Picc. · 3 · 3 · 3 · 3 – 6 · 2 · 3 · 1 – P. S. (I: kl. Tr.; II: Beck.; III: gr. Tr.) (3 Spieler) – Chor – Str.
In his piece 1914, commissioned by the Orchestre National de Belgique, Fazıl Say calls the atrocities of the First World War to mind. The seven-minute orchestral piece was part of a project for which one composer from each of the countries involved in the...
I Ida Ballad II Mount Ida March
Fazıl Say’s Ballads are romantic, meditative piano pieces with cryptic literary and biographical associations. The first ballad “Nazim”, played exclusively on the white keys, is in memory of the well-known Turkish writer Nâzim Hikmet (1902-63). Inspired by the Communist body of thought (and for...
Under the title “7000 Yillik Uçan Hali” (7000 Years Flying Carpet), the Turkish composer and pianist Fazıl Say composed this piece of theater music in 2014, consisting of eleven songs for singing actors. The performers are not only theatrical actors but also employ various...
I named the work ‘A 100 year-old child’. I told the good and bad periods of the Turkish republic, which was founded on October 29, 1923, the times of struggling or developing, what it experienced in its personal and social history in during the...
Adagio Opus 86 for both orchestra and solo piano composed by world-renowned composer and pianist Fazıl Say. The work has a duration of 12 minutes and was commissioned by the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the orchestra and the end...
for Flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon In four short movements following each other ‘attacca’, the Turkish composer and pianist Fazıl Say humorously describes an everyday scene in an Anatolian village: Alevi fathers drinking raki at a well-laid table. An andantino ritornello in irregular...
I In Memoriam “10.10.2015 Ankara Gar” II Sarı Gelin III Winter Morning in Istanbul
I composed Ballad for alto saxophone and orchestra in 2016 for the legendary Japanese saxophone player Nobuya Sugawa. I wanted to use a more song-like style that brings out the full potential of the instrument. The work begins with a long meditation in search...
The last movement Bodrum from the sonata Dört Şehir (Four Cities) is a fast, swinging walk through the popular entertainment district of Bodrum. Available here in a single edition for piano.
After his spectacular cadenza of Beethoven’s Concerto in C minor (contained in ED 20140), the well-known Turkish pianist and composer now presents cadenzas of two of the most popular concertos by Mozart. Imitating timpani and horns in a virtuoso manner, the cadenza of Krönungskonzert...
“I composed the Chamber Symphony in 2015 and it is entirely inspired by Turkish music. This 20 minute-long composition dwells on the complexities of modern day Turkey as well as a certain introspection, where I attempt to convey the story with rhythm and time...
Commissioned by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the first performance of Fazıl Say’s China Rhapsody took place on 15 July 2016 at the Shanghai Music Festival featuring Say himself as the soloist. The piece was written for piano and orchestra and as well as taking...
In 2011, the International Violin Competition ‘Henri Marteau’ for the first time commissioned a composer to write the compulsory piece for the competition. This composer was Fazıl Say who forms a meanwhile legendary duo with the violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaya. In ‘Cleopatra’ for solo violin,...
The solo instruments in Fazıl Say’s virtuoso Concerto for 2 trumpets and orchestra dazzle with their consummate display of technical and tonal feats. All instruments of the trumpet family take part in this work ranging from the bass trumpet and flugelhorn up to the piccolo trumpet....
I Introduction II Nostalghia III Bass Flute 0 · 0 · 1 · 2 · Kfg. – 2 · 0 · 0 · 0 – S. (P. · Vibr. · Trgl. · Tamb. · Bong. · Kudüm · Darbuka · Tomt. · Bar...
Following Martin Grubinger’s performances in the world premieres of Fazıl Say’s Variations for two pianos and percussion (2013) and the cantata The Bells (2014), the composer has created a unique concerto especially for the percussionist. The four movements in this highly energetic concerto are...
In December 2015 we, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, performed the world premiere of Fazıl Say’s Prèludes for saxophone quartet, string orchestra and percussion, with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. In preperation...
The Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say has from the age of six begun each day with the performance of a keyboard work by Bach; his concert programmes include both numerous original compositions and transcriptions. His own piano transcriptions of the well-known Passacaglia and...
I Fenerbahçe II Akılla Bir Konuşmam Oldu III Anılar IV Coşku Picc. · 2 · 2 · 2 · 2 · Kfg. – 4 · 1 Picc.-Trp. · 3 · 2 · 1 – S. (Xyl. · Vibr. · Gl. · Trgl. ·...
Singer Serenad Bağcan and Fazıl Say recorded ten songs on texts by the most famous Turkish poets for the CD album İlk Şarkılar (First Songs) in 2013. In these early compositions, Say lays the foundation for many melodic elements of later large-scale works such...
The collection of pieces for one (or two) flutes with their contemplative titles offers the opportunity to musically describe even the more private and personal moments and leaves the musician and listener with many potential associations. Dignified Loneliness · Onurlu Yalnızlık · Würdige...
Fazıl Say’s “Four Cities” Sonata can be considered as a journey through four cities of Anatolia. This work has taken its inspiration from Fazıl Say’s memories and events of his life. Bodrum is well known as a city greatly frequented by tourists which sets...
I Masalların Masalı (Nâzım Hikmet) II Die große Fracht (Ingeborg Bachmann) III Göğe bakma durağı (Turgut Uyar) IV Der Panther (Rainer Maria Rilke)
Preliminary note: Fazıl Say relates the Gezi Park incidents in 3 separate works: – Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra (30th and 31st May, the days the incidents began). – Solo piano sonata (1st and 2nd June, the days of resistance and clashes; the...
The four-movement piano sonata is the second part of a three-part cycle: a compositional reflection of the civil war-like events in Istanbul’s Gezi Park in the spring of 2013, of the slogans filling the air and of the spirit of these days. I...
Fazıl Say, to whom the International Beethoven Prize for Human Rights was awarded in 2016, reflects on the events in Istanbul in May / June 2013 in his cycle Gezi Park. Gezi Park 3, first composed as a ballad for soprano, piano and string...
for Mezzo-soprano, piano and string orchestra Fazıl Say, to whom the International Beethoven Prize for Human Rights was awarded in 2016, reflects on the events in Istanbul in May / June 2013 in his cycle Gezi Park. Gezi Park 3, first composed as a ballad...
In his set of five lieder with finale, Fazıl Say sets a selection of contrasting poems from Goethe’s cycle West-Eastern Divan in which the poet skilfully intertwines the intellectual Western world with oriental mysticism. Say creates passages of aria and recitative, the latter being...
for Harpsichord (or piano)
Grand Bazaar depicts a variety of scenes from within the Bazaar, with sections of the score titled “walking in the dark streets of the Grand Bazaar”, “carpet sale dispute” and “evening atmosphere”. Say combines his idea of Turkish colours and rhythms with modern compositional...
I Güz II Yeşilmişik III Usulcana IV Akrep Gibisin V Zambaklı Padişah VI Rüzgar Rüzgarla Konuşur VII Hasreti Uykularda VIII Adım Sonbahar
for Narrator, mezzo soprano, children’s voice, piano and orchestra I Hermiyas – II Deniz’in çocukları (Children of the Sea) III Hermiyas kaybolur (Hermiyas is lost) – IV Yunus (The Dolphin) V Ege’de büyük arama (Big search in Aegean) VI Final Picc. · 2 ·...
Fazıl Say has composed a thoroughly ‘Turkish’ work for Mannheim: he has not only chosen to inclued the solo instrument and the rhythmic structures from the culture of his native land, but also the subject matter which has its origins in Istanbul. ‘Hezarfen’ is...
I Largo esspressivo II Allegro energico III Andante tranquillo IV Adagio, drammatico Picc. · 2 (2. auch Altfl.) · 2 · Engl. Hr. · 2 · Bassklar. · 2 Sax. (1. Altsax, 2. Tenorsax.) · 2 · Kfg. – 5 · 4 (2....
