Hezarfen Ensemble Recollections of Displacement in Istanbul
24 March 2025
At a time of a worldwide tendency holding onto the ideals of the nation state while emphasising its dominant ethnicities, the Turkish ensemble Hezarfen draws attention to the in-between space in which displaced people find themselves. In the program Recollections of Displacement they portray these experiences of flight and exile, both from Turkey and a wider European perspective.
A Siemens Foundation sponsored co-production with Kontinent Dalsland in Sweden, Recollections of Displacement features works originally commissioned for Hezarfen over its past 15 years, including works by Berkant Gençkal, Yannis Kyriakides, Nadim Husni, and Bassem Alkhouri. Added to this is a newly arranged Epitaph by Ukrainian composer Alexey Voytenko and two new works commissioned by the Kontinent Dalsland festival, by Mansoor Hosseini and Anne Pajunen.
This programme opens a window to the human side of displacement. In a ritualistic format of voiceover (text)- music; cycling eight times in all, each time in a new place. Powerfully evocative words of Mykola Zerov, Mahmoud Darwish, YaÅŸar Kemal, NeÅŸe YaÅŸin and other refugee authors in their original languages intersperse between new instrumental works by the represented composers.
As 2025 also marks the 15th year of Hezarfen Ensemble, at this concert we’ll also be celebrating our work since 2010, with a pre-concert discussion of Hezarfen co-directors Ulrich Mertin, Michael Ellison with composer YiÄŸit Özatalay
Supported by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation and a host of festival sponsors, this programme had its initial premiere 14 September, and in Gothenburg September 15, 2024.
For tickets:
https://www.biletix.com/etkinlik/4CRAQ/TURKIYE/tr
Hezarfen Ensemble, 14-15 Eylül tarihlerinde Istanbul’teki Cemal Resit Rey Konser Salonu’nda yeni eserlerin prömiyerini yapacak
Bulaşıcı enerjisi ve çarpıcı yorumları ile çaÄŸdaÅŸ müzik sahnesinde kendine güçlü bir yer edinen, Ä°stanbul merkezli Hezarfen Ensemble, kültürler arası müziÄŸe getirdiÄŸi yenilikçi yorumlarla uluslararası alanda tanınan, ödüllü bir topluluk. Hezarfen 15. yaşını Türkiye’de ilk kez CRR’de seslendireceÄŸi tematik bir konser projesiyle kutluyor.
Ulus devlet ideallerine ve etnisite kavramlarına doÄŸru dünya çapında bir eÄŸilimin olduÄŸu bu dönemde Hezarfen Ensemble, “Recollections of Displacement” adlı çalışmasıyla yerinden yurdundan edilmiÅŸ insanların kendilerini içinde buldukları “arada kalmışlığa” dikkat çekiyor. Tümü Hezarfen Ensemble için yazılan eserlerden oluÅŸan program, seslendirme(metin)-müzik ÅŸeklinde ritüelistik bir formatta tasarlanmış. Her seferinde yeni bir yeri temsil ederek dinleyiciyi toplam yedi farklı yolculuÄŸa çıkaran çalışma, hem Türkiye’de hem de daha geniÅŸ bir Avrupa perspektifinde bu kaçış ve sürgün deneyimlerini tasvir ediyor.
Prömiyerinin 14 Eylül 2024 tarihinde Ä°sveç’te düzenlenen Kontinent Dalsland Festivali’nde gerçekleÅŸtirildiÄŸi programda, Hezarfen Ensemble’ın son 10 yılda sipariÅŸ etmiÅŸ olduÄŸu eserler arasından Berkant Gençkal, Yannis Kyriakides, Nadim Husni ve Bassem Alkhouri’ye ait olan dört eserin ve Ukraynalı besteci Alexey Voytenko’nun Epitaph adlı eserinin yeni bir düzenlemesinin yanı sıra, Kontinent Dalsland Festivali tarafından Mansoor Hosseini ve Anne Pajunen’e sipariÅŸ edilmiÅŸ eserler de yer almakta.
Biletler için:
https://www.biletix.com/etkinlik/4CRAQ/TURKIYE/tr
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This project is funded with the friendly support of the Ernst von Siemens music foundation
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Recollections of Displacement
Cemal ReÅŸit Rey Konser Salonu
Ä°stanbul 24 March 2025
Nadim Husni
Hanin (2018)***
Berkant Gençkal****
Liquid Spaces (2018)
Yannis Kyriakides
toponymy (2013)
-ara-
Anne Pajunen
When clouds oscillate, they tend to blur (2024)*
Mansoor Hosseini
Borderline (2024)*
Oleksiy Voytenko
Epitaph (2003/2024)**
Bassem Alkhouri
Lament (2013)
all pieces composed for Hezarfen Ensemble
*world premiere - commissioned by Kontinent Dalsland
** world premiere of vc/pno version, commissioned by Siemens Foundation-Hezarfen Ensemble
***Türkiye premiere - commissioned by Ruhrtriennale
**** commissioned by Ruhrtriennale
Hezarfen Ensemble
Cem Önertürk - flute, picc
Boa Pettersson - clarinet, bass cl.
Amy Salsgiver - percussion
Müge Hendekli - piano
AyÅŸegül KostakToksoy - kanun
Özcan Ulucan - violin
Ä°mge Tilif - violin
Ulrich Mertin - viola
Mehmet Gökhan BaÄŸcı - cello
Michael Ellison - electronics, voiceovers
Anne Pajunen - voice
Kerem Tunçer - conductor
Argun Çakır, surtitles video
Michael Ellison, Ulrich Mertin – co-directors
Müge Hendekli, Ä°mge Tilif - project management



