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World Premiere of Fazil Say's Chamber Symphony, Op. 62 with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Apr. 01, 2015

World Premiere of Fazil Say's <em>Chamber Symphony, Op. 62</em> with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Turkish-born composer and pianist Fazil Say joins the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra on tour this spring as part of Orpheus’s "American Notes" commissioning initiative. The result of this project, Say’s Chamber Symphony, Op. 62, receives its world premiere with Orpheus at Carnegie Hall on April 11. The concert also features a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major with Say joining Orpheus as soloist. 

In keeping with the "American Notes" initiative’s goal to “represent varied musical styles and personal backgrounds,” Say writes of his new work:

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... The time signature of the first movement is the 7/8 “devr-i hindi” which is widely used in Turkish music of old. The middle section of the first movement is much slower, inspired by classical palace music in the hecaz makam and hints at a certain nostalgia for “old Istanbul.” The second movement is calm and quiet and it is here that I particularly wanted to underline the need for romanticism in our age. The final movement is a very fast-paced dance. It no longer exists but Istanbul’s old gypsy neighborhood of Sulukule housed places of dance and entertainment; and this final movement incorporates all the energetic and effervescent elements of Turkish-Roma music and is to be played in the Balkan style.

Following the Carnegie Hall performance, Say takes Chamber Symphony on tour with Orpheus to Italy, Germany, Austria, and Hungary. A preview performance takes place on April 8 at Lafayette College’s Williams Center for the Arts in Easton, PA.

Visit schott-music.com for more information on Fazil Say

Details and tickets for the premiere are available at carnegiehall.org.

Fazil Say
Chamber Symphony, Op. 62 (2015)
for string orchestra
15’

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