Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
00:05 I. Allegro vivo
07:55 II. (no marking)
15:11 III. Moderato
21:22 IV. Allegro
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate) conducted by Ari Rasilainen
The fourth movement starts extremely softly, so turn up your volume as needed if you can't hear.
Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) was a Turkish composer, the most famous of the "Turkish Five" who combined the Western classical tradition with Turkish folk music. During Saygun's lifetime, his work was widely performed across Turkey, Europe, and North America by leading ensembles like the NBC Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, and Juilliard String Quartet. Read more about Saygun on my blog: unknowncomposers.org/2020/08/15/ahmet-adnan-saygun-a-pioneer-who-brought-together-romanticism-western-modernism-and-turkish-folk-song
I find Saygun's second symphony of 1958 to be a kind of bridge between his earlier works, such as the string quartet or first symphony, and his subsequent symphonies and concerti. While some parts of this symphony retain a rather vivacious and energetic quality, Saygun starts to lean into the dense, meticulous and sometimes sparkling orchestration that would become characteristic of his later period. Historical context aside, this is a terrific, totally engrossing symphonic work and certainly deserves far more recordings and international performances than it's received in the recent past - I hope orchestras and conductors who see this video might be inspired to take it up in the future!
00:05 I. Allegro vivo
07:55 II. (no marking)
15:11 III. Moderato
21:22 IV. Allegro
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate) conducted by Ari Rasilainen
The fourth movement starts extremely softly, so turn up your volume as needed if you can't hear.
Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) was a Turkish composer, the most famous of the "Turkish Five" who combined the Western classical tradition with Turkish folk music. During Saygun's lifetime, his work was widely performed across Turkey, Europe, and North America by leading ensembles like the NBC Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, and Juilliard String Quartet. Read more about Saygun on my blog: unknowncomposers.org/2020/08/15/ahmet-adnan-saygun-a-pioneer-who-brought-together-romanticism-western-modernism-and-turkish-folk-song
I find Saygun's second symphony of 1958 to be a kind of bridge between his earlier works, such as the string quartet or first symphony, and his subsequent symphonies and concerti. While some parts of this symphony retain a rather vivacious and energetic quality, Saygun starts to lean into the dense, meticulous and sometimes sparkling orchestration that would become characteristic of his later period. Historical context aside, this is a terrific, totally engrossing symphonic work and certainly deserves far more recordings and international performances than it's received in the recent past - I hope orchestras and conductors who see this video might be inspired to take it up in the future!
