Turkey looks to the future for classical music

Since the COVID-19 pandemic it has felt like the classical music world has largely been on hold. Cancelled concerts, redundancies, musicians with no work, and even plans for the new London concert hall were abandoned. But amongst all the chaos, there seemed to be somewhere totally bucking the trend and very much building towards the future… Turkey.

In December I was lucky enough to attend the opening of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall and find out more about the plans for the future of classical music in Turkey on a trip to Ankara and Istanbul (International travel!!! I know right?!?!?). I’ve had some time since then to reflect on the whole trip, and the two overarching themes are ambition and optimism. 

Although the concert hall had been stuck in development limbo for years, it was finished in just 21 months at the relatively cheap price of €83 million… a tenth the cost of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg! On top of that it’s also the largest concert hall in Turkey, covering 62,000 square metres.

The ambition to push forward the construction in such a short space of time was clear on the first day when we were allowed to explore as part of a press tour. Finishing touches were still being put in place with workmen frantically finishing off sections… COVID-19 obviously delayed construction but it seems the ambition to open the concert hall on the date they had set remained. For example, glass was still being installed the day before the performance (which was done by the next day), and there is eventually to be a moat around the hall.

A mix of glass and concrete, the building is striking in looks and really comes to life on the inside. The huge glass pyramid lets in a huge amount of light and is positioned so the sun rises on one side and sets on the other. This also allows for a huge amount of open space inside, as well as lots of unusual angles and shapes created by pillars, mezzanines, and the outside different halls and rooms.

One thing I loved about this building particular is how it is set up to support the Presidential Symphony Orchestra’s future. New practice rooms and facilities for the players look like a big upgrade and have a desire to help the orchestra build on its 200-year history. The orchestra itself has a commitment to hiring Turkish musicians, many of whom have left the country to train abroad. This desire to create employment and training opportunities for Turkish musicians is incredibly admirable and seems far removed from the current state of play in the UK.

The opening concert was actually the only concert I’ve attended during the pandemic, so it’s memorable for a number of reasons. Ignoring the pandemic for a moment, the opening itself really pulled out the stops in terms of making a spectacle of the event. If anything, it was more impressive leaving the concert down the red carpet to find the hall lit up with a projection of the Turkish flag and beams of light moving across the sky. The opening was launched by a speak by President Erdoğan. Unfortunately this wasn’t subtitled so I can’t tell you anything about what he said, but a 20 minute speech at the opening of a new hall definitely shows the importance of the project.

For the concert itself, traditional western European classical music was mixed with Turkish composers. Sadly there