Beethoven “alla turca” at the Istanbul Music Festival

By Mark Pullinger, 27 September 2020

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“their tone is lean and lithe, underpinned by Burak Ayrancı’s buoyant cello lines”

Reviewed at Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, Istanbul on 27 September 2020

Beethoven, String Quartet no. 2 in G major, Op.18 no.2

Dede Efendi, Ferahfeza Peşrev

Dede Efendi, Excerpts from Mevlevi Ritual in Ferahfeza Mode

Sultan III Selim Han, Pesendide Saz Semai

Erdener, Nonet Pastoral “alla turca” (*)

Semplice Quartet

Murat Anıl Erginol, Violin

Rüstem Mustafa, Violin

Pınar Dinçer, Viola

Burak Ayrancı, Cello

Kağan Yildiz, Double Bass

Derya Türkan, Kemenche

Serkan Mesut Halili, Qanun

Yurdal Tokcan, Oud

Aykut Köselerli, Percussion

A feast for peripatetic music lovers in Istanbul

Jonathan Sutherland, 3rd June

An arcane Armenian orthodox chapel, two glittering Greek Orthodox churches, a waterfront palazzo and a sumptuous Austrian villa were fascinating venues for a delightful day of mini-concerts at the Istanbul Festival.

****1

Melodies of Istanbul present a rich blend at Istanbul Music Festival

Jane Shuttleworth, 3rd June

The complexities of Istanbul's rich culture and history, explored in a heady mixture of music from Bach to Afganistan, played by the Melodies of Istanbul Orchestra, directed by Hakan Güngör.

****1

Benedetti ablaze with the Philharmonia

Christopher Woodley, 19th April

As gifts to the Philarmonia's 80th birthday season, Nicola Benedetti gives a barnstorming account of Elgar's Violin Concerto before Cristian Mӑcelaru gets emotionally drained by La Mer.

*****

Nicholas McGegan brings delicacy and elegance to Mendelssohn

Erica Miner, 18th April

The Seattle Symphony offers an enchanting evening immersed in the joy and brilliance of both the young and the mature genius of Felix Mendelssohn.

****1

Wrangling the octopus: Mahler’s Ninth with Sir Simon Rattle

Chanda VanderHart, 17th April

Less a symphony, more a force of nature, Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in a turbulent, yet spacious reading of Mahler's Ninth Symphony in the Musikverein.

****1

Picture postcard Spain from the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia

Phil Parker, 17th April

Vibrant, colourful music is played with every last ounce of enthusiasm as the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia rounds off its UK tour at Sheffield City Hall.

****1

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.