I Largo espressivo II Allegro assai, molto energico
I Largo espressivo II Allegro assai, molto energico
I Largo espressivo II Allegro assai, molto energico
Two of the European Cultural Capitals in 2010 – Istanbul and the Ruhr area – were united in the personality of the composer and pianist Fazıl Say. He lives in Istanbul and had a five-year residence as exclusive artist at the Konzerthaus Dortmund, the largest...
Embedded within atmospheric descriptions of the bustling Aegean metropolis, one finds portraits enriched with Turkish hues of Chopin, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff: all three homage movements quote the well-known İzmir March (İzmir Marşı) with the opening lyrics İzmir’in Dağlarında Çiçekler Açar (Flowers bloom in the...
for Piano, contrabass, percussion and soloist I Kuş Sadece Bir Kuştu – Furuğ Ferruhzad II Suçlu Var – Şükûfe Nihal III Avcı – Sezen Aksu IV Maviş Anne – Didem Madak V Sorma Dön – Gülten Akın VI Eskiden – Bejan Matur VII...
In the wake of concertos for violin and trumpet, Fazıl Say has now composed his first solo concerto for clarinet for Sabine Meyer. The title of the work refers to the Persian poet, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyam who lived during the eleventh...
I Allegro ma non troppo, appassionata II Adagietto III Allegro assai, molto energico
I Allegro ma non troppo, appassionata II Adagietto III Allegro assai, molto energico
I Allegro ma non troppo, appassionata II Adagietto III Allegro assai, molto energico
I Allegro ma non troppo, appassionata II Adagietto III Allegro assai, molto energico
The country is reflected in the composition: the rivers Euphrates and Tigris have shaped the land of Mesopotamia between Southeastern Anatolia and the Persian Gulf. These rivers in combination with the sun and moon have also had a programmatic influence on extensive passages of...
I Düşerim II Yıkıcılar Geldi III Rüzgar IV Yalnızlık V Konyak, Kitap ve Kahve VI Bir Gün Ölürüm VII Soneler VIII Final
I Prelude II Earth III Forest IV Interlude V Sea VI River VII Postlude
Picc. · 2 · 2 · 2 · Kfg. – 4 · 2 · 2 · 0 – P. S. (Vibr. · Röhrengl. · hg. Beck. · Tamb. · Bong. · Cong. · gr. Tr. · Bar Chimes) (2 Spieler) – Hfe. · Klav....
I Doğa Katliamı (Decimation of Nature) II Yaralı Kuş (Wounded Bird) III Umut Ayini (Rite of Hope)
Nâzim Hikmet has been one of Fazil Say’s greatest influences as an artist and personality since his youth. The poet suffered nearly his entire life under censorship, publication bans, persecution, expatriation and imprisonment. Despite all of this, he became a formative voice of Turkish...
As he did in his Gezi Park series, Fazıl Say makes reference to current political events in his new cello concerto. According to the composer, Never give up is an ‘outcry for freedom and peace’, focusing on the ‘harrowing terror attacks in Europe and...
I Introduction & Allegro II Pesante III Finale
I devote one movement of this work to each of the two figures. I have interpreted Nietzsche’s character as energetic, painful and harsh. In contrast, the second movement “Wagner” with its calm and meditative atmosphere is an improvisation focused on the composer paraphrasing motifs...
This effective encore piece was written for the piano duo Lucas & Arthur Jussen. Virtuoso scales and percussive inside-piano effects put the gloomy and aggressive tonal world of the piano to the extreme for a romantic spooky scene in the night.
I Allegro assai II Adagio espressivo III Presto
I Allegro assai II Adagio espressivo III Presto
The concert piece ‘Nirvana Burning’ was commissioned by the Salzburg Festival and premiered by Fazıl Say and the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra at the festival opening in August 2010. It consists of the movements Nirvana and Burning which blend into each other ‘attacca’. ‘The...
Less than two years after the premiere of Never give up, Fazıl Say has composed a new work for solo cello and orchestra. The composer focuses on the theme of night from different perspectives in the five movements of November Nocturnes (Endless Night Nocturne,...
The Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say has from the age of sic begun each day with the performance of a keyboard work by Bach; his concert programmes include both numerous original compositions and transcriptions. His own piano transcription of the well-known Passacaglia and Fugue...
