- Istanbul International Music Festival
The Istanbul International Music Festival, formerly Istanbul Festival, ( _tr. Uluslararası İstanbul Müzik Festivali) is a cultural event held every June and July in
Istanbul ,Turkey . It offers a selection ofEuropean classical music ,ballet ,opera andtraditional music performances with the participations of famous artists from all over the world. The festival was first held in1973 and is organized by the Istanbul Foundation of Culture and Arts. Its main sponsor is theEczacıbaşı Holding .The festival was the idea of Turkish businessman Dr.
Nejat Eczacıbaşı . The 1st Istanbul Festival was held fromJune 15 toJuly 15 ,1973 , on the 50th anniversary of the foundation of theRepublic of Turkey . From its first inception, the Istanbul Festival has aimed at including in its programs the finest examples of artistic creativity in all disciplines of art from both Turkey and abroad, as well as seminars, conferences and lectures. So, other festivals dedicated tofilm (1984 ),jazz (1986 ),contemporary art (1987 ) andtheater (1989 ) were added to the program of Istanbul Festival. From1994 on, the name was changed to Istanbul International Music Festival to distinguish it from the other sister festivals. It is accredited as a member of European Festivals Association since1977 .From its beginning, the festival hosted world renowned artists and groups from La Scala Philharmonic (
Riccardo Muti ),New York Philharmonic (Kurt Masur andZubin Mehta ),Berlin Philharmonic toRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Wolfgang Sawallisch ),Dresden Staatskapelle and the soloists, orchestra and chorus of theMariinsky Theatre (Kirov Opera ), fromOrpheus Chamber Orchestra (Gidon Kremer ) toScottish Chamber Orchestra (Charles Mackerras andRichard Hickox ), fromTokyo String Quartet toHilliard Ensemble , fromAldo Ciccolini toIvo Pogorelich , fromYehudi Menuhin toItzhak Perlman , fromJulian Lloyd Webber toMischa Maisky , fromNarciso Yepes toChristopher Parkening , fromLeyla Gencer toMontserrat Caballé andElisabeth Schwarzkopf , fromBolshoi Ballet toAmerican Ballet Theatre and toMark Morris ,Mehmet Sander , Kibbutz dance companies; and such traditional music groups asIstanbul Oriental Ensemble ofBurhan Öçal ,Kudsi Erguner ’s Tac Mahal project andWhirling Dervishes . The 31st Festival saw the prominent conductorLorin Maazel with theBavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and a legend of the music world,Cecilia Bartoli , who received an enthusiastic standing ovation from the audience for minutes.Within the context of the 7th Centennial celebration of the Founding of the
Ottoman Empire , Vivaldi's Bajazet opera was selected for an exclusive performance. World famous violinist, director and musicologistFabio Biondi brought this lengthy opera to a powerful two and a half hour performance. Attracting a great deal of attention, this world premiere version of Bajazet was staged at theHagia Irene Museum for the 27th International Music Festival.ee also
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Istanbul International Jazz Festival External links
* [http://www.iksv.org/muzik/english/ Official web site]
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