Debra Li

debra_lidan@163.com

FAZIL SAY, a Turkish pianist who has been captivating global audiences for more than 25 years, will give a piano recital to local fans this Sunday night.

At 16, Say impressed the late German composer Aribert Reimann, who was touring Ankara with American pianist David Levine, as “the boy who plays like a devil.” He earned himself the opportunity to refine his skills as a classical pianist with Levine, first at the Robert Schumann Conservatory in Düsseldorf and later in Berlin. He also attended master classes with Menahem Pressler.

His effortless blend of refinement in Bach, Haydn, and Mozart, as well as virtuoso brilliance in the works of Liszt, Mussorgsky, and Beethoven, led to his victory at the Young Concert Artists international competition in New York in 1994. Since then, Say has performed with renowned American and European orchestras and leading conductors worldwide, building up a diverse repertoire ranging from Bach, through the Viennese classics and the Romantics, to contemporary music, including his own compositions.

A talented composer as well, Say has been commissioned to write music for prestigious institutions such as the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna Concert Hall, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the BBC. His extensive oeuvre includes four symphonies, two oratorios, various solo concertos, and numerous works for the piano and chamber ensembles.

During Sunday’s concert, the audience will have the opportunity to hear Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” a monumental piece that lasts over an hour without a break and is considered one of the most significant challenges for pianists. From the baseline of a graceful aria, Bach developed a rich cycle of 30 variations meticulously arranged within an elaborate structure. This beloved composition is now viewed as a pinnacle of keyboard music and a crowning jewel of the Baroque variation technique.

Say will also perform four of his own compositions: a suite of jazz fantasies inspired by Gershwin’s “Summertime,” Mozart’s “Turkish March,” and Paganini’s “24 Caprices for Solo Violin”; “Black Earth,” which draws inspiration from a popular Turkish song “Kara Toprak”; four romantic ballads; and “New Life,” a three-movement sonata that Say composed in 2021, reflecting his thoughts on a changed world during the pandemic.