Beethoven festival starts with Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra

ISTANBUL

A number of international musicians will be in town for the concerts, which will take place at the Lütfi Kırdar Congress Center and Concert Salon in Harbiye.

Istanbul will be treated to the sounds of Beethoven this December as the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (BIPO) performs works from the classical master later this week.

The orchestra will be performing a number of concerts of Beethoven’s works until Dec. 21. As part of the event, Zeynep Tanbay’s latest project based on Beethoven’s String Instruments Quartet, “Symbiosis,” will be on stage for a world premiere. The dance performance’s music will be performed by the Borusan Quartet live at the event. A number of international musicians will be in town for the concerts, which will take place at the Lütfi Kırdar Congress Center and Concert Salon in Harbiye.

The BIPO will be conducted by Sascha Goetzel with famous soloists. On Dec. 18 BIPO will play Beethoven’s “3rd Symphony Violin Concerto Op. 61,” together with violin virtuoso Christian Tetzlaff. The following day will feature Alexei Volodin, the 2003 winner of the 9th Concours Géza Anda in Zurich, who will interpret Beethoven’s “5th Piano Concerto” as BIPO plays the famous “5th Symphony.” Volodin has worked with conductors like Riccardo Chailly, Mikhail Pletnev, Eiji Oue, Gerd Albrecht, Carlo Rizzi, Zoltan Kocsis, David Zinman, Valery Gergiev and Vladimir Fedoseyev, among others.

On Dec 21, BIPO will host Alois Glassner’s Salzburg Bach Choir and soprano Ruth Ziesak, mezzosoprano Daniela Lehner, tenor Richard Croft and bassist David Soar. Ziesak is famous for her appearances in performances of Mozart’s operas, such as Pamina in “The Magic Flute” at the Salzburg Festival 1991 and recorded with Georg Solti, Servilia in “La clemenza di Tito,” which was recorded with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, or the Countess in “Il nozze di Figaro” at Glyndebourne with the Zurich Opera.

World premiere at festival

The event will also include a world premiere of the Zeynep Tanbay Dance Project alongside the Borusan Quartet. Tanbay’s new performance, “Symbiosis,” marks a return to the stage for the dancer and choreographer after a hiatus of two-and-a-half years. Tanbay reassembled her company for a commission she received from the Beethoven Festival, which was launched this year by Borusan Culture and Arts.

The Beethoven Festival is taking on a totally new dimension with the world premiere of Tanbay’s project, which is choreographed to a selection of the composer’s great String Quartets.