Beethoven sonatas on Istanbul stage

ISTANBUL

Cihat Aşkın (above) and Tuluğ Tırpan are collaborating in the Beethoven project. The three-day concert started on March 1 and will continue on March 3 and 4. Hürriyet photo

Violinist Cihat Aşkın and pianist Tuluğ Tırpan were on stage at Caddebostan Culture Center on March 1 for the first leg of what the duo call Beethoven Marathon. The project includes two more concerts in the same venue on March 3 and 4, and the repertoire is based on Beethoven’s 10 violin sonatas.

“The idea came to our mind while we were talking on Beethoven, which showed us that we both could play most of the sonatas. Then, I offered Aşkın to make a stage project on these pieces,” Tırpan told the Hürriyet Daily News.

March 1 concert repertoire included sonatas No. 4, No. 5 and No. 10. On March 3, the duo will be playing sonatas No. 2, No. 3, No. 6, and No. 7. The March 4 concert will present sonatas No. 1, No. 8 and No. 9.

Both concerts start at 8 p.m. and tickets are available at Biletix booths and the venue’s main booth.

Two virtuosos, one stage

Tırpan is a graduate of Bilkent University College of Music and Performing Arts. His first album Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 “Elvira Madigan” was released in November 1998, being recorded with the Vidin Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Nayden Todorov. In 2002, inspired by George Orwell’s famous novel “1984,” Tırpan composed his musical “Hearts,” which was selected as the best musical composed in the past few years in German-speaking countries by the “Musical Cocktail.”
Aşkın is a graduate of the State Conservatory, under the tutelage of Ayhan Turan. He completed his studies in London, studying with Rodney Friend at the Royal College of Music and Yfrah Neaman at City University. He is currently the director of the Turkish Music State Conservatory of ITÜ and the co-chair of the university’s Advanced Music Research Center (MIAM). Being a prominent musician in Turkey, Aşkın has performed in festivals and concerts across Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States.