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| 24 April 2005 | Sunday | 14 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426 |
Turkish musicians entrance audience
ISLAMABAD, April 23: Sanem Berkalp, Ezgi Goenluim Yalcin and Goilyar Balji, members of the string and piano trio, from Turkey performed marvelously during a concert at the Turkish embassy auditorium on Wednesday night. The concert, organized by Turkish Ambassador Kemal Gur, celebrated the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
The three girl musicians in the ensemble were coincidentally trained at the same Hachettepe University in Ankara.
However, as could be deduced from the ambassador’s remarks, Goilyar Balji was perhaps the more famous among them since she received her training under well-known musician Maisky, a fashion icon at Istanbul. “He changes shirt six times during one performance,” Mr Gur said.
The audience had a hard struggle in exploring western world’s three most famous and contemporary pianoforte exponents, Frederyk Chopin (1810-1849), Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1949) and Felix Mandelssohn (1809-1847).
Although, the piano placed at the auditorium had recently arrived, Sanem played it with masterly interpretation of Chopin’s ballad that was a reflection of the ‘groans, sufferance and outpouring of despair and shock’, reverberating to the great musician’s personal griefs.
Sanem led the audience on to a salvo of passion, but ending all the same with a soothing finesse. By that time, the audience had fallen in a trance and she had to strike gently at the chord to revive them.
Listening to Ezgi and Baleci creating elfin and, some times, and sparkling pieces was a real treat. Much of what they played from Mendelssohn sounded so much like romantic eastern classical tunes, but then we had to remind ourselves that we were sitting in a concert in which Turkish musicians were playing European classical music.
In one act, the trio treated the audience with delightful dance music that might be an invitation to go waltzing in the woods.
When the trio had done their seventh and last act together, the musicians were asked the ambassador to play one final piece. This was a sad doleful tune — or so it sounded to those sitting in the audience — perhaps announcing that their sojourn in Pakistan would end soon as they must return to Turkey on Thursday evening.
Since last one year or so, Ambassador Kemal Gur has pressed on with European music concerts perhaps to demonstrate Turkey’s leaning to Europe, may be in tune with the recent remark made by Turkish Chief of General Staff Hilmi Ozkok that “Turkey is neither an Islamic state nor an Islamic country”. So, at least in arts and music, Turkey could easily lead the way ahead better than many European music salons.
But, then, Mr Gur has a way of speaking quotable humour lines to keep his guests entertained. On Wednesday night, he announced a series of new Turkish musical ‘delights’, including a concert of Ottoman palace music, Turkish police concert, an opera, and finally a ballet performance, the last one some time around September, either before or after Ramazan. — Jonaid Iqbal
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