Ergican Saydam

Ergican Saydam (born March 28, 1929, in İstanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

; died December 21, 2009, in İstanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

) was a Turkish

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 and piano pedagogue. He was an advocate of Turkish composers such as Cemal Reşit Rey

Cemal Resit Rey

Cemal Reşit Rey was a Turkish composer, pianist, script writer and conductor.He was born on October 25, 1904 in Jerusalem, and died on October 7, 1985 in Istanbul....

, Ahmed Adnan Saygun, Cengiz Tanç and İlhan Usmanbaş

Ilhan Usmanbas

İlhan Usmanbaş is a Turkish composer.Born in Istanbul, Usmanbaş grew up in Ayvalık. When he was twelve years old, his elder brother gave him a cello, and began to teach himself to play. After moving back to Istanbul, he studied the cello seriously...

 whose music he premiered and recorded. His repertory centers around German romantic literature, particularly the music of Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

, Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert

Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...

 and Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....

Biography

Ergican Saydam studied with Friedrich von Statzer (Ferdi Statzer) in Istanbul Conservatory and with Friedrich Wührer

Friedrich Wührer

Friedrich Wührer was an Austrian-German pianist and piano pedagogue. He was a close associate and advocate of composer Franz Schmidt, whose music he edited and, in the case of the works for left hand alone, revised for performance with two hands; he was also a champion of the Second Viennese...

 in Staatliche Hochschule für Musik

Hochschule für Musik und Theater München

The Hochschule für Musik und Theater München is one of the most respected traditional vocational universities in Germany specialising in music and the performing arts. The seat of the Hochschule is the former Führerbau of the NSDAP, located at Arcisstraße 12, on the eastern side of the Königsplatz...

 in Munich. Mr. Saydam gave more than 2000 concerts in five continents. He made several recordings of piano literature and also contemporary composers. He also taught at the Mimar Sinan Istanbul Conservatory and was appointed to a professorship. In 1986, Ergican Saydam recorded the world premiere (after the composer) of Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...

's Grande Marche Paraphrase pour Abdul Medjid Khan (Sultan Abdülmecid) composed in 1847. He made also the premiere of Cemal Reşit Rey

Cemal Resit Rey

Cemal Reşit Rey was a Turkish composer, pianist, script writer and conductor.He was born on October 25, 1904 in Jerusalem, and died on October 7, 1985 in Istanbul....

's second Piano Concerto with Tha Ankara Presidential Symphony Orchestra

Presidential Symphony Orchestra

Presidential Symphony Orchestra is the presidential symphony orchestra of the Republic of Turkey. It is headquartered in Ankara...

  under the composers baton. He was the jury for The International Maurice Ravel Piano Competition in 1975. He also received the Bad Gastein

Bad Gastein

Bad Gastein is a spa town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, situated at the northern rim of the Hohe Tauern national park. It has 5,838 inhabitants. The name "Bad" means "spa", reflecting the town's history as a health resort. It is located at the head of the Gastein valley, about 1,000 metres ...

, Margrit Ramdohr and Simon Bolivar

Simón Bolívar

Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...

 prizes.

Publications

Her daughter mezzo-soprano Ezgi Saydam wrote Taburede 60 Yıl | 60 Years on Stool (Arma, 2009)

Discography

He recorded a LP called Turkish Themes including works of Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt

Liszt

Liszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...

 and also contemporary Turkish composers such as Ulvi Cemal Erkin

Ulvi Cemal Erkin

Ulvi Cemal Erkin was a member of the pioneer group of symphonic composers in Turkey, born in the period 1904 - 1910, who later came to be called The Turkish Five. These composers set out the direction of music in the newly established Turkish Republic...

, Cenan Akın, Bülent Tarcan and İlhan Usmanbaş

Ilhan Usmanbas

İlhan Usmanbaş is a Turkish composer.Born in Istanbul, Usmanbaş grew up in Ayvalık. When he was twelve years old, his elder brother gave him a cello, and began to teach himself to play. After moving back to Istanbul, he studied the cello seriously...

. He also made numerous special recordings for the TRT Radio (Turkish National Radio-TV).