Terence Blanchard
On September 29 I attended a concert at the Zorlu Center – one of the events of the 33rd Akbank Jazz Festival – that was given by the American trumpet-player Terence Blanchard, the ‘E-Collective’ (his...
View ArticleA meeting of talents: the Ozan Musluoğlu Quintet
On September 13 I attended a jazz concert by the Ozan Musluoğlu Quintet, a mixed group of Turkish and American musicians, at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall. It was, of course, Friday the 13th, so I...
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Iyi Bayramlar from Kuzguncuk
The Turkish Republic turns 100 today – not just another candle on the cake, but a reliving of a moment of defiance. A nascent state claimed a very different destiny from that envisaged for it by the...
View ArticleA delicate touch
On Sunday October 15 I made another visit to the Cemil Reşit Rey Concert Hall, this time to hear Bach’s Goldberg Variations played by the Turkish pianist Özgür Aydın. The concert was subtitled Ayşegül...
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Celebrating the centenary
A large number of concerts of both Turkish and Western classical music were organised in Istanbul to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of the Republic of Turkey. Bearing in mind the...
View ArticleÉliane Reyes
On November 1 I made another visit to Notre Dame de Sion French Lycée in Harbiye to attend a concert by the Belgian pianist Éliane Reyes. This was the second of the musical events organised by this...
View ArticleA master’s voice
On December 2 I attended a concert at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall at which the CRR Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Mr Rengim Gökmen, one of Turkey’s leading wielders of the baton. This was...
View ArticleA master’s voice
On December 2 I attended a concert at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall at which the CRR Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Mr Rengim Gökmen, one of Turkey’s leading wielders of the baton. This was...
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Luminous LARTA
There is something truly wonderful about the the London Antique Rugs and Textile Fair this year. It has slightly fewer exhibitors – 15 in all, which means some friends are missing – but it means their...
View ArticleStern stuff, but a sumptuous feast
The programme for the concert I attended at the Atatürk Cultural Centre in Taksim Square on January 5, 2024 consisted of only two works: Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No 1 in D major and Bruckner’s...
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The third way
A slow-braised rib of beef wrapped in yufka pastry, served on chilli lime yoghurt with smoked paprika oil I have suffered these long years from a split gastronomic personality. One of my selves seeks...
View ArticleStern stuff, but a sumptuous feast
The programme for the concert I attended at the Atatürk Cultural Centre in Taksim Square on January 5, 2024 consisted of only two works: Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No 1 in D major and Bruckner’s...
View ArticleRandy Esen
The last time I heard Randy Esen sing was in July 2019, when she was performing at Uniq Istanbul with three other musicians: her husband Aydın Esen on piano and keyboards, Tommy Campbell on drums and...
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Tightrope jazz
On Sunday February 18 I visited Bova, a small jazz club located in Mis Sokak, Beyoğlu. My companion and I had booked early, and so were given the privilege of sitting very close to the stage. The...
View ArticleMaometto Secundo
It had been far too long since I had been to the opera in Istanbul, so on February 28 I made a visit to the Atatürk Cultural Centre to attend a performance of Gioachino Rossini’s two-act opera...
View ArticleThe Istanbul Modern celebrates Ozan Sağdıç
Ozan Sağdıç by Annette Solakoğlu The Istanbul Modern's new photography exhibit, Ozan Sagdic, The Photographers Testimony, was a wonderful surprise to both of us, not a familiar name but an important...
View ArticleThe rough with the smooth
Having recently been to see Rossini’s Maometto Secundo at the Atatürk Cultural Centre, and having had my appetite for opera whetted as a result, I resolved to repeat the experience. Accordingly, on...
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A world apart
An afternoon at the Sotheby's and Christie's during Islamic Sales Week is always full of intrigue and beauty. The Russian court was full of Ottoman treasures. Catherine the Great's crowned cipher the...
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Simplicity was never this complicated
Rutin is a tiny, determinedly informal restaurant in a wiggly backstreet of Istanbul’s Beyoğlu. It translates as “routine,” but this strikes me as being a misnomer for what is in many ways a puzzling...
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Simplicity was never this complicated
Rutin is a tiny, determinedly informal restaurant in a wiggly backstreet of Istanbul’s Beyoğlu (pictured above by Monica Fritz). It translates as ‘routine’, but this strikes me as being a misnomer for...
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