Turkish Music Folder

[jowcol]

NOTE:  I originally had to choose between a couple of spellings for this composer's last name, but have been noitfied that Ismanbas may be the better spelling than Usmanbas.  If you are researching, try both spellings!

Starting a new thread here-- I could not find a discussion about the Turkish Music Folder, where I just Symphony 3 by Turkish Composer Ilhan Usmanbas in the downloads section.  He's the older gentleman below:



Some Wikipedia info about the composer:

İlhan Usmanbaş (born 28 September 1921) is a Turkish composer.

Born in Istanbul, Usmanbaş grew up in Ayvalık. When he was twelve years old, his elder brother gave him a cello, and began to teach himself to play.

After moving back to Istanbul, he studied the cello seriously. His maths teacher, a lover of music, advised Usmanbaş to give up the career that he had planned for himself: "We have enough engineers in Turkey. You should be a composer instead."[1]

After graduating from Galatasaray High School, Usmanbaş went on to study under members of the Turkish Five – Cemal Reşit Rey, Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Hasan Ferit Alnar, Ulvi Cemal Erkin, and Necil Kazım Akses – and David Zirkin, at Ankara State Conservatory.

In 1952, he went to the United States on a UNESCO scholarship, where he came under the influence of American pioneers of new and experimental music. In 1955 he received a FROMM Music Award, in 1971 he became a State Artist; in 1993 he received a gold medal from the Sevda Cenap And Foundation, in 2000 Boğaziçi University awarded him an honorary doctorate, and in 2004 he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 32nd Istanbul International Music Festival, he is teacher of Music at Istanbul Bilgi University.

Usmanbaş is an experimental composer, one of the second generation of Turkish composers, coming after the Five (and opposed to their ideas). He works with a freedom of form and a concentration on intensity rather than melody, with techniques that include neo-classicism, aleatoric music, twelve tone, serialism, and minimalism.

He has composed nearly 120 works, and has won more foreign awards and citations than any other Turkish composer, including commissions from the Koussevitzky foundation in the United States, and prizes from the Wieniawski competition in Poland, the International Composers Tribune in Paris, and the International Competition for Ballet Music in Switzerland.

Usmanbaş is married to opera singer Atıfet Usmanbaş.

[eschiss1]

Turkey has (and has had) a thriving classical music culture- looking forward to hearing the Usmanbas recording.  I have, since college, enjoyed (commercial) recordings of several works by Saygun (symphonies, quartets, concertos, an oratorio Yunus Emre) and (if I recall- I may have heard of him rather than works by him...) Akses. Have also heard of several other composers from Turkey I hope to investigate...

[jowcol]

Turkey has (and has had) a thriving classical music culture- looking forward to hearing the Usmanbas recording.  I have, since college, enjoyed (commercial) recordings of several works by Saygun (symphonies, quartets, concertos, an oratorio Yunus Emre) and (if I recall- I may have heard of him rather than works by him...) Akses. Have also heard of several other composers from Turkey I hope to investigate...

I really like Ince's 2nd symphony, fwiw.

[Dundonnell]

The Usmambas Symphony file appears to have a problem. Mediafire is refusing to provide a download

Will try again tomorrow

[jowcol]

The Usmambas Symphony file appears to have a problem. Mediafire is refusing to provide a download

Will try again tomorrow

It just worked for me-- Try again tomorrow and let me know.

[Dundonnell]

Yep    Fine now

[fr8nks]

It took three tries to achieve a download. So if at first you don't succeed.....

[a.b.]

sorry, wrong threat

[eschiss1]

erm... bwah-hah-hah-hah-haaaa?... er... no, that doesn't work either. ;^)

[JollyRoger]

Some stunning marvelous music by Adnan Saygun, N Kazim Akses, UC Erkin, CR Rey, Ferit Tuzin, Hassan Alnar and a few others has largely been neglected in the US especially, but Saygun is gaining some well deserved notice.  His 5 symphonies, Ritual (Magic) Dance and Viola Concerto are good places to start.
Try browsing here to listen to some of it:

http://www.youtube.com/user/zoptrikeman?feature=watch#g/u

[lechner1110]

　I like musics by N Kazim Akses very much.
  We can listen his Sym#1 and Sym#5 in this youtube channel.  What a powerful work!
  I hope we can listen his other symphonies

[Jacky]

Saygun's music left me a little disappointed-not enough "turkish" perhaps.I am listening now to Stokovsky's Yunus Emre and it sounds not bad.The version offered here is not complete-the works clocks 1 hour.Also recommended Fazil Say's Nazim.Can someone tell me where I can find turkish cello concertos?

[Christopher]

I am in Istanbul at the moment (actually now at the airport, about to leave this amazing city). There is a good classical music shop at the end of Istiklal, the main shopping street, with very helpful and knowledgeable people working in there. They have a lot of Turkish classical CDs and classical CDs from neighbouring countries (Iran, Georgia, Armenia etc). There was one CD called Turkish Baroque Music. The composers listed on the back had Turkish sounding names. Am now regretting not buying it!

[JollyRoger]

　I like musics by N Kazim Akses very much.
  We can listen his Sym#1 and Sym#5 in this youtube channel.  What a powerful work!
  I hope we can listen his other symphonies

This is a compelling and powerful Akses work you must hear:
Necil Kazim Akses - War for Peace, Symphonic Poem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTYA0Qzcsq8&feature=related

[ambersmiths]

Thanks man thanks for the great thread..