ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: A mesmerising piano recital by Gulsin Onay was held piano recital by Gulsin Onay was held at the Embassy of Turkey. The event was held to celebrate the centenary of Ahmed Adnan Saygun, an important figure of Turkish music and pioneer of polyphonic composition.

Highly acclaimed by musicians and critics alike for her Rachmaninov interpretations, Gulsin Onay is also recognised internationally as an exceptional Chopin performer, for which the Polish nation honoured her with the award of a State Medal in January 2007.

The evening began with a steady flow of the usual crowd at diplomatic functions — familiar faces, the capital city’s elite grouping into friendly sets for a quick bout of conversation before the event.

It was a full house. The lights were dimmed at 8 on the dot. Ms Onay made a graceful entry. Saygun’s music seemed to captivate the audience with the first few introductory minutes, shifting smoothly from adagio to allegro and sinking back into periods of softer enunciation. Onay’s portrayal of the andante passages was remarkably soothing. The audience sat mesmerised although Saygun’s music was new for many.

She played the piano energetically with animated gestures. On the mild tune she would close her eyes and move in sync with the music and as her fingers pick up the pace she would hunch her back and at times, lift herself off the stool.

Ms Onay studied under Mr Saygun and is acknowledged to be the finest interpreter of his music, worldwide.

She has performed as a soloist with leading orchestras such as Dresden Staatskapelle, English Chamber Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic, Munich Radio Symphony, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic and Vienna Symphony Orchestras.

Ms Onay started her piano education when she was three and gave her first public recital on Turkish radio when she was only six. She won a state scholarship and studied with Ahmed Adnan Saygun and then at the Paris Conservatoire and graduated at the age of 16 winning the prestigious “Premier Prix du Piano.”

She has performed in over 55 countries, from Venezuela to Japan. Gulsin Onay holds the title of State Artist in her native Turkey and of soloist for the Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Ankara. She is “Artist in Residence” at Bilkent University in Ankara and holds an honorary doctorate degree from Bosphorus University in Istanbul.

Contemporary composers who have dedicated works to Gulsin Onay are Hubert Stuppner, Denis Dufour, Jean-Louis Petit, Muhiddin Durruoglu-Demiriz and Marc-Andri Hamelin. Gulsin Onay has also given world premieres of concertos by Stuppner and Tabakov.

Her performances are passionate. She seems totally immersed in her music and her whole being is involved in the melody. The movements on the keys translate down to a kind of physical expression as if her music, the pianoforte and herself were one being.

After the enchanting recital Turkish Ambassador Engin Soysal expressed his deep appreciation and joy at hosting Ms Onay’s concert in Islamabad. “It is a dream come true” he said.—Nosheen Abbas