Fazil Say
Encyclopedia
Fazıl Say is a Turkish pianist
and composer
born in Ankara
, Turkey
.
, Turkey
, Fazıl Say started playing the piano at the age of four. He continued his music training in Ankara State Conservatory
as a student of Special Status for Highly Talented Children and graduated from piano and composition in 1987. At the age of seventeen he was awarded a scholarship that enabled him to study for five years with David Levine
at the Robert Schumann Institute in Düsseldorf
. He earned his diploma in Germany in 1991 as Concerto Soloist and became a piano and chamber music teacher in 1992 in Berlin Performing Arts and Music Academy. Say won the Europe Young Concert Soloists Competition in 1994 and then the Young Concert Artists
International Auditions held in New York in 1995. Besides playing the piano, he has composed many oratorios, piano concertos, pieces of music for chamber, orchestra and piano and many other songs.
Some of his compositions include Nazım and Requiem for Metin Altıok, four piano concertos, his orchestra piece Albert Einstein commissioned by Zurich Orchestra and his ballet named Patara which is commissioned by Wien Mozart Committee and was composed for Mozart's 250th birth year celebration.
He has performed with New York Philharmonic
, Detroit Symphony, Berlin Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France
and Tokyo Symphony.
He performed an open air concert as the closing of 2007 Florence Festival with Florence Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta
and had an audience of more than twenty thousand listeners. Again in 2007, he was the head of the piano jury of Montreaux Jazz Festival. His CD which also includes Say's piano composition that was inspired by Turkish Folk singer and poet Asik Veysel's song named Black Earth was listed in 6th place on American Billboards.
In 2008, he was appointed as Culture Ambassador by the European Union
and he aims to set up a new bridge between eastern and western cultures.
In 2009 Say was commissioned by Konzerthaus Dortmund and WDR to compose the Istanbul Symphony, for which the Turkey premiere was held in Istanbul on 25 December 2010, on the last day of a series of concerts on the Fazil Say Festival. The 3-day event was dedicated to the works of Say and included performances by Fazil Say, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra
, and other artists.
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 composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
born in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Biography
Born in 1970 in AnkaraAnkara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Fazıl Say started playing the piano at the age of four. He continued his music training in Ankara State Conservatory
Ankara State Conservatory
The Ankara State Conservatory, the first conservatory to be founded in the Republic of Turkey, was established in 1936 by a directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.- Notable attendees :* Paul Hindemith* Carl Ebert* Evelyn Baghtcheban* Samin Baghtcheban...
as a student of Special Status for Highly Talented Children and graduated from piano and composition in 1987. At the age of seventeen he was awarded a scholarship that enabled him to study for five years with David Levine
David Levine
David Levine was an American artist and illustrator best known for his caricatures in The New York Review of Books. Jules Feiffer has called him "the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the 20th Century".-Early life and education:Levine was born in Brooklyn, where his father Harry ran a...
at the Robert Schumann Institute in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
. He earned his diploma in Germany in 1991 as Concerto Soloist and became a piano and chamber music teacher in 1992 in Berlin Performing Arts and Music Academy. Say won the Europe Young Concert Soloists Competition in 1994 and then the Young Concert Artists
Young Concert Artists
Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world...
International Auditions held in New York in 1995. Besides playing the piano, he has composed many oratorios, piano concertos, pieces of music for chamber, orchestra and piano and many other songs.
Some of his compositions include Nazım and Requiem for Metin Altıok, four piano concertos, his orchestra piece Albert Einstein commissioned by Zurich Orchestra and his ballet named Patara which is commissioned by Wien Mozart Committee and was composed for Mozart's 250th birth year celebration.
He has performed with New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Detroit Symphony, Berlin Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France
Orchestre National de France
The Orchestre national de France is a symphony orchestra run by Radio France. It has also been known as the Orchestre national de la Radiodiffusion française and Orchestre national de l'Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française .Since 1944, the orchestra has been based in the Théâtre...
and Tokyo Symphony.
He performed an open air concert as the closing of 2007 Florence Festival with Florence Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
and had an audience of more than twenty thousand listeners. Again in 2007, he was the head of the piano jury of Montreaux Jazz Festival. His CD which also includes Say's piano composition that was inspired by Turkish Folk singer and poet Asik Veysel's song named Black Earth was listed in 6th place on American Billboards.
In 2008, he was appointed as Culture Ambassador by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and he aims to set up a new bridge between eastern and western cultures.
In 2009 Say was commissioned by Konzerthaus Dortmund and WDR to compose the Istanbul Symphony, for which the Turkey premiere was held in Istanbul on 25 December 2010, on the last day of a series of concerts on the Fazil Say Festival. The 3-day event was dedicated to the works of Say and included performances by Fazil Say, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra
Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra
The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra was founded by enlarging the Borusan Chamber Orchestra in 1999. This orchestra is funded by Borusan Holding.- History:...
, and other artists.
