Classical music

The classical scene is an interesting one. During the Istanbul Music Festival most concerts are sold out, but this crowd is nowhere to be found during the seasonal concerts. This may be because they have a desire to be seen and see during this prestigious festival. The crowd for this genre is usually older and better-off.

Serhan Bali is a dedicated, knowledgeable and resourceful man regarding classical music in Turkey. He is the editor of Andante, a classical music magazine, and also writes for the Radikal newspaper.

Klasik Müzik Kulübü –Turkey’s first classical music club established by Serhan Bali in Istanbul. It has around 200 members in Istanbul and also has branches in Ankara, İzmir, Bursa and Antalya.

Doğan Hızlan is a veteran arts and culture journalist. He is a great supporter of classical music.

Evin İlyasoğlu is a splendid musicologist and has written numberless books on music history, both regarding Turkish and Western classical music.

Yalçın Çetinkaya is the General Artistic Director of Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall (one of the two best concert halls in Istanbul). He is very knowledgeable about what is going on in Turkey and in the world regarding classical and world music.

Istanbul Müzik Festivali – the first music festival of the country, celebrated its 38th year this June. More than 20,000 people attended 21 events. It is organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV)

Uluslararası Ankara Müzik Festivali –the capital city’s music festival was held for the 27th time this April. It is organized by the Sevda-Cenap And Müzik Vakfı.

Uluslararası İzmir Müzik Festivali (International İzmir Music Festival) – takes place in July in the city of İzmir. It is very prestigious and celebrated its 24th year in 2010.

Afyonkarahisar Klasik Müzik Festivali (Afyonkarahisar Classical Music Festival) –takes place in April and celebrated its 9th year this year. This festival is unique since it is not in a major city of Anatolia. The driving force behind this organization is a man called Hüseyin Başkadem. He is an ex-music teacher and deserves a huge applause for his efforts to turn Afyon into a music town for the last 10 years.

D-Marin Turgutreis Uluslararası Müzik Festivali –this festival is at its 6th year and has already climbed up the prestige ranks. It is special because it takes place in a marina in Bodrum.

Uluslararası Gümüşlük Klasik Müzik Festivali (International Gümüşlük Classical Müzik Festival) – Takes place for about two months, from July to September. Its artistic advisor is pianist Gülsin Onay and the festival director is Eren Levendoğlu.

 Bilkent Senfoni Orkestrası – based in Ankara

Hacettepe Senfoni Orkestrası –based in Ankara

Borusan Istanbul Filarmoni Orkestrası –founded in 1999 by the private company Borusan. Its inauguary conductor Gürer Aykal transferred his duty to Sasha Goetzel in 2009. They hold New Year’s concerts as it is the tradition with many European orchestras.