This concert is to be given by members of the TEV (Türk Eğitim Vakfı or ‘Turkish Educational Foundation’) Turkish Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, led and conducted by violinist Özcan Ulucan and featuring pianist Birsen Ulucan – who like Özcan Ulucan is a former TEV scholarship-holder. Their programme is to consist of works by the contemporary Turkish composer Özcan Manav (his 2024 Horonlar for string orchestra, a work commissioned by the TEV Turkish Virtuosi), Mendelssohn (his 1821 Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings in D minor, written when the composer was 14 years old) and Tchaikovsky (his ever-popular Serenade for Strings, written in 1880; the second movement of the four – the Valse – has become a famous piece in its own right, while the third, the Élégie, contains melodies that Wikipedia describes as ‘mournful and shockingly beautiful’).
Issue 66, December 2023
Turkey’s Centenary Issue
