FAZIL SAY

Fazıl Say is a Turkish pianist and composer born in Ankara, Turkey. He 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 Ankara. 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. 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. He has won numerous awards and continues to compose and perform around the world.

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