Quartet for Soprano (or Violin/Viola), Ney Flute (or Alto Flute/Recorder), Piano and Percussion (Bar Chimes, Gran Cassa, Kudüm) In the work commissioned by Mozart-two-6 for the Tanzquartier Wien, Fazıl Say has transported the Viennese composer Mozart to the beach of the ancient city...
In his concerto for piano 4 hands, Fazıl Say takes up the ancient Persian saga of Simurgh, which shares similarities with the Western fable of the Phoenix. In the mystic legend, 1000 birds undertake a long journey, flying through seven valleys (symbolic for the...
Short Animation Film Music
10 pieces for guitar I Bir Anadolu Gecesiydi (It was an Anatolian night) II Köy Anısı (Village memories) III Monologlar (Monologues) IV Tasalar (Worries) V Platonik (Platonic) VI Raksan VII Huzursuz Sabah (Restless morning) VIII Koridorlarda (In the corridors) IX Dolunay (Full moon)...
I Fikret Otyam II Babam Ahmet Say III Nejat Eczacıbaşı IV Yıldız Kenter V Yaşar Kemal VI Şarık Tara VII Tarık Akan
The titles of the individual sentences bear the names of well-known literary works. It is a composer’s gratitude to his favorite books and their authors for numerous inspirations and for immersing into foreign emotional worlds, which are now transformed into music themselves. I...
As in his ballet music Patara, Fazıl Say awakens only vague memories of the Lycian princesses mentioned in the Iliad. He intends a generally timeless romantic idea: dreams of love and love dramas under the sun of the Mediterranean Sea… Both players are on...
I Fearlessness II Endless Memories III Rite of Peace IV Perpetuum Mobile V Roots Balade
With this stage work, Fazıl Say commemorates the 60th anniversary of the death of the popular Turkish author Sait Faik. His short story focuses on Trifon, a boy who loves the sea more than anything else. His greatest pride and joy is a small...
Ses, the last part of the semi-staged work of the same name, is based on the moving poem Sivas Acısı concerning the arson attack on the Madımak Hotel in Sivas in 1993.
I Bir bahar dalıyla (Behçet Aysan) II Odasında bir evin (Metin Altıok) III Sivas acısı (Aziz Nesin)
I Şahmeran Cennet Bahçesi (Paradise Garden of Shahmaran / Shamarans Paradiesgarten) II İhanet (Betrayal / Verrat) Picc. · 1 · 2 · 2 · 2 – 2 · 2 · 1 · 0 – Hfe. – S. (Waterphone · Kudüm) (1 Spieler) –...
The Sonata (2012) – like the Sonata for Violoncello and Piano from the same year – tells of travels through Turkey: Pamukkale, Istanbul Nocturne, Cappadocia. Musically characterized in the style of Say by the combination of Turkish maquams and jazz elements. I Pamukkale...
In his Violin Sonata, the internationally renowned Turkish pianist Fazıl Say combines the classical western form with folk music elements of his home country, spiced with jazz-like intensified rhythms. Comparable to Piazzolla’s popular pieces, this is world music in the truest sense of the...
What do Fazıl Say and the extreme sportsman Felix Baumgartner have in common? Space Jump: the spectacular jump from the stratosphere. In this composition, Say depicts each phase of the jump, from take off to a safe landing on earth. Say’s intense fascination with...
Fazıl Say’s Violin Concerto No. 2 was composed in April 2020 from his home in the Turkish town of Urla on the Agean Sea. ‘During lockdown, I always went for a walk on the empty beach very early in the morning. Each sunrise had...
In the composition of this string quartet, I have permitted myself to be led by my personality and experiences and have attempted to relate experiences such as divorce, separation and the failure of a relationship in the language of music with the aid of notes...
for Piano, violoncello, bendir I Ayna – Ömer Hayyam II Sen Derviş Olamazsın – Yûnus Emre III Ruhumun Dalgaları – Sabahattin Ali IV Ergene Köprüsü – Kaygusuz Abdal V Ses (Sıvas Acısı) – Aziz Nesin VI Kendinin Avcısı – Metin Altıok VII Dönen Dönsün...
