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The celestial charabanc

The Istanbul Jazz Festival in a nutshell...

By John Shakespeare Dyson | July 5, 2023

Summer is upon us, and the 30th İKSV Istanbul Jazz Festival, like some celestial charabanc, is about to rev up and whisk us off to some interesting musical destinations. I need to make it clear at the outset that I have not found much jazz on the programme for this...
Posted in Music & Performing Arts, - Jazz, - Musical Shares Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Museum without walls

By Monica Fritz | July 1, 2023


Paris has its Centre Pompidou.  There’s the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City; in Athens, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). And now Istanbul, too, has a major contribution from Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano. After a wait of five years, the Istanbul Modern – the...
Posted in Contemporary Art, Main Featured Turkey Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

The shape of music

Our Istanbul Music Festival reviews conclude with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg – Mozart takes the final bow

By John Shakespeare Dyson | July 1, 2023


The last of the concerts I attended during the 2023 İKSV Istanbul Music Festival was given by the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, conducted by Matthew Halls, at the Atatürk Cultural Centre on June 16. The proceedings began with Mozart’s Serenade No. 13 in G major, K 525, a work popularly known...
Posted in Music & Performing Arts, - Classical Music, - Musical Shares Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

What a performance!

Peerless musicianship from Anne-Sophie Mutter at the Istanbul Music Festival

By John Shakespeare Dyson | June 25, 2023


The 51st İKSV Istanbul Music Festival continues. The third concert I attended was given by Anne-Sophie Mutter and Mutter’s Virtuosi at the Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM) in Taksim Square on Tuesday, June 13. The programme consisted of baroque works by Vivaldi, JS Bach and Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George, plus...
Posted in Music & Performing Arts, - Classical Music, - Musical Shares Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Lieder to purr over: Matthias Goerne and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra

John Dyson enjoys the cat’s whiskers of a concert at the Istanbul Festival

By John Shakespeare Dyson | June 14, 2023


Festival feast: Matthias Goerne performing with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra at the Reşit Rey Concert Hall, June 9, 2023 (photos: Salih Üstündağ) The second of the events in the 51st İKSV Music Festival that I attended was a concert given by German baritone Matthias Goerne and musicians from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Chamber...
Posted in Music & Performing Arts, - Classical Music, - Musical Shares Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

The remarkable Lucienne Renaudin Vary

By John Shakespeare Dyson | June 9, 2023


On Monday, June 5 I attended a concert at the Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy – one of the events of the 51st İKSV Istanbul Music Festival – in which the Borusan String Quartet were joined by Ms. Lucienne Renaudin Vary, a 24-year-old French trumpeter. Seating myself in the auditorium,...
Posted in Music & Performing Arts, - Classical Music, - Musical Shares Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Opposites attract: the spectacular legacy of the godfather of all East-West conflicts

‘Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece’: the British Museum revels in the fallout

By Mina Turunç | June 4, 2023


Walking into the British Museum’s latest exhibition, Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece, one is struck by the incredible scope of the artefacts on display, ranging from modern-day Afghanistan to mainland Greece. Stately busts, glittering gold chalices and much more fill the rooms, offering a glimpse into ancient worlds. These...
Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Classical kaleidoscope: Bring on the 2023 Istanbul Music Festival

Looking ahead to IKSV's summer feast of classical music

By John Shakespeare Dyson | May 20, 2023

Summer is here again (or so they tell me), and the İKSV Istanbul Music Festival is once again rearing its beautiful head. Here is a brief guide to what’s on offer. The proceedings kick off with an Opening Concert at the Atatürk Cultural Centre on Thursday 1st June at 20:00...
Posted in Music & Performing Arts, - Classical Music, - Musical Shares Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Opus Amadeus

By John Shakespeare Dyson | May 10, 2023


On April 27 I attended a concert of chamber music at the Naval Museum in Beşiktaş. This event was part of a music festival organised by an outfit that goes by the name of ‘Opus Amadeus’ in conjunction with Artisan Organizasyon. I believe they hold a festival of chamber music...
Posted in Music & Performing Arts, - Classical Music, - Musical Shares Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Robert G Ousterhout

A sad goodbye to one of the finest art historians of his generation

By Cornucopia | May 2, 2023


We are deeply saddened to receive news of Bob Ousterhout's passing on April 23, 2023. Bob was quite simply one of the finest writers and art historians that Cornucopia has ever had the privilege to publish and his loss will be felt immensely by all our readers. This obituary was...
Posted in Obituaries Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

