Ever since 2004, a music festival has been organised in Gümüşlük, a town near Bodrum on Turkey’s Aegean coast. The festival was originally the brainchild of a group of musicians led by two pianists – Eren Levendoğlu (as Artistic Director) and Gülsin Onay (as Artistic Consultant). Having begun as a small-scale piano event, it has now grown into an international festival that includes both classical music and jazz concerts. A total of 18 concerts will take place between July 17 and September 6; in addition, there will be master classes, and some promising young musicians will be provided with scholarships. There are three main venues: Taşta (‘On Stone’) – the historic stone quarry, known in Turkish as Antik Taş Ocağı; Suda (‘On Water’) – the coast at Gümüşlük; and Kumda (‘On Sand’) – the Festival Centre, known as Toprak Ev (the ‘Earthen House’).
This year, the organisers are the Bodrum Classical Music Association. The main sponsor is Bosfor Turizm, while contributions have also been made by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Muğla Municipality, Bodrum Municipality and the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce. Other partners: the Embassy and Istanbul Consulate-general of the Netherlands, Institut Français Turquie Izmir, and the Liszt Institute at the Hungarian Cultural Centre in Istanbul.
Here is a link to the Festival programme.
There are two ticketing websites: Biletix and Biletinial.
Events at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue (the Ancient Stone Quarry) begin at 21.00. Events at the Suda/‘On Water’ and Kumda/‘On Sand’ venues begin at 20.30.
CONCERTS
FRIDAY, JULY 17
This year’s events are scheduled to begin at the Festival Centre (the Kumda/‘On Sand’ venue) on the coast at Gümüşlük, where a fair will be organised. The opening concert will be given at sunset by the Peradi all-female vocal ensemble, and the event will be curated by Sista Sound, Turkey’s first all-female music collective.
WEDNESDAY JULY 22
The Mehmet Polat Quartet, based in Holland, play at the Suda/‘On Water’ venue.
FRIDAY JULY 24
Performance at the Suda/‘On Water’ venue by Umut Adan and Zebânis.
MONDAY JULY 2
Concert at the Suda/‘On Water’ venue by the Loek van den Berg Quintet (Holland).
WEDNESDAY JULY 29
Concert at the Suda/‘On Water’ venue by Babak Safarnejad and Shayan Noghresaz (piano and harmonica, Iran).
MONDAY AUGUST 03
Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by Vasco Dantas (piano, Portugal).
THURSDAY AUGUST 06
Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by Charles Owen (piano, UK).
SATURDAY AUGUST 08
Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by Attila Szaniszló (piano, Hungary) and Teppei Kuroda (piano, Japan).
MONDAY AUGUST 10
Kumda Piyano 1 (‘Piano on the Sand 1’), a concert by Master Class participants.
SATURDAY AUGUST 15
Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by Nicolas Bringuier (piano, France).
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19
Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by Craig Sheppard (piano, USA).
THURSDAY AUGUST 20
Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by the Varyon String Quartet (Japan, Turkey & Germany).
SATURDAY AUGUST 22
Kumda Piyano 2 (‘Piano on the Sand 2’), a concert by Master Class partcipants.
TUESDAY AUGUST 25
Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by Gwendolyn Masin (violin, Holland & Ireland) and Faruk Kalaycı (piano, Turkey).
FRIDAY AUGUST 28
Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by Ekin Su Paker (soprano, Turkey) and Fügen Yiğitgil (piano, Turkey).
SUNDAY AUGUST 30
Kumda Keman (‘Violin on the Sand’), a concert by Master Class partcipants.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 03
Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by the Somogyi String Quartet (Hungary).
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 06
Closing Concert at the Taşta/‘On Stone’ venue by Gülsin Onay (piano, Turkey), Erkin Onay (violin, Turkey) and Denis Shapovalov (cello, Russia).
MASTER CLASSES
The Gümüşlük Festival Academy’s Master Classes have so far been attended by over 2000 participants from many countries, including Turkey. In addition, the GFA provides a number of promising young musicians with scholarships that enable them to study abroad.
06-09 July:
Açık Sahne (‘Open Stage’) Master Class with Deren Eryılmaz, Elif Gökçe Türkili and Gülsin Onay
31 July-10 August:
1st Piano Master Class with Gülsin Onay, Vasco Dantas and Charles Owen
12-22 August:
2nd Piano Master Class with Craig Sheppard, Nicolas Bringuier and Gülsin Onay
25-30 August:
Violin Master Class with Gwendolyn Masin
