Kancheli gets prestigious award from İKSV festival

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Giya Kancheli received his award from Bülent Eczacıbaşı, İKSV chairman.

As part of the Istanbul Music Festival, Georgian composer Giya Kancheli will be presented with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” before his concert at Hagia Irene.

He is best known as a composer of symphonies and other large-scale works. At the award ceremony, he will present the world premiere of his symphonic work “Lingering,” which was commissioned by the festival committee. The concert will commemorate young Turkish cellist Benyamin Sönmez, who was scheduled to perform as a soloist in this concert but died of a heart attack late last year.

“Lingering” will be played by the Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra after the award ceremony in a concert of Kancheli compositions supported by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation and the Polish Embassy.

Georgian countertenor Mamuka Gaganidze, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and violinist Gidon Kremer will accompany the Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra.

Kancheli is Georgia’s most distinguished living composer and a leading figure in the world of contemporary music.

Protest outside Topkapı

A group of employees, who alleged they were working at Borusan Logistics and then fired, have protested the concert. The crowd danced to folk music and sang folk songs. Speaking on behalf of the crowd, Nakliyat-İş Syndicate general manager Ali Rıza Küçükosmanoğlu said Borusan Logistic storage venues 40 workers have been fired.

Police took security measures in front of the Topkapı Palace during the protest.