So many good concerts these days

By John Shakespeare Dyson | April 30, 2023

On Thursday, April 20, I attended another concert at the Zorlu Center in Zincirlikuyu; this time, the works being performed were La tragédie de Salomé by the French composer Florent Schmitt, and Anton Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, the ‘Romantic’. The orchestra was once again the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, and on this...
Posted in Music & Performing Arts, - Classical Music, - Musical Shares Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

A rumbustious return

Brahms and Beethoven

By John Shakespeare Dyson | April 21, 2023

On Thursday April 13 I attended a concert at the Zorlu Center, Zincirlikuyu in which the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of the Italian conductor Carlo Tenan, accompanied Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin in Brahms’s Piano Concerto No 1. The second half consisted of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, the Pastoral....
Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Briony Llewellyn (1952–2023)

By Caroline and Andrew Finkel | March 26, 2023


We write with great sadness of the sudden death of Briony Llewellyn, a dear friend to many and a notable contributor to Cornucopia. Briony's lifelong work on British artists in the Near and Middle East was an all-consuming passion, and her tireless scholarship made her pre-eminent in the field. Like...
Posted in Obituaries Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Friends of Aphrodisias: an invitation

Marvellous new discoveries revealed

By John Scott | March 11, 2023


The Aphrodisias 2022 campaign un-earthed this marble portrait of a beautiful young priestess with an elaborate plaited hairstyle – buried in mysterious circumstances by the construction of a Dark-Age structure on top of it. To learn the story of this wonderful find, join Prof RRR Smith in London for the...
Posted in Main Featured Around the World Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Two tragic earthquakes

By Cornucopia | February 7, 2023

The horror of the two earthquakes is beyond words. How to help? Many friends, including the British Institute in Ankara have recommended the DEC TURKEY-SYRIA EARTHQUAKE APPEAL (Disasters Emergency Committee). The first £5,000,000 in donations they receive are being matched by the UK government: https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal In Turkey, two NGOs that have bee...
Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

There’s nothing like a rollicking evening’s jazz

The sheer artistry of Sibel Köse and friends throws doom-and-gloom to the winds

By John Shakespeare Dyson | January 30, 2023


Last Saturday I went to the Nardis Jazz Club in Galata to listen to the Turkish jazz singer Sibel Köse and her quartet. Having fortified ourselves with scrumptuous cakes at Şirin Fırın, a highly-recommended patisserie in nearby Büyük Hendek Caddesi, my companion and I wended our way through the crowds...
Posted in Music & Performing Arts, - Jazz, - Musical Shares Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Philippa Scott (1946–2023)

By Lindsay Fulcher | January 30, 2023


It was with great sadness that I heard the news that my beautiful, intelligent, rebellious friend Philippa Scott had died. Her delicate Pre-Raphaelite looks belied a determined, fearless and independent spirit that took her on dangerously exotic journeys to the Near East and beyond. Born in India, her early childhood...
Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

A feast for the senses

The latest LARTA fair is overflowing with fine textiles

By Mina Turunç | January 25, 2023


After a pandemic-induced three-year hiatus, Cornucopia Magazine is back at the London Art and Textile Fair (LARTA), one of the highlights of the winter edition of the London Decorative Fair at Battersea Park. From Tuesday to Sunday this week, LARTA offers an exquisite selection of textiles and antique rugs from...
Posted in Islamic Art, Textiles Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Empires a Podcast

Hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand

By Monica Fritz | January 14, 2023


What better to do on a winter day than listen to this wonderful history podcast hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand on the subject of Empires.  Among the many brilliant historians joining is Cornucopia's Barnaby Rogerson talking about the Ottoman siege of Cyprus and Caroline Finkel, still in the...
Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna

Weaving towers

By Cornucopia Connoisseur | January 13, 2023


Congratulations to the Argentinian designer Cristian Mohaded and his collaborators on winning Wallpaper's best new weaves award 2023 for his amazing installation Weaving Towers exhibited in Bodrm this summer. The work was part of the exhibition Between Humankind and Nature staged by ISTANBUL '74. For more on the show visit...
Tagged almir ibric, feridun zaimoğlu, golmar kempinger-khatibi, kunsthalle wien, olaf metzel, vienna
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