BSO Starts Concert Season in Spectacular Fashion
BY ALP RODOPLU (HIST/V)
Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (BSO) began its 2011-12 concert season in spectacular fashion with two performances last Friday and Saturday, leaving the audience wishing for more and anxious to return to hear what will undoubtedly be yet another sensational year of classical music at its best.
For its opening concerts, the BSO, under the conductorship of artistic director Işın Metin, was joined by two world-renowned guest soloists, Şirin Pancaroğlu on harp and Sharon Bezaly on flute, to perform Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto in C major (K. 299). Also on the program were the Adagio from Mahler's Symphony No.10 and Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony in D minor (Op. 47). With the BSO's accompaniment, the two musicians left the audience in what can only be called wonderment, a kind of blessed ecstasy.
Sharon Bezaly, "God's gift to the flute" as The Times describes her, is one of the few full-time concert flutist/soloists, for whom 17 concertos have been written by acclaimed composers. She was named instrumentalist of the year by Germany's Klassik Echo in 2002 and young artist of the year in 2003 at the 
Cannes Classical Awards.
For her part, Şirin Pancaroğlu is the best-known Turkish harpist on the music scene today, whom The Washington Post has called "a national treasure and a great talent of international caliber."
This weekend, Bezaly and Pancaroğlu demonstrated to the Ankara audience that all awards and ascribed descriptions were well deserved.
When considered together with the long list of renowned guest conductors, soloists, ensembles and choirs, as well as the many rising young talents we will be listening to in the 2011-12 concert season, the BSO's performance on the opening weekend with Bezaly and Pancaroğlu shows that what awaits us is a year as breathtaking as any before, if not more so.
To find out more about the BSO and the 2011-12 concert season, go to www.bso.bilkent.edu.tr. Tickets may be obtained online at www.mybilet.com or at the Bilkent Concert Hall box office, which may be reached at ext.1775.
One last thing for newcomers to Bilkent: Try not to miss out on the BSO's concerts! They will not only be remarkable musical programs, but will also contribute enormously to your overall learning experience here at Bilkent. Because, after all, there is really no other campus in Turkey that does classical music better than Bilkent.