On the evening of Sunday, October 29th, young musicians in London performed Clissold Park’s 700-year-old The Old Church with the enthusiasm of the Turkish Republic Day 100th year.
Prioritizing providing a platform for young musicians emerging in England over well-known artists from our country, the festival featured the Izmir March, with lyrics by Mustafa Nermi and composed by German composer Kurt Striegler, performed enthusiastically by the audience as it marked the 100th year of its composition.
In 1973, as a tribute to the 100th year since the founding of our Republic during the 50th year phase, “2023,” composed by Barış Manço & Kurtalan Ekspres, was performed by the HOKKABAZ rock group at 20:23. HOKKABAZ, one of the world’s youngest rock groups with its 6-year-old member (Sarp Ercosman, Kuzey Yıldız, Alp Ercosman, Beren Yapıcı, Aras Ganidağlı, Berzan Yapıcı), presented examples from rock classics along with Katibim (Üsküdar’a Gider İken).
The composition “AĞRI DAĞI EFSANESİ” by Moğollar, who pioneered the development of Anatolian rock music from the 1960s to the present day, and the work “YUNUS” by Bora Ayanoğlu, also known for many films, were performed by the Young Band consisting of Mehmet Dilberoğlu, Adar Koca, and Enes Sevgili.
In the classical guitar series of the festival, Beste Beyter, Aylin Hurman, and Roni Murdaymootoo, and in the piano series, Kuzey Deniz Girgin, Ali Asil Temur, Eliz Uzun, Ronya Has, Rüya Clara Lustgarten, Renas Murdaymootoo, Haydar Deniz Dilberoğlu, Denis Kazbek, Rüzgar Uzun Fidan, Yaren Uyar, Umut Ertürk, Ada Dilberoğlu, Ayşe Çiçek, Ela Rosa Yıldırım, Anıl Süral, Yılmaz Gerçek, and Derin Ciba took the stage.
The festival also showcased examples of symphonic music, recognized as universal values, which require a high level of instrument mastery. Beren Yapıcı and Beren Doğan performed challenging works by Beethoven and Handel.
After a performance of “Kara Toprak” by 17-year-old conservatory student Adar Dilberoğlu with improvisations, Ezo Sarıcı (violin) and Deniz Cengiz (piano), who are also remembered for their successes in international competitions, concluded the festival with Prelude and Horon sections from Adnan Saygun’s “Demet Suite.”
