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The Singing Hand and other heroes of Turkish jazz
The Opening Concert of the İKSV İstanbul Jazz Festival – sponsored by Garanti Bank – took place at the Zorlu Center on Tuesday (June 26). The theme was ‘Turkish Jazz through the Generations on the...
View ArticleFrom Malta with love: the elusive Joseph Shranz and his family of artists
A family group is gathered together on the imposing bastions of Fort St Elmo at the tip of Valletta, overlooking the Grand Harbour. Their straw hats, fashionable in the Spanish island of Menorca, at...
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A bow to the past: the pioneers of Turkish jazz, plus the best of the fest
The Opening Concert of the İKSV İstanbul Jazz Festival – sponsored by Garanti Bank – took place at the Zorlu Center on Tuesday (June 26). The theme was ‘Turkish Jazz through the Generations on the...
View ArticleStormy weather
The second concert your reviewer attended during the İKSV İstanbul Jazz Festival took place at the ‘Salon İKSV’ (İKSV Concert Hall) in Şişhane, Beyoğlu, on Wednesday, June 27. The group responsible...
View ArticleJazz jazz jazz… and chimney pots
The venue for the third concert your reviewer attended during the 25th İKSV İstanbul Jazz Festival was the grounds of the Palazzo di Venezia in Beyoğlu – a building that now does service as the...
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A perfect rose
Christ Church is hidden in the backstreets surrounding Galata tower and walking into the entrance is to be suddenly transported to England by its neo-gothic style. It is normally known as the Crimean...
View ArticleMusical shares: Jazz, please, Louise
The fourth concert I attended during the İKSV Jazz Festival took place at the Sultan Park in the grounds of the Swissôtel in Maçka, above Dolmabahçe Palace, on Tuesday July 3. The performers on this...
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Redefining Jazz Under Hot July Stars
The Istanbul Jazz Festival always flies a little fast and loose with their definition of ‘jazz’. There are plenty of concerts every year for the traditional-minded jazz aficionado, but tucked into the...
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High Tide for Modernity
Imagine this: the sweltering summer heat beats down on unsuspecting Istanbulites. Çay under the shade of balconies does little to abate the humidity, and staying indoors brings misguided moths or...
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Hidden talents
The 2018-2019 season has started. And it has done so with such an encouraging experience for your humble reviewer! The Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (Türkiye Gençlik Filarmoni...
View ArticleMusical shares: sit back and enjoy… the new season of Istanbul Recitals
Here is a brief overview of the Istanbul Recitals for the 2018–19 season, all of which will be taking place at ‘The Seed’ – the Sakıp Sabancı Museum in Emirgan. It has been said that the Istanbul...
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Doomsday design
Climate change makes the sea level rise. Blustering politicians armed with nuclear weapons pursue reckless policies, and the doomsday clock ticks closer to midnight. Earthquakes threaten the city on...
View Article1 + 1 = 3: two halves make more than a whole
The first of the Istanbul Recitals for the 2018-2019 season was given by the brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen at The Seed in Emirgan on October 3. It was, first of all, a pleasure to revisit this...
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Çatalhöyük reaches London
It caused excitement when it was discovered by the late James Mellaart in 1958, and Çatalhöyük is causing excitement today, with a hi-tech exhibition to mark the end of the recent 25-year research...
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Islamic culture across continents
These exquisite pages depicting a woman in a bathhouse, with cut-outs of cyclamen, lilac, roses and tulips, are from a 'Persianate' Costume Album commissioned by Peter Mundy, an employee of the Levant...
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Let other folk make money faster…
In September I attended a concert in the old Greek seminary on the island of Heybeli (photograph by Monica Fritz). Heybeli has always been my favourite among the Princes’ Islands, those oases of peace...
View ArticleThe Trumpet Shall Sound
The Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra has recently enlivened our late October evenings with a series of concerts in Ankara, Mersin and Istanbul entitled Autumn Classics. The one I attended on Saturday...
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Turkey travels back in time
Heritage is a central theme of Turkey’s stand at this year’s World Travel Mart in East London, which opened yesterday. ‘Home of Göbeklıtepe’ was a typical banner and the ‘Home’ theme continues with...
View ArticleMusical Shares – Talent Unbound: Freeing Up Young Musicians
The next concert in the current series organised by Talent Unlimited, a British charity that supports young musicians and gives them a platform on which to demonstrate their skills, is to be given in...
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Remembering Ara Guler (1928–2018)
Writing in the current issue of Cornucopia (No.57), Andrew Finkel penned a portrait of Turkey’s most famous photographer, whom he had known. The Ara Güler Museum had recently opened in Bomontiada, on...
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