boğaziçi University, will also take part in the festival with a sculpture exhibition where they focus on the love of Istanbul, its historical past, cultural ties and nature.

Under the title of “Youth Concerts That Will Heal Istanbul,” 28 young musicians will be supported and concerts will present Turkey’s talents.

The Jussen brothers, who are considered the stars of the piano, will perform the opening concert of the festival. The Lucas and Arthur Jussen brothers, who gave numerous concerts accompanied by world-renowned conductors and prestigious orchestras and achieved great success at their young age, will sing the best examples of the four-hand piano repertoire at the concert.

Cellist Gary Hoffman and award-winning pianist David Selig will meet with the audience of Istanbul for the first time at the festival.

The festival will also host pianist Caspar Frantz, Gabriel Schwabe, who has won awards in the most prestigious cello competitions in the world, and Hellen Weiss, who shared the stage with important names.

Violinist Svetlin Roussev and pianist Elena Rozanova will perform for music lovers at the CRR Concert Hall as part of the festival.

Pianist Gökhan Aybulus and bass-baritone Burak Bilgili will come together with the audience at the festival, while cellist Nil Kocamangil, who has won many awards from international competitions, will perform with the Borusan Quartet in the closing concert.

Within the scope of the festival, in addition to the concerts, interviews, workshops about nature and documentary screenings on Istanbul will take place in the Maçka Habitat Park.