Ahmed Adnan Saygun

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Ahmet Adnan Saygun, 1988

Ahmed Adnan Saygun (born September 7, 1907 in İzmir , † January 6, 1991 in İstanbul ) was a Turkish composer , musician and musicologist who was one of the leading representatives of a reform of Turkish music aimed at Western classical music in the Turkish Republic founded in 1923 belonged to. He belonged to the Turkish Five , the group of the first professional composers in Turkey.

education

Youth in İzmir

As the son of the married couple Mehmet Celal (math teacher) and Zeynep Seniha, Ahmed Adnan was born in İzmir in 1907, after his sister Nebile, as the second child . There were no musicians in the family, but the father was an active member of the Mevlevi order and took part in the Zikr as master of ceremonies, a circumstance that would also shape young Adnan for life. In the middle school Ittihad ve Terakki Nümune Sultanisi he was taught singing and piano, the school had its own choir (which is unusual for Turkish standards ) (on which his later choral works are based). From the music teacher Ismail Zühdü he received basic piano lessons at this school, which he was to continue with the Turkish-Hungarian teacher Macar Tevfik (later he was to teach the Romanian Queen Elisabeth zu Wied ). In parallel to the lessons in middle school he developed an interest in composing , for which he translated French-language articles from his father's library (the father founded the İzmir city library) into Turkish. a. Article by Salomon Jadassohn and Ernst Friedrich Richter . After finishing school, he tried his hand at bookselling and pianist in the silent film theater in İzmir.

The announcement by President Mustafa Kemal of a musical revolution towards polyphonic western music , for which music teachers were urgently needed in the country , represented an important career leap for the job seeker with a passion for classical music. With the fall of the Ottoman multi-ethnic state, palace music fell out of favor and the creation of an opposing, national music based on Anatolian folk music "refined" by Western classical music was promoted. Ahmed Adnan received an apprenticeship as a music teacher in İzmir and managed to qualify as a scholarship holder in a competition in 1928, which made a stay in Europe possible. He decided to study at the Schola Cantorum in Paris . There he was u. a. Instructed by Vincent d'Indy in composition and by Paul Le Flem in counterpoint, there were also choir and organ lessons. Encouraged by his teachers because of his talent, he wrote his Opus 1 (Divertimento) and entered it in an international competition as part of the Paris Colonial Exhibition. The oriental-looking piece prevailed, but it was not possible for him to take part in the premiere because his scholarship had expired in 1931 and - again in Turkey - he could not raise the money for a return trip and his father had plans for a music career was suspicious of.

Career

Saygun received an accolade in 1934 when he was commissioned to produce a Turkish-language singspiel in just four weeks for the state visit of the Iranian Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi in Ankara ; the topic, based on the famous work of Schahname Firdausi , was personally specified by President Mustafa Kemal. Impressed by his skills, Mustafa Kemal made him head of the presidential orchestra (Riyaset-i Cumhur Filarmoni Orkestrasi) , although as a young upstart he was only able to hold this position for a short time, as he was in charge of the office - in his opinion because of intrigue - lost again and the "French school" of classical music he represented was defeated in the competition to determine Turkey's music-political future against the increasing influence of the German school, with others claiming that it had failed because of its petty-perfectionist character. Entrusted with various teaching positions (he headed the music education department of the Halkevi educational institutions) he disappeared from the limelight. During this time he met his Hungarian partner Irene Savaks and married her. The important music-ethnological expedition into the Anatolian interior, initiated by Béla Bartók , in which he assisted Bartók , also took place during this period . This trip had a strong influence on the style of the post-romantic saygun, which is why it is also called "Turkish Bartók" or "Turkish Szymanowski " due to the same musical approach .

He was supposed to celebrate rehabilitation with the oratorio for Yunus Emre in 1951, which was based on the humanistic interpretation of the Anatolian poet Yunus Emre. The work attracted national as well as international attention and has been translated and performed many times into several languages. In 1959 it was performed in New York under the direction of Leopold Stokowski on the anniversary of the founding of the UN. In the same year he received the Jean Sibelius Medal, which the composer expressly welcomed shortly before his death. This high point in his career was followed by a period of depression, but during which he remained productive. In this mature phase after 1952, a. his three main operatic works Kerem, Köroğlu and Gılgameş , his five symphonies, his two concertos for piano and orchestra (Op. 44 and Op. 71), his concerto for viola and orchestra (Op. 59) and the cello concerto (Op. 74) which particularly stand out.

The Ahmed Adnan Saygun Sanat Merkezi cultural center in İzmir named after him

A lack of recognition from the state and society (for example, an offer by Stokowski to perform his work Yunus Emre in the Hagia Sophia was torpedoed by bureaucrats) left him disappointed. The golden years of the promotion of classical music due to more conservative governments had passed, so that the appointment as "state artist" in 1972 left him cold. In the same year he retired from his position as a lecturer at the Ankara Conservatory and moved to Istanbul, where he continued to teach at the Conservatory there until his death. Throughout his life he was busy training music teachers. One of his students is Gülsin Onay , to whom he dedicated his second piano concerto (Op. 71).

The last two years of life were marked by physical ailments and dwindling eyesight. He died in his apartment in Istanbul in 1991 and was buried in the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery. One month after his death, his previously canceled work Oratorio for Yunus Emre was performed in the Hagia Sophia despite Islamist protests .

