BY ŞEBNEM TÜRE (PSYC/II)
The Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, the first private, international, academic orchestral ensemble to be established in Turkey, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
The BSO’s 2018–19 concert season started last weekend, on October 12 and 13, with two memorable concerts that featured internationally renowned pianist Fazıl Say as soloist. The concerts were directed by the young Italian conductor Nil Venditti – whom Mr. Say has called “one of the best conductors of the century” – marking her first appearance on the podium in Turkey.
As tickets for the program had been sold out months in advance, the orchestra broadcast the October 13 concert online via its Facebook site, giving those who were not able to be in the Bilkent Concert Hall the opportunity to hear the performance.
The new BSO season features guest appearances by both master artists and young talents, including some names that will be familiar to Ankara music-lovers, along with musicians who will be coming to Turkey for the first time. Well-known soloists such as David Guerrirer and Behzod Abduraimov, and important guest conductors that include Gürer Aykal and Alexander Liebreich, are among those who will appear with the BSO.
The orchestra also continues to support young artists by providing them with opportunities to perform in concert; for instance, Bilkent alumni Demirhan Gökbudak, Berfin Aksu, Ezgi Su Apaydın and Muhammedjan Sharipov will be featured as violin soloists in concertos by Vivaldi and Torelli as part of a program commemorating Atatürk on November 10.
The BSO concert schedule for the 2018–19 season may be found at: http://bso.bilkent.edu.tr/tr/bso-konserleri/
To purchase tickets: https://bilet.bilkent.edu.tr