A special event will take place at the Pera Museum tomorrow at which the music historian and Cornucopia contributor Dr Emre Aracı will honour the great British composer Sir Edward Elgar on the 80th commemoration of his death.
Some years back, Aracı came across a diary of Elgar’s in which the following passage described his visit to Istanbul in the early 20th century: ‘Glorious sunrise and the minarets of Stamboul began to come thro the mist – wonderful wonderful,’ wrote Elgar on September 25, 1905. This passage propelled Aracı to trace the British composer’s little-known trip to Istanbul and Izmir, and his research forms the basis of an illustrated lecture on the great composer's Turkish sojourn.
A mini recital by the violinist Cihat Aşkın, with Aylin Ateş, a mezzo-soprano and Can Okan on the piano, will follow. This will also be a launch of Aracı’s new book Elgar in Turkey, published by the Pera Museum. The lecture will be in Turkish.
A number of Aracı's CDs are also available from the Cornucopia store.
The main image shows a painting of Sir Edward Elgar, O.M., painted in 1979. Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons.