As an accomplished figure with regard to teaching classical music and making it reach people, how would you assess the level of interest in Turkey?
Classical music always has a certain audience, and I don’t think that the interest has dwindled considerably. However, raising young audiences is a task incumbent on all festivals and concert halls. Popular culture has enveloped us so intensely that we start having difficulties finding listeners after a certain point. Now, ordinary concert programs don’t satisfy the listeners; you have to create something different. In recent years, we have seen a surge in the number of projects that blend classical music from different cultures together, and in this year’s festival there is a project called “Müsenna,” which blends Ottoman and European music from the 17th century in the same performance. The pure classical music concerts always attract attention. But there has been a growing worldwide trend: merging the East with the West. Lately, musicologists have been bringing together different elements to foster dialogue between different societies. These projects draw the audience’s attention. [T
