Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Mirjam Tschopp, viola
Bilkent Senfoni Orkestrası conducted by Howard Griffiths
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
Saygun's viola concerto of 1977 is a virtuosic and colorfully orchestrated work; its Turkish folk influences - in the form of Turkish percussion instruments like the darbuka, use of makams in the viola part, and the relentless aksak rhythms of the second movement - make it one of the most original and distinctive viola concerti of the 20th century. Considering the relatively small number of works in the genre, Saygun's viola concerto is woefully underplayed - it would make a wonderful addition to the viola standard repertoire.
If you are interested in performing this concerto, the piano reduction can be bought here: jwpepper.com/Viola+Concerto/10354605.item#.YImazrVKhPY
Mirjam Tschopp, viola
Bilkent Senfoni Orkestrası conducted by Howard Griffiths
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
Saygun's viola concerto of 1977 is a virtuosic and colorfully orchestrated work; its Turkish folk influences - in the form of Turkish percussion instruments like the darbuka, use of makams in the viola part, and the relentless aksak rhythms of the second movement - make it one of the most original and distinctive viola concerti of the 20th century. Considering the relatively small number of works in the genre, Saygun's viola concerto is woefully underplayed - it would make a wonderful addition to the viola standard repertoire.
If you are interested in performing this concerto, the piano reduction can be bought here: jwpepper.com/Viola+Concerto/10354605.item#.YImazrVKhPY