Bilkent University takes care of the estate and research . In his hometown İzmir, the opera house was named in his honor.

Works

  • Op. 1, Divertimento for orchestra, 1930
  • Op. 2, suite for piano, 1931
  • Op. 3, Ağıtlar (Laments) I for solo tenor and male choir, 1932
  • Op. 4, intuition for two clarinets, 1933
  • Op. 5, Manastır Türküsü for choir and orchestra, 1933
  • Op. 6, Song for Kızılırmak for soprano and orchestra, 1933
  • Op. 7, Çoban Armağanı for choir, 1933
  • Op. 8, music for clarinet, saxophone, piano and percussion , 1933
  • Op. 9, Özsoy, Opera, 1934
  • Op. 10, İnci's book for piano, 1934
  • Op. 11, Taş bebek, Opera, 1934
  • Op. 12, Sonata for violoncello and piano, 1935
  • Op. 13, Sihir Raksı for orchestra, 1934
  • Op. 14, suite for orchestra, 1936
  • Op. 15, Sonatina for piano, 1938
  • Op. 16, fairy tale for voice and orchestra, 1940
  • Op. 17, A Forest Fairy Tale, ballet music for orchestra, 1943
  • Op. 18, Dağlardan Ovalardan for choir, 1939
  • Op. 19, old style cantata , 1941
  • Op. 20, Sonata for violin and piano, 1941
  • Op. 21, From the Past Minutes for voice and orchestra, 1941
  • Op. 22, Bir tutam keklik for choir, 1943
  • Op. 23, Three songs for bass and piano, 1945
  • Op. 24, Halay for orchestra, 1943
  • Op. 25, From Anatolia for piano, 1945
  • Op. 26, Yunus Emre , Oratorio, 1942
  • Op. 27, String Quartet No. 1, 1942
  • Op. 28, Kerem, Opera, 1952
  • Op. 29, 1st symphony, 1953
  • Op. 30, 2nd symphony, 1958
  • Op. 31, Partita for solo cello, 1954
  • Op. 32, three ballads for voice and piano, 1955
  • Op. 33, Strauss for violin and piano, 1955
  • Op. 34, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1, 1958
  • Op. 35, String Quartet No. 2, 1957
  • Op. 36, Partita for violin solo, 1961
  • Op. 37, Trio for oboe, clarinet and harp, 1966
  • Op. 38, 10 etudes on the Aksak rhythm for piano, 1964
  • Op. 39, 3rd symphony, 1960
  • Op. 40, Modal Solfeggio , 1967
  • Op. 41, 10 folk songs for bass and orchestra, 1968
  • Op. 42, Sensations for 3 female voices, 1935
  • Op. 43, String Quartet No. 3, 1966
  • Op. 44, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, 1967
  • Op. 45, 12 preludes on the Aksak rhythm for piano, 1967
  • Op. 46, Quintet for Wind Instruments, 1968
  • Op. 47, 15 pieces on the Aksak rhythm for piano, 1967
  • Op. 48, Four songs for voice and piano (arrangement for orchestra), 1977
  • Op. 49, Dictum for string orchestra, 1970
  • Op. 50, Three Preludes for Two Harps, 1971
  • Op. 51, Little Things for Piano, 1956
  • Op. 52, Köroğlu, Opera, 1973
  • Op. 53, 4th Symphony, 1974
  • Op. 54, Ağıtlar (Laments) II for solo tenor and male choir, 1974
  • Op. 55, Trio for clarinet, oboe and piano, 1975
  • Op. 56, ballad for two pianos, 1975
  • Op. 57, Ayin Raksı for orchestra, 1975
  • Op. 58: 10 sketches on the Aksak rhythm for piano, 1976
  • Op. 59, Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, 1977
  • Op. 60, The Words About Man I for voice and piano, 1977
  • Op. 61, The Words About Man II for voice and piano, 1977
  • Op. 62, Chamber Concert for String Instruments, 1978
  • Op. 63, The Words About Man III for voice and piano, 1983
  • Op. 64, The Words About Man IV for voice and piano, 1978
  • Op. 65, Gılgameş, Opera, 1962–1983
  • Op. 66, The Words About Man V for voice and piano, 1979
  • Op. 67, epic about Ataturk and Anatolia for soloists, choir and orchestra, 1981
  • Op. 68, songs for four harps, 1983
  • Op. 69, The Words About Man VI for Voice and Piano, 1984
  • Op. 70, 5th Symphony, 1985
  • Op. 71, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2, 1985
  • Op. 72, orchestral variations, 1985
  • Op. 73, Poem for two pianos, 1986
  • Op. 74, Concerto for Violoncello and Piano, 1987
  • Op. 75, Myth of the Dove, ballet music for orchestra, 1989

Awards

literature

Web links

Commons : Ahmed Adnan Saygun  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Emre Aracı: The life and works of Ahmed Adnan Saygun. PhD from the University of Edinburgh, 1999 ( Online, PDF )
  2. ^ David Hurwitz: Saygun: Piano Concertos. CD review on ClassicsToday , accessed July 3, 2015.
  3. ↑ ONORIFICENZE
personal data
SURNAME Saygun, Ahmed Adnan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Turkish composer, musician and musicologist
DATE OF BIRTH September 7, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH İzmir
DATE OF DEATH January 6, 1991
Place of death Istanbul