Honors and awards
- Winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions (1994)
- Echo-Preis Klassik (2001)
- German Music Critics’ Best Recording of the Year Award (2001)
- Ambassador of Intercultural Dialogue (2008)
- "Echo" German Record Award (2009)
Orchestral works
- 3 Maerchen for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1991)
- Opus 3: Sinfonia Concertante for Piano and Orchestra (1993)
- Opus 6: Chamber Symphony for String Orchestra (1996)
- Opus 16: Thinking Einstein for Piano and Orchestra (2005)
- Opus 23: Fenerbahçe for Chorus, Piano and Orchestra (2007)
- Opus 28: Istanbul Symphony (2009/10)
Oratorios
- Opus 9: Nazım Oratoryosu (Nazım Oratorio) for Chorus, Soloists, Piano, Narrator and Orchestra (2001)
- Opus 13: Metin Altıok Ağıtı (Requiem for Metin Altıok) Requiem for Chorus, Soloists, Piano and Orchestra (2003)
Concertos
- Opus 4: Silk Road Piano Concerto, for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1994)
- Opus 5e: Guitar Concerto, in d minor (1996)
- Opus 11: Silence of Anatolia Piano Concerto (2001)
- Opus 25: 1001 Nights in a Harem Violin Concerto (2007)
- Opus 30: Nirvana Burning for Piano and Orchestra (2010)
- Opus 31: Trumpet Concerto, for Trumpet and Orchestra (2010)
- Opus 36: Khayyam Clarinet Concerto (2011)
- Opus 37: Hezarfen Ney Concerto (2012)
Chamber music
- 2 Ballades for Piano and Strings
- Opus 6: Chamber Symphony (1996)
- Opus 7: Sonata for Violin and Piano (1996)
- Arrangements from Porgy and Bess for Sixtett (1999)
- Opus 14: Rhapsodia - Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayim for Piano, Soprano and Strings (2004)
- Opus 17: Patara Quartet (2005)
- Opus 26: Princess of Lykia for 2 Guitars (2009)
- Opus 29: Divorce String Quartet (2010)
- Opus 32: Variations for 2 Pianos and Percussion (2010)
- Opus 34: Cleopatra for Solo Violin (2010)
- Opus 35: Alevi Dedeler Rakı Masasında Woodwinds Quintett (2010)
Piano solo
- Opus 1: 4 Dances of Nasreddin Hoca (1990)
- Opus 2: Fantasiestücke (1993)
- Opus 5a: Jazz Phantasy Mozart; Alla Turca Jazz (1993)
- Opus 5b: Jazz Phantasy Paganini; Paganini Jazz (1995)
- Opus 5c: Cadenza; Mozart Piano Concerto KV 467 (1995)
- Opus 5f: Jazz Phantasy Dede Efendi ; Yeni bir Gülnihal (1997)
- Opus 8: Black Earth Hommage to Aşık Veysel (1997)
- Opus 10: Cadenza; Beethoven Piano Concerto No 3 (2001)
- Opus 12: 3 Ballades Nazım, Kumru, Sevenlere dair (1996–2002)
- Opus 15: Cadenza; Mozart Piano Concerto KV 537 (2004)
- Opus 19: Transcription ; BACH - SAY Passacaglia (2005)
- Opus 20: Jazz Phantasy Gershwin ; Summertime (2005)
- Opus 24: Transcription ; BACH - SAY Fantasia G Moll BWV 542 (2007)
Music for dance
- Opus 17: Patara Ballet for Ney-flute ,Soprano, Percussions and Piano (2005)
Music for theater
- Sıvas 93 from Genco ErkalGenco ErkalGenco Erkal is a Turkish film actor. He starred in the 1983 film A Season in Hakkari, which won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* A Season in Hakkari...
(Collage; Black Earth-Silk Road) / Istanbul (2008) - Nazım from Genco ErkalGenco ErkalGenco Erkal is a Turkish film actor. He starred in the 1983 film A Season in Hakkari, which won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* A Season in Hakkari...
(Collage; Nazım-Patara) / Istanbul (2009) - Opus 33: 7000 yıllık uçan halı 11 Songs / Ahmet Say- Yücel Erten / Ankara (2011)
Music for cinema
- Nazım Documentary for TV / Turkey / Dündar (2001)
- Opus 18: Ultimathule Switzerland / Schrumpff (2005)
- Opus 21: Pianist the Wolfy Japan / Short Animation Film (2006)
- Opus 22: Insan Insan Turkey (2006)
- Opus 27: Watercolor Turkey / Hazardağlı (2009)
Early works
- Sonata for Piano (1984)
- Phrigian for Piano (1984)
- Preludes for Flute and Piano (1985)
- Preludi in modo Aleotorio for Piano (1985)
- Suite for Piano (1986)
- Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra in d, (1986)
- Schwarze Hymnen for Violin and Piano (1987)
- 4 pieces for Piano (1987)
- Seidenstrasse for Piano (1989)
- Reflections for Violin, Piano and Orchestra (1990)
- Alt Anatolisches Tagebuch for Piano (1991)
- Melodien for Piano (1992)
Experimental
- Ten Pieces for Jazz Quartet - Fazıl Say - Kudsi Ergüner (Nei)
- Four Pieces for DJ and Piano - Fazıl Say - DJ Mercan Dede (2003)
Recordings
- Introducing
- Black Earth
- Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps
- Gershwin
- 1001 Nights in a Harem
- BACH
- Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, Liszt: Sonata in B Minor
- Nazım
- Mozart, Haydn,Beethoven
- Metin Altıok Ağıtı (Requiem for Metin Altıok)
- Bilkent Senfoni Orkestrası NAZIM
- Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra
- The Best
- Fazıl Say plays Bach, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Stravinsky & Gershwin
- Mozart: Piano Sonatas
- Mozart
- Haydn
- Beethoven:Appassionata; Waldstein; The Tempest
- Fazıl Say:Black Earth [CD+DVD](Special Edition)
- Beethoven, Ravel, Bartok, Say
- Fazıl Say: 1001 Nights In The Harem
Books
- Uçak Notları (Airplane Notes) Ankara (1999)
- Metin Altıok Ağıtı (Requiem for Metin Altıok) (2003)
- Yalnızlık Kederi (Sorrow of Solitude) (2009)