Concert information
Info
For Fazıl Say, Bach’s Goldberg Variations are a lifelong journey of discovery. Bach’s subtle compositional craft unfurls – from a meditative, lyrical theme – 30 variations, each a unique character piece. “My interpretation is meant to convey the singular song, the dance, the story in each part of the work,” Say explains. As a composer, he bridges Western and Turkish music traditions, blending heritage and innovation. After the Goldberg Variations, we hear a selection of his own works.
Artists
Fazıl Say piano
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Interval
Fazıl Say
Yeni hayat sonatı (New Life Sonata), op. 99
Fazıl Say
Nazim, op. 12 No. 1
Fazıl Say
Ses, op. 40b
Fazıl Say
Kumru, op. 12 No. 2
Fazıl Say
Winter Morning in Istanbul, op. 51c
Fazıl Say
Kara Toprak (Black Earth), op. 8
Fazıl Say
Summertime Variations, op. 20
Fazıl Say
Alla Turca Jazz, op. 5b
Fazıl Say
Paganin Jazz, op. 5c
Additional information
Duration ca. 2 hours and 15 minutes (incl. 20 minutes interval)
Chamber Music Hall
17 to 40 €
Series U: Piano
Remaining tickets are available by telephone via +49 30 254 88-999 or at the box office.
Brightening up sleepless nights
The mystery of the “Goldberg Variations”
Bach’s Goldberg Variations are a musical peak that almost all major pianists have attempted to scale over the course of time. A fascinating piece that continues to hold mysteries to this day.
Biography
Fazıl Say
Pianist, composer, and free spirit: for almost 30 years, Fazıl Say has both fascinated and divided audiences with his unconventional programs and interpretations, marked by emotional directness and intensity. In 1986, composer Aribert Reimann happened to hear the then 16-year-old Say play. So impressed was he that he urged his companion, the American pianist David Levine – who would later become Say’s teacher – to visit the conservatory in Ankara: “You must hear this boy, he plays like the devil.” Say received his first piano lessons from Mithat Fenmen, a pianist who had studied with Alfred Cortot. Fenmen encouraged his student’s gift for improvisation, which soon became inseparable from his identity as both pianist and composer.
Today, Say’s oeuvre comprises more than 120 works, including six symphonies, two oratorios, various concertos, as well as numerous piano and chamber music compositions. It is, says Say, “very important in making music to listen to oneself – also inwardly.” Fazıl Say performs worldwide with leading orchestras and plays a repertoire that ranges from the Baroque to contemporary music and, of course, his own compositions. His chamber music partners include Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Nicolas Altstaedt, Fatma Saïd, Maxim Vengerov, and the Minetti Quartet.
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