Concerts

Launched by TSKB in 2018 in collaboration with İKSV-İstanbul Music Festival, the “Women Stars of Tomorrow: Young Women Musicians Support Fund” has provided support to 16 more talented students of music in its 5th year. Young female musicians have the opportunity to share the stage with the leading female star soloists of our country at the Women Stars of Tomorrow concerts, held every year within the scope of the fund, which has reached approximately 70 young female musicians since its launch. Young female musicians gave an outstanding performance at the concert held at Süreyya Opera House on Thursday, June 23, where violinist Pelin Halkacı Akın took part as an opinion leader. Ticket revenues from the 5th Women Stars of Tomorrow Concert, the first physical concert after the concerts recorded without an audience and broadcast online, will be transferred to the Women Stars of Tomorrow education fund.

The applications of young female musicians were evaluated by a jury composed of CRR Concert Hall conductor and General Art Director Cem Mansur, chaired by İKSV Musicologist and Assistant General Manager Yeşim Gürer Oymak. Hakan Şensoy, conductor and violinist; Ufuk & Bahar Sahne, piano duo; and İris Şentürker, pianist. On November 22, 2021, the 49th Istanbul Music Festival met with music lovers. The recording of the concert performed by Gülsin Onay and Tomorrow's Female Stars was published on the İKSV YouTube channel.

12 gifted, young female musicians found eligible for "Tomorrow's Female Stars: Young Female Musicians Support Fund", launched three years ago under IKSV's Istanbul Music Festival in cooperation with TSKB, are named.

14 young women musicians found eligible for support from the “Women Stars of Tomorrow” : Young Women Musicians Support Fund”, launched in cooperation between TSKB and the İKSV within the scope of the Istanbul Music Festival, performed again this year. The young musicians took to the stage in the concert, where world renowned violin virtuoso Ayla Erduran participated as a guest artist within the scope of the 47th Istanbul Music Festival.

Young musicians found eligible for funding from the “Women Stars of Tomorrow: Young Women Musicians Support Fund” launched under the Istanbul Music Festival in cooperation with TSKB, are now ready to take to the stage. Proceeds from the concert to be held at Boğaziçi University's Albert Long Hall on Monday, 28 May with İdil Biret, Türkiye's first "child prodigy", as the guest of honor, will be transferred to the Young Female Musicians Support Fund.

45. İstanbul Müzik Festivali çok özel bir projeyle tüm festival dinleyicilerini müziği görmeye, resmi duymaya davet ediyor. Çizgilerin ve notaların iç içe geçtiği bu projenin yaratıcısı, BBC Music dergisinin dünyanın en büyük 20 piyanisti arasında gösterdiği Mikhail Rudy.

Soyut sanatın öncüsü Kandinsky, program müziğin en önemli örneklerinden Modest Mussorgski’nin Bir Sergiden Tablolar’ını 1928 yılında Dessau Tiyatrosu’nda dekor, renk, ışık, geometrik şekil ve plastik malzemelerden oluşan bir kompozisyonla sahneye koydu. “Bütüncül Sanat”ın (Art Total) en başarılı örneklerinden olan bu kompozisyondan geriye sadece 16 suluboya çalışması ve reji talimatlarını içeren piyano partisyonu kaldı. Kandinsky’den her zaman etkilenmiş olan Mikhail Rudy, bu projeyi Mussorgsky’nin müziği ve Kandinsky’nin suluboya resimleri ve talimatlarını esas alan video adaptasyonu ile, Bir Sergiden Tablolar/Mussorgsky-Kandinsky adı altında tekrar hayata geçirdi.

La Vie en Rose, Je ne regrette rien, Sous le Ciel de Paris, Hymne a L'amour and more…

Richard Galliano, one of the greatest accordionists of the modern era, and the unimpeachable jazz guitarist Sylvain Luc reunite their talents for this duo project dedicated to the grande dame of French chanson. The result is a virtuoso jewel, showcasing and reawakening the freshness of the Piaf repertoire.

The Istanbul Music Festival welcomes the Alliage Quintet once again, after their full-house concert in 2007 to a rapturous audience, and this time in a new collaboration full of verve and ardour with special guest Jozsef Lendvay. In “Dancing Paris”, the Alliage Quintet picks up on the atmosphere of the city at the end of the 19th century, when politics, economics, and society experienced tempestuous times - the cultural heyday of the Belle Époque. The charismatic Jozsef Lendvay complements the quintet in this project with his virtuosity and vitality as well as his enormous range of repertoire from classical to folk and Gypsy sounds.

A famous representative of the French piano school, Eric Le Sage; solo violin of the Berlin Philharmonic, Daishin Kashimoto; a worthy representative of French excellence on the cello, François Salque; and one of the greatest young French talents on viola, Lise Berthaud - this is a dream team coming to the festival, bringing the purity and intimacy of chamber music for the delight of festival followers. Already proved to be a great success with their Schumann and Fauré projects, the ensemble now goes on to reveal the secrets of the musical universe of Brahms.

