Istanbul Music Festival to celebrate 50th anniversary in June

ISTANBUL

The 50th Istanbul Music Festival will host over 65 soloists, ensembles and orchestras from Turkey and abroad in 12 different venues for three weeks this year running from June 6 to 24.

Dedicated to the theme of Istanbul, the festival will welcome audiences to some of the most remarkable venues in the city, including the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM). This iconic example of Republican Period Turkish architecture has been rebuilt and newly opened and will host various concerts throughout the festival.

Music grows, diversifies and flourishes in environments where different cultures meet. This year’s program is a tribute to Istanbul, a cosmopolitan harbor that has embraced different cultures throughout its history. The festival will present a polyphonic, multilingual and multicultural program, and through that, a reflection of the city of Istanbul.

One of the city’s most remarkable composers, Fazıl Say, will welcome festival audiences with his renowned symphony “Istanbul.”

The second concert that speaks to the heart of the city will be “Songs from Istanbul,” presenting different faces of Istanbul with the Bosporus panorama setting a magnificent backdrop.

Very much inspired by this city and its multicultural past, Musica Sequenza will present “Rameau à la turque,” where French Baroque meets Ottoman Court music.

With Mare Nostrum, the festival stage will turn towards the Mediterranean sea. French accordionist Richard Galliano, Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu and Swedish pianist Jan Lundgren will be playing the sounds of the cultures, gestures and emotions that have developed around “our sea.”

Another project that will combine different cultures will be “Music Route.” Gülin Ataklı, Barış Büyükyıldırım, Paolo Tagliamento and Duo Aliada, musicians from Turkey, Italy, Austria and Israel, will present work for this special project at a number of churches and synagogues in Kadıköy.

Kinan Azmeh, an artist inspired by cities and cultures, will be a guest at the festival with his Cityband. The ensemble will perform Azmeh’s original works bringing together the world of jazz and Arabic music.

Two Turkish premieres from Tan Dun and Thomas Adès

The program includes Turkish premieres of commissioned work from the conductor and composer Tan Dun and conductor as well as pianist Thomas Adès. Oscar and Grammy-winning artist Tan Dun will be joined by violinist Daniel Hope, pianist Alexey Botvinov and the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra for this special occasion.

Described as “one of the most successful musicians of his generation” by The New York Times, Adès will present the Turkish premiere of his latest work “Shanty – Over the Sea.” In the concert, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, which specializes in performing music without a conductor, will accompany Valentina Lisitsa, one of the best pianists of our time, together with its concertmaster Candida Thompson.

Known for the rich dramaturgy of its concert programs, Deutches Symphonie Orchester Berlin will be sharing the stage with star soprano Anna Prohaska. In the concert titled “Facce d’Amore,” Jakub Józef Orliński, known as one of the leading countertenors, will perform the most dramatic love arias from Italian operas accompanied by Il Pomo d’Oro under the baton of Francesco Corti.

Miloš Karadaglić and clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer will also be uniting for a very special concert. Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra and star soloists Gautier Capuçon and Alice Sara Ott will also be among the guests of the festival.

After many years, Istanbul’s iconic arts venue AKM will be welcoming music lovers once again. In the same district as AKM, the well-preserved, historical embassy building Palais de France will be opening its doors to audiences.

Constructed in the 15th century and havingserved many purposes throughout its history, Tophane-i Amire Culture and Arts Center will also be filled with music.

Located in Emirgan, Sakıp Sabancı Museum Fıstıklı Teras, with its wonderful Bosporus panorama, will treat audiences to an experience like no other.

Harbiye joins in the festival with two famous venues: Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall and Harbiye Saint Esprit Cathedral.

Other venues include Süreyya Opera House, Bahariye Hagia Triada Greek Orthodox Church, Moda L’Eglise Notre dame de L’assomption, Yeldeğirmeni Arts Center and Yeldeğirmeni Hemdat Israel Synagogue.