Imogen Cooper at the Seed
That the latest in the series of Istanbul Recitals was given is, in itself, remarkable considering… My companion and I boarded the boat that leaves Eminönü at ten past six and spent an hour watching...
View ArticleMarina Abramović
Marina Abramović is one of the world’s most famous living artists. Her iconic 2010 retrospective at MoMA in New York, The Artist Is Present, is perhaps one of the best-known exhibitions of the past...
View ArticleSummer Scholarship Opportunities for Artists and Musicians
Photograph by Ara Güler There are two exciting opportunities for Turkish artists and musicians who wish to study and develop their performance and creative skills this summer. The Berklee College of...
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Mélodies I: Reynaldo Hahn in Istanbul
Mélodies: Debussy in Pamphylia, Fauré in Isfahan, Reynaldo Hahn in Istanbul. This new series of blogs is designed to provide a welcome distraction from for those in isolation, while at the same time...
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Bird Island Farm
April 2020, Kuşadası I was alone in Aydın when quarantine was announced. My family, concerned I was alone, sent a driver to take me to Bird’s Island Farm on the hills of Kuşadası to stay wth my...
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Finding a refuge on Bird Island Farm
April 2020, Kuşadası: I was alone in Aydın when quarantine was announced. My family, concerned I was alone, sent a driver to take me to Bird’s Island Farm on the hills of Kuşadası to stay wth my...
View ArticleMélodies II: Debussy in Pamphylia – Early Works
This is the second part of a serialised blog that intended to keep people’s minds off their troubles while they are in isolation. Just like the first part (which was about Reynaldo Hahn), this one...
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Empty quarters
On a dark Saturday morning in March I set off on my bicycle to explore a silent, empty Istanbul. But my enthusiasm for the idea of experiencing the normally bustling districts of Taksim, Sultanahmet...
View ArticleIris Love (1933–2020)
On July 21, 1969, in her mid-30’s, Iris Love made the discovery that made her, for a short time, perhaps the most famous archaeologist in the world. She was in her third season of excavations at...
View ArticleMélodies II: Debussy in Pamphylia – the later works
This is Part B of the second phase of Mélodies: Debussy in Pamphylia, Fauré in Isfahan, Reynaldo Hahn in Istanbul, a serialised blog intended to keep people’s minds off their troubles while they are...
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Another quiet day…
Spring has arrived in Istanbul, and the ancient gum mastic trees of Moda are just coming into leaf. Only the crowds were missing on May Day… But they'll be back. On page 67 of Cornucopia 52, Monica...
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Füsun Onur sets sail for Venice
As art events around the world grind to a halt, attention is turning to what 2021 might bring. The Venice Biennale is still set to go ahead as scheduled next year, between May and November. With its...
View ArticleAn invitation to the Wigmore Hall to listen to Marianne Crebassa and Fazıl Say
Every Monday evening the Wigmore Hall releases a video stream of one of its acclaimed recitals, marvellously recorded and (invisibly) filmed live in what the great counter-tenor Philippe Jaroussky...
View ArticleSome notes on the programme for Marianne Crebassa and Fazıl Say at the...
With a few hours left to catch the French mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa and Turkish pianist Fazıl Say in songs by Debussy, Ravel, Fauré and Duparc at the Wigmore Hall, here are some notes on the...
View ArticleGold stars: Marianne Crebassa and Fazıl Say
And now the review of the concert at the Wigmore Hall streamed online on May 11-12. The French mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa and Turkish pianist Fazıl Say performed songs by Debussy, Ravel, Fauré...
View ArticleLooking back on Josephine Powell
I only met Josephine Powell a couple of times, when I first moved to Istanbul, but her name was often heard in expat circles. I enjoyed the few things we had in common in spite of the age gap. We were...
View ArticleMélodies III: Fauré in Isfahan – the early works
We now come to the last in our series of explorations of the works of composers of chansons – French art songs. The purpose of the series, which has so far covered Reynaldo Hahn and Achille-Claude...
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Hotbed of passions: memories of the splendid Naum Theatre
Exactly 150 years ago, on June 5, 1870, Istanbul’s Italian opera house, the Naum Theatre, burnt to the ground in the great fire of Pera which ravaged a large section of the neighbourhood from Taksim...
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Silken treasures: Sotheby’s is back with a spectacular Bond Street Islamic Sale
After an auction-starved spring, hats off to Benedict Carter and the Islamic Department at Sotheby’s in London for persevering with their postponed Islamic World and India Sale, originally planned for...
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Sotheby’s is back with a spectacular Bond Street Arts of the Islamic Art...
After an auction-starved spring, hats off to Edward Gibbs, Benedict Carter and the Islamic Department at Sotheby’s London for persevering with their postponed Arts of the Islamic World & India...
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