ATATÜRK CULTURAL CENTRE HIGHLIGHTS
Atatürk Kültür Merkezi* or ‘AKM’, Türk Telekom Opera Hall, Taksim – Beyoğlu, 34437 Istanbul
Events at this venue
bilgi@akmistanbul.gov.tr
Tel: ++90 212 372 50 00
Thursday March 05 Saturday March 07
Opera
Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’
The AKM website tells us the following about this work: ‘Don Giovanni, composed by the Austrian musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and first staged in 1787, has secured its place among the masterpieces of opera literature. Richard Wagner even claimed it to be the ‘opera of all operas’. This work, described as a ‘dark comedy’ with a libretto penned by the brilliant librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, showcases the best and worst of human nature, where spiritual and worldly desires, comedy and tragedy merge through Mozart’s genius.
‘Don Giovanni, the legendary character known for his libertine lifestyle, unbounded by rules and norms, is a Spanish nobleman famed for seducing women, turning his passion for them into his life’s purpose. His wealth and power shield him from the consequences of his actions until he commits a murder that eventually leads to his downfall. The opera vividly portrays the sociological crises and psychological analyses of different characters, all stemming from their inability to resist Don Giovanni’s advances, highlighting the societal implications of his actions across various social statuses.’
These performances are directed by Aytaç Manizade. (The AKM and Biletinial websites give different information about the conductors involved.) In my review of a performance of Don Giovanni at the AKM in March last year, I said that coordination between the singers and the orchestra was somewhat shaky, the former being almost invariably slightly behind, or slightly ahead of, the latter. I very much hope that further rehearsal will have sorted this problem out by the time the performances in March this year take place.
Atatürk Cultural Centre (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi or ‘AKM’) Türk Telekom Opera Hall, Gümüşsuyu Mah., Mete Cad. No 2 (formerly Tak-ı Zafer Cad.) – i.e., Taksim Square – Beyoğlu, 34437 Istanbul
Thursday March 05 – 20:30 Saturday March 07 – 15:00
Tickets from Biletinial Prices: 240TL, 335TL, 440TL, 660TL, 890TL
Friday March 06
Orchestral music, cello concerto
Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, David Cohen
The Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of German-Italian guest conductor Nicolò Umberto Foron, will begin its programme with the English composer Edward Elgar’s ‘contemplative and elegiac’ Cello Concerto in E minor, written in the aftermath of the First World War and first performed in 1919. The solo cello part will be played by the Belgian cellist David Cohen. In the second half, the orchestra will play Haydn’s Symphony No 104 in D major, the so-called ‘London Symphony’, first performed in 1795 and the last symphony the composer wrote. A description of the work is provided by Herbert Glass on the ‘LA Phil’ website. This event is one of the DenizBank Concerts.
Atatürk Cultural Centre (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi or ‘AKM’) Türk Telekom Opera Hall, Gümüşsuyu Mah., Mete Cad. No 2 (formerly Tak-ı Zafer Cad.) – i.e., Taksim Square – Beyoğlu, 34437 Istanbul
20:00
Tickets from Biletinial Prices: 260TL, 325TL, 455TL, 520TL, 650TL
Saturday March 07
Coffee Concert
Bogatay Köprülü, Birce Polat (piano)
This Türk Telekom Prime Coffee Concert features two pianists: Bogatay Köprülü (who is also a composer) and Birce Polat, who has been highly praised by the celebrated virtuoso Gülsin Onay. On the programme are the Partita No 1 in B flat major, BWV 825, by J.S. Bach, the Variations Sérieuses, Opus 54, by Mendelssohn and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D 899, this being the first of the two sets of impromptus he wrote. As an encore, the pianists will perform an improvisation (piano four hands).
Atatürk Cultural Centre (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi or ‘AKM’) Türk Telekom Opera Hall lower floor foyer, Gümüşsuyu Mah., Mete Cad. No 2 (formerly Tak-ı Zafer Cad.) – i.e., Taksim Square – Beyoğlu, 34437 Istanbul
11:00
Tickets from Biletinial Price: 350TL
Friday March 13
Orchestral music, piano concerto
Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Gülsin Onay
The Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of the Colombian lady conductor Lina Gonzales Granados, will first accompany the distinguished Turkish piano virtuoso Gülsin Onay in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 1 in E minor, Opus 11. This work, written in 1830 (when the composer was 20 years old) was actually written immediately after the first performance of his Piano Concerto No 2. In the second half, the orchestra will play the Symphony No 2, Opus 16, by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931). Subtitled ‘The Four Temperaments’, this work was written in 1901-02 and is dedicated to the Italian composer, pianist, conductor and pedagogue Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924). Each of the four movements depicts one of the four ‘humours’ – choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic and sanguine. This event, held in honour of International Women’s Day (March 08), is one of the DenizBank Concerts.
Atatürk Cultural Centre (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi or ‘AKM’) Türk Telekom Opera Hall, Gümüşsuyu Mah., Mete Cad. No 2 (formerly Tak-ı Zafer Cad.) – i.e., Taksim Square – Beyoğlu, 34437 Istanbul
20:00
Tickets from Biletinial Prices: 260TL, 325TL, 455TL, 520TL, 650TL
Saturday March 14
Coffee Concert
Anatolian Clarinet Connection
In this Türk Telekom Prime Coffee Concert, the ‘Anatolian Clarinet Connection’, consisting of Yağızcan Keskin (clarinet), Çağdaş Engin (basset horn and clarinet), Onur Ustabaş (bass clarinet) and Kandemir Basmacıoğlu (piano), will perform arrangements of the Polovtsian Dances by Alexander Borodin, Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Three Preludes by George Gershwin, Pequeña Czarda (‘Little Dance’) by Pedro Iturralde and three Turkish folk songs.
Atatürk Cultural Centre (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi or ‘AKM’) Türk Telekom Opera Hall lower floor foyer, Gümüşsuyu Mah., Mete Cad. No 2 (formerly Tak-ı Zafer Cad.) – i.e., Taksim Square – Beyoğlu, 34437 Istanbul
11:00
Tickets from Biletinial Price: 350TL
Saturday March 21
Coffee Concert
Solo harp recital
This Türk Telekom Prime Coffee Concert is a solo performance by harpist Güneş Hızlılar, a member of the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra trained at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. She is to perform the following pieces and arrangements: the Sonata in A major, K209, by Domenico Scarlatti; Deux Divertissements by André Caplet; the three-movement Sonata for Harp by Paul Hindemith; Küçük Çoban and Zeybek Havası by Ulvi Cemal Erkin; Souvenir du Bosphore by Elias Parish Alvars; Rhapsodie by Marcel Grandjany; and Azerbaijani Dance by Avner Dorman.
Atatürk Cultural Centre (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi or ‘AKM’) Türk Telekom Opera Hall lower floor foyer, Gümüşsuyu Mah., Mete Cad. No 2 (formerly Tak-ı Zafer Cad.) – i.e., Taksim Square – Beyoğlu, 34437 Istanbul
11:00
Tickets from Biletinial Price: 350TL
Friday March 27
Orchestral music, piano concerto
Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Evelyne Berezovsky
Atatürk Cultural Centre (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi or ‘AKM’) Türk Telekom Opera Hall, Gümüşsuyu Mah., Mete Cad. No 2 (formerly Tak-ı Zafer Cad.) – i.e., Taksim Square – Beyoğlu, 34437 Istanbul
The Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of American guest conductor Ryan McAdams, will first accompany the Russian pianist Evelyne Berezovsky, trained in Russia, Britain, Italy and France, in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 2 in G major. In the second half, the orchestra will perform Debussy’s La Mer (‘The Sea’ – a three-movement work the composer began in Burgundy in 1903 and completed in Eastbourne in 1905) and Ravel’s five-movement Ma mère l’Oye (‘Mother Goose’) suite, written in 1910 for piano duet and orchestrated in 1911. Both La Mer and Ma mère l’Oye are regarded as masterpieces of orchestration. This event is one of the DenizBank Concerts.
20:00
Tickets from Biletinial Prices: 260TL, 325TL, 455TL, 520TL, 650TL
Saturday March 28
Coffee Concert
Cello and piano recital
In a programme entitled ‘The Romantic Cello’, Turkish cellist Ozan Evrim Tunca (Associate Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the Anadolu University State Conservatoire in Eskişehir) and British pianist and composer Caroline Tyler, trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, will perform Sergei Rachmaninov’s four-movement Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Opus 19. This work, completed in 1901 and known as one of the most romantic works for this combination of instruments, will be followed by a selection of shorter pieces. This event is one of the Türk Telekom Prime Coffee Concerts.
Atatürk Cultural Centre (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi or ‘AKM’) Türk Telekom Opera Hall lower floor foyer, Gümüşsuyu Mah., Mete Cad. No 2 (formerly Tak-ı Zafer Cad.) – i.e., Taksim Square – Beyoğlu, 34437 Istanbul
11:00
Tickets from Biletinial Price: 350TL
