Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) with the support of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism and 15 institutions, corporations and individual supporters, the digital concerts of the 48th Istanbul Music Festival ended on 5 November.
Organised virtually on online.iksv.org, the 48th Istanbul Music Festival opened a new concert every day for streaming between 18 September and 5 October. The festival brought together 300 musicians throughout 21 days, with 99 works performed, in 20 concerts performed and filmed in 18 different venues in Istanbul, Ankara and Europe.
Festival’s online platform online.iksv.org attracted more than 165.000 individual visits, with concerts streamed by close to 80.000 people.
Festival’s Opening Concert was streamed by more than 12.000 people
The festival opened on 18 September on İKSV’s YouTube channel with the concert of Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Aziz Shokhakimov with violinist Emre Engin as the soloist. The online concert, which was preceded by the opening speech of the Chairman of İKSV Bülent Eczacıbaşı and introductions of this year’s festival award recipients, was streamed by more than 12.000 people.
Festival celebrated the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth
In 2020, the festival, centred on the theme The Enlightened World of Beethoven celebrated the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, along with the rest of the world. The festival featured iconic works of the composer, as well as new commissions and projects inspired by his music.
Concert recordings at historical venues
Festival concerts were filmed by professional crews at historical venues in Istanbul, Ankara and various cities of Europe, including the Theodosius Cistern, Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, Khedive Palace, Tophane-i Amire Culture and Art Centre, Harbiye Saint Esprit Cathedral, Surp Ohan Vosgeperan Armenian Catholic Church, Süreyya Opera House in Istanbul, and the Abbaye de Stavelot, Wonderfeel Festival Site, Schubertkirche in Belgium, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.
Festival awards
The 48th Istanbul Music Festival’s Honorary Award was presented to musicologist and music writer Ahmet Say. One of the leading representatives of Russian school of music; cellist, conductor, pianist, harpsichordist, and professor Alexander Rudin was the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Alexander Rudin will be presented with his award at the festival next year.
Festival contributed to artistic production with three new commissions
Istanbul Music Festival commissions new works to local and international composers since 2011 to support contemporary artistic production. This year, the festival enriched contemporary music repertoire with three new commissions.
Interweaving Beethoven’s Pastoral with themes from Ottoman composers, the commission to the Turkish composer Turgay Erdener titled Nonet Pastoral ‘alla turca’ had its world premiere online this year.
The world premiere of Toprak Sever İnsanları Birer Birer (Earth Loves People One by One) by Hasan Uçarsu, a co-commission with Tekfen Foundation funded by Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation; and the Turkey premiere of Peteris Vasks’ new work String Quartet No. 6, a co-commission by the Istanbul Music Festival, Philharmonie Essen, Autumn Chamber Music Festival Riga and Wigmore Hall supported by André Hoffmann, the President of the Hoffmann Foundation will be performed next year at the festival.
Project for children: The Stronger Together Choir II (Birlikte Güçlü Sesler Korosu II)
The Stronger Together Choir (Birlikte Güçlü Sesler Korosu), which brought children and youth with various disabilities together with the Music for Peace Foundation Choir at the 47th Istanbul Music Festival, brought children from refugee and host communities together in Turkey this year. Initiated by İKSV Alt Kat: Learning and Interaction Space with the support of Istanbul Development Agency (İSTKA) in 2019, the second edition of The Stronger Together Choir II (Birlikte Güçlü Sesler Korosu II) was realised with the kind contribution of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The choir, which was conducted by Zeynep Eren Kovankaya and consisted of children from the Human Resource Development Foundation, Mavi Kalem Social Assistance and Solidarity Association and the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Immigrants, presented the unifying power of music between different cultures with a multilingual repertoire.
Following their rehearsals between February and September, The Stronger Together Choir II (Birlikte Güçler Sesler Korosu II) met the audience at a mini concert before BIPO Focus: “From Baroque to Classical” concert on 2 October. The concert can be streamed on İKSV’s YouTube channel.
Festival continued to support the ‘Women Stars of Tomorrow’ through Young Women Musicians Support Fund
In 2018, the festival initiated a project to support the next generation of female musicians. Women Stars of Tomorrow: Young Women Musicians Support Fund was launched in collaboration with TSKB (Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bank) and the contribution of the audiences to advance the international careers of gifted musicians in the branches of instrument, singing, and conducting.
Among the 12 young women musicians selected for support, Ece Selin Yüksel (flute), İdil Bursa (cello), İlke Işı tuncer (violin), İrem Özyiğit (double bass), and Seher Karabiber (flute) made their appearance at a concert recorded at the Süreyya Opera House with the pianist Ayşegül Sarıca as guest artist. The concert was streamed online between 29 September and 29 October.
Supporters of the 48th Istanbul Music Festival
The 48th Istanbul Music Festival was organised with the support of several performance sponsors. Performance sponsors with the Highest Contribution were Borusan Sanat, Borusan Holding, Tekfen Foundation and Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş. / Mercedes-Benz Otomotiv Tic. ve Hiz. A.Ş.
Among the festival’s performance sponsors were Türkiye İş Bankası, STONELINE, Nobel İlaç, bluechip Creative Events, Bell Group & Organik Holding, Berrin Erengül & Eva Barlas, Elvan Tuğsuz Güven, Işıklar Holding and Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş. / Mercedes-Benz Otomotiv Tic. ve Hiz. A.Ş.
Additionally, Tekfen Foundation supported the festival with the Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra as the festival’s Opening Concert Orchestra through 2019-2022.
TSKB (Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası) supported the festival as the Education Support Fund Sponsor.
The 48th Istanbul Music Festival was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Governorship of Istanbul, the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Kültür AŞ, Beşiktaş Municipality and Kadıköy Municipality.
The festival took place with the kind collaborations of Austrian Cultural Forum, BTHVN2020 Beethoven Pastoral Project, Biletix, Bilkent University and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Boğaziçi University, Brucknerhaus Linz and Salzkammergut Klassik Festival, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Tophane-i Amire Culture and Art Centre, Harbiye Saint Esprit Cathedral, Süreyya Opera House, Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, Wonderfeel Festival, Consulate General of the Netherlands in Istanbul and The Performing Arts Fund NL.
The Founding Sponsor of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts is Eczacıbaşı Group, İKSV Official Hotel Sponsor is The Marmara Group, the Insurance Sponsor is Zurich Insurance Group, and the Service Sponsors are American Hospital, Navitas, GFK, and AGC.
The 48th Istanbul Music Festival’s promotional campaign was led by an advisory board comprised of Pemra Ataç, Uğurcan Ataoğlu, and Kenan Ünsal. The festival poster was designed by Geray Gencer and illustrated by Müjde Polatkan whereas the campaign video was prepared by Animasyon Cumhuriyeti.
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