Fazıl Say

Life and career

Fazıl Say was born in 1970. He was a child prodigy, who was able to do basic arithmetic with 4-digit numbers at the age of two. His father, having found out that he was playing the melody of "Daha Dün Annemizin" (Turkish version of Ah! vous dirai-je, maman) on a makeshift flute with no prior training, enlisted the help of Ali Kemal Kaya, an oboe artist and a family friend. At the age of three, Say started his piano lessons under the tutelage of pianist Mithat Fenmen.

Say wrote his first piece – a piano sonata – as early as 1984, at the age of fourteen, when he was a student at the Conservatory of his home town Ankara. It was followed, in this early phase of his development, by several chamber works without an opus number, including Schwarze Hymnen for violin and piano and a guitar concerto. He subsequently designated as his opus 1 one of the works that he had played in the concert that won him the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York: the Four Dances of Nasreddin Hodja. This work already displays in essence the significant features of his personal style: a rhapsodic, fantasia-like basic structure; a variable rhythm, often dance-like, though formed through syncopation; a continuous, vital driving pulse; and a wealth of melodic ideas that may often be traced back to themes from the folk music of Turkey and its neighbours. In these respects, Fazıl Say stands to some extent in the tradition of composers like Béla Bartók, George Enescu, and György Ligeti, who also drew on the rich musical folklore of their countries. He attracted international attention with the piano piece Black Earth (1997), in which he employs techniques familiar to us from John Cage and his works for prepared piano.

After this, Say increasingly turned to the large orchestral forms. Taking his inspiration from the poetry (and the biographies) of the writers Nâzım Hikmet and Metin Altıok, he composed works for soloists, chorus and orchestra which, especially in the case of the oratorio Nâzim, clearly take up the tradition of composers such as Carl Orff. In addition to the modern European instrumentarium, Say also makes frequent and deliberate use in these compositions of instruments from his native Turkey, including kudüm and darbuka drums and the ney reed flute. This gives the music a colouring that sets it apart from many comparable creations in this genre. In the year 2007 he aroused international interest with his Violin Concerto 1001 Nights in the Harem, which is based on the celebrated tales of the same name, but deals specifically with the fate of seven women from a harem. Since its world premiere by Patricia Kopatchinskaja, the piece has already received further performances in many international concert halls.

Fazıl Say scored a further great success with his first symphony, the Istanbul Symphony, premiered in 2010 at the conclusion of his five-year residency at the Konzerthaus Dortmund. Jointly commissioned by the WDR and the Konzerthaus Dortmund in the framework of Ruhr. 2010, the work constitutes a vibrant and poetic tribute to the metropolis on the Bosporus and its millions of inhabitants. The same year saw the composition, among other pieces, of his Divorce String Quartet (based on atonal principles), and commissioned works like the Piano Concerto Nirvana Burning for the Salzburg Festival and a Trumpet Concerto for the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, premiered by Gábor Boldoczki.

In response to a commission from the 2011 Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Say has also written a Clarinet Concerto for Sabine Meyer that refers to the life and work of the Persian poet Omar Khayyam. Fazıl Say’s works are issued worldwide by the renowned music publishers Schott Music of Mainz.

Controversy

According to the NY Times, on Monday, April 15, 2013 a court in Istanbul handed down a suspended 10-month jail term for Fazıl Say, after he was convicted of insulting Islam and offending Muslims in postings on Twitter. Mr. Say, 42, who has performed with major orchestras around the world in places including New York, Berlin and Tokyo, said during earlier hearings that the accusations against him went “against universal human rights and laws.” The sentence was suspended for five years, meaning that the pianist will not be sent to prison unless he is convicted of re-offending within that period. In recent years, many intellectuals, writers and artists have been prosecuted for statements about Islam and Turkish identity, both of which the pro-Islamic government seeks to shield from criticism. Social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, however, have rarely figured in previous trials, although Turks are active users of the sites.

The messages cited in the indictment were Mr. Say’s personal remarks referring to a poem by a famous 11th-century Persian poet, Omar Khayyam, which poked fun at an Islamic vision of the afterlife. The poem was sent to Mr. Say from another user before he forwarded it. In another personal Twitter post, he joked about the rapid call to prayer at a nearby mosque, questioning whether the muezzin who makes the call was running late for a drink.

Mr. Say, who denied the charges, is known for his critical stance against the AKP government’s social and cultural policies. He has said publicly that he is an atheist. “Would it be for the government to decide whether a person believes in God or not?” Mr. Say said on CNN Turk, a private television news channel, in a recent interview. “It is hard for them to put me in jail.”

Hundreds of Mr. Say’s fans and supporters have attended the three hearings in six months to protest against his prosecution. He has continued to perform nationally and internationally, and, when the sentence was handed down, he was in Germany for a concert in the southern town of Reutlingen. In a written statement, Mr. Say said he was concerned about the implications of the court’s judgment for freedom of expression in his country, since he had been sentenced “although I’ve committed no crime.”

Blasphemy charge

In April 2013, Say came under investigation by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office over statements made on Twitter, declaring himself an atheist and retweeting a message poking fun at the Islamic conception of paradise. Say then announced that he was considering leaving Turkey to live in Japan because of the rise of conservative Islam and growing intolerance in his home country.

On 1 June 2012, an Istanbul court indicted Say with the crime of "publicly insulting religious values that are adopted by a part of the nation", a crime that carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison. According to Anatolia news agency, Say told the Istanbul court he did not seek to insult anybody, but was merely expressing his uneasiness. The court adjourned the case to February 18 after rejecting his lawyers’ request for an immediate acquittal. “When I read them (Say’s tweets), I was heart-broken, I felt disgraced,” Turan Gumus, one of the three plaintiffs, told the court. On 15 April 2013, Say was sentenced to 10 months in jail, reduced from 12 months for good behavior in court. The sentence was suspended, meaning he was allowed to move freely provided he did not repeat the offense in the next five years.

On appeal, Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals reversed the conviction on 26 October 2015, ruling that Say's Twitter posts fell within the bounds of freedom of thought and freedom of expression.

Honors and awards

Artist / Composer in residence

Recordings

1. 1993 CD / (SFB) (Scarlatti–Berg–Say)
2. 1996 CD / Troppenote Records (Say)
3. 1998 CD / Warner Music (Mozart Sonatas)
4. 1999 CD / Teldec (Bach)
5. 2000 CD / Teldec (Gershwin)
6. 2000 CD / Teldec (Stravinski–Le sacre)
7. 2001 CD / Teldec (Liszt–Tchaikovski)
8. 2002 CD / İmaj (Nazım)
9. 2003 CD / Naive (Say/Black Earth)
10. 2003 CD / İmaj (Metin Altıok ağıtı)
11. 2003 CD / Bilkent (Nazım)
12. 2004 CD / Naive (Mozart Concertos)
13. 2005 CD / Naive (Beethoven Sonatas)
14. 2006 CD / Naive (Haydn Sonatas)
15. 2006 CD / Avex (Live in Tokyo)
16. 2007 CD / Naive (Kopatchinskaja–Say / Beethoven / Bartok / Ravel)
17. 2008 CD / Naive (Kopatchinskaja–Say 1001 Nights in the Harem)
18. 2011 Fazil Say: Pictures (CD / DVD)
19. 2012 Istanbul Symphony & Hezarfen Ney Concerto (CD / DVD)

Books

Videography