On August 29 and 30, a special concert took place at the Bilkent Odeon. The Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of head conductor Naci Özgüç, performed the “Nazım Oratorio,” composed in 2001 by pianist Fazıl Say in honor of the great Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet.
The oratorio is a 75-minute-long work for narrator, mezzo-soprano, baritone, piano, orchestra, and adult and children’s choruses. In these performances, actor Genco Erkal took the role of the narrator, reading poems by Nazım, while Mr. Say was at the piano. Vocal soloists were mezzo-soprano Serenad Bağcan and baritones Arda Aktar and Güvenç Dağüstün, with the Nazım Hikmet Chorus taking on the choral role.
Together, the two performances drew an audience of nearly 8,000, who gave this contemporary work a warm reception, enthusiastically applauding the composer, narrator, singers and orchestra.