Suite, consisting of six short pieces for alto saxophone and piano, is a virtuoso work for this duo. I composed my Suite in 2014 in commission of the legendary saxophone virtuoso Mr. Sugawa with whom I played the world premiere in Tokyo in 2014....
“Summertime Variations is the third arrangement I have made of Gershwin’s Summertime – and the first for solo piano. It begins and ends very quietly and cantabile with a meditation on the well-known opening motif. The complete melody then forms the basis for the swinging...
His Symphonic Dances are strongly influenced by Turkish music, with Say using a typical alternating 8/8–7/8 meter in the first dance. The second movement features Say’s characteristic string glissandi, before a slow third movement and a wild and ecstatic finale. In the spirit of...
In contrast with his four previous symphonies (Istanbul, Mesopotamia, Universe and Hope), Fazıl Say’s Symphony No. 5 has no programmatic title. However, each of its three movements has its own subject: the first movement, Upheavals and Longing, reflects experiences during the Covid pandemic, lockdown,...
Fazıl Say drew inspiration for his singlemovement cantata The Bells from the lyrical cycle of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe, and the music of Carl Orff ’s Carmina Burana. Poe explores the nature of bells in four poems according to their diff...
Yürüyen Köşk (The Moving Mansion) Art of Piano No. 4 | Hommage à Atatürk Concert rhapsody for piano Yürüyen Köşk traces a well-known episode that shows Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, as a progressive nature lover: In 1930, to save a...
The Trumpet and Organ Concerto is a piece I composed in the last days of 2020, during the pandemic period. For the first time, I composed a piece of music for the organ. In this sense, it was a difficult but also interesting experience...
I Universum II Rhythm and Relativity III Thinking Einstein 1 · 2 · 1 · 2 – 2 · 0 · 0 · 0 – S. (4 P. · Vibr. · 2 Paar Kudüm · Trgl. · Bar Chimes) (2 Spieler) – Str.
Tree of Life, with its irregular rhythms and sharp contrasts, mirrors the highs and lows of life in homage to people who, despite hardships, retain a positive outlook on life. I Umut II Babam Ahmet Say III Ece IV Annem Anısına V Hayat...
The Troy Sonata, the main work of the new Warner CD Fazıl Say plays Say, will shape the world tour programme of Say in the Beethoven Year 2020 in combination with the Hammerklavier Sonata. A powerful new interpretation of the ancient myth of love,...
Fazıl Say wrote his Trumpet Concerto for Gábor Boldoczki on commission of the Festival of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Written in the classical three-movement concert form, the work refers directly to Fazil Say’s Turkish roots, be it in the orientalizing melody and harmony, by characteristic metrical...
After the Istanbul Symphony, premiered in 2010, and the Mesopotamia Symphony, composed in 2012, Universe represents Fazıl Say’s third excursion into symphonic territory. In this work, he shuns any programmatic content with regional associations, instead focussing his attention on astronomical associations in a variety of...
for Piano, soprano and strings
for Two pianos and percussion The distinctive, motor-like rhythm and echoes of Arabian folk music characterise the three variations, rich in contrast, for two pianos and percussion. A perfect addition to the modern classics for the concert stage. Thema. Andantino Variation I Prestissimo Variation...
My Violin Concerto consists of four movements whose inspiration is loosely connected with Scheherazade’s One Thousand and One Nights. The first movement is set inside the harem; a variety of women from the harem are introduced, each with her own different personality. The second...
As the titles of the movements of the work already suggest, the first part Blue Water is on the seas, second part Black Water revolves around the nights and lakes, whereas the third part Green Water is based on rivers. Blue Water is a...
for Piano, violin, violincello, soprano
for Piano four hands Not many encore pieces exist for piano duet. These two, by Fazil Say, are in his unmistakable style. A very effective and romantic winter morning in Istanbul!
After the frequently performed version for four hands (ED 22708), this atmospheric and very romantic piece from the Art of Piano series is now published in an edition for two hands – and was just newly recorded on the Warner CD Fazıl Say plays...