Impressing the audiences with their originality and never-ending pursuit of the uncommon, the Ufuk and Bahar Dördüncü sisters are ardent promoters of the Turkish contemporary music, which is received enthusiastically all over the world by critics and audiences alike. Opening with Ravel’s waltz, the night will proceed with Rachmaninov’s 2nd and then the 1st suit, which illustrates four extracts of poems by Mikhail Lermontov, Lord Byron, Fyodor Tyutchev, and Aleksey Khomyakov, and will culminate in another waltz by Ravel.

Representing our hopes for the future, the very young but already accomplished pianists Ece Bozkurt, Iraz Yıldız and Cem Esen will play together with the piano doyens of today, Gülsin Onay, Hüseyin Sermet and Muhiddin Dürrüoğlu, who themselves were child prodigies once.

Three guitar virtuosi are meeting in Enameled Kiosk with a fiery and passionate repertoire mainly from Spanish and South American composers. Cem Duruöz, Philippe Bertaud and Fernando Espi will bring the heat of the nights to Enameled Kiosk. Cem Duruöz has recorded three solo CDs so far which gained rave reviews: Pièces de Viole, containing the French Baroque works of Marais, Contemporary Music for Guitar and his newest solo album Desde el Alma - Tango Classics. This album was described as a masterpiece by Argentine critics. Los Angeles Times named Philippe Bertaud “The New Lord of the Strings!” With a multi-faceted career, the artist has an adventurous personality and refreshes himself constantly to explore the unknown roads of musicality. Guitarist Fernando Espi is an artist who receives comments full of praise from critics with every concert he gives and every recording he makes. On this concert night where East meets West, selected works from Spanish, Bossa Nova, Argentina, and Turkish music will be performed.

The Enameled Kiosk will be the setting of a magnificent duet of violin and guitar in a repertoire ranging from Paganini to Piazzolla. Latica Honda-Rosenberg and Alexander-Sergei Ramírez are among the leading artists of their generations. Laden with Latin melodies, this concert will present a night to remember for music lovers.

Bülent Evcil, called as one of the leading flutists of his generation by Sir Galway; Benoit Fromanger, performer of special works on world stages and at prominent festivals; Richard Galliano, the unparalleled accordion virtuoso and composer; and Ferenc Vizi relishing the piano with his lyrical touch, meet for the second night of the series of Festival Encounters, an event expected to bring a new lease to the Festival with its repertoire.

A pianist who crowns his career with numerous awards from international competitions, Emre Elivar will join the festival with a concert program or rather a “show of strength”. Starting with the art of variation’s masterpiece, Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and continuing with the works by masters of 19th century German romanticism, Mendelssohn and Brahms, this concert is a must-see recital with Elivar's excellent musicianship and flawless technique.

Celebrated Hungarian violin genius Roby Lakatos is a universal artist who defies definition with his scorching virtuosity and versatile repertoire covering diverse styles. Likened to Stéphane Grapelli, admired by genius violinists like Yehudi Menuhin and Vadim Repin, Lakatos became Deutsche Grammophon's first "non-classical" artist as a "gypsy genius, classical virtuoso, jazz improviser and composer" or "the devil's fiddler" as he is usually called. Developing an impromptu style where gypsy music and jazz elements fuse, Lakatos has such a technical competence that astonishes even the best classical violinists with his pizzicato with his constantly shifting diabolic left hand. Promising one of the most interesting concerts of the 35th Festival, Lakatos will intensify the Festival energy even more with an unusual and unique programme of French chansons, Russian songs and Hungarian Gypsy melodies alongside classical works in the Hungarian tradition.

Achieving worldwide recognition with numerous awards despite his young age, conductor Alpaslan Ertüngealp and his orchestra will be performing at the festival. The youthful and dynamic Hungarian Acadimia Chamber Orchestra founded by the artist will perform masterpieces by Mozart and Haydn accompanied by Julian Rachlin, one of the finest violinists of his generation with his outstanding talent.

The Russian ensemble Moscow Virtuosi established by prominent violinist Vladimir Spivakov 25 years ago, is certainly a bright page in the history of music. The orchestra will give a concert in İstanbul and mesmerise the audience with their 25 years of virtuosity and professional sound. The orchestra will be directed by their conductor, distinguished Russian violinist Vladimir Spivakov. The programme will feature selections from the Baroque era till the 20th Century. The unique atmosphere of the Hagia Eirene Museum will definitely add a lot to the programme that will include works of Vivaldi, Boccherini, Schnittke and Tchaikovsky.

The Baroque concerts, theme of this year’s festival, start with the British ensemble Florilegium. The concert’s soloist will be a surprise for the audience. Countertenor Derek Lee Ragin, one of the artists performing the arias for the famous motion picture “Farinelli”, will be a vocal pleasure among this year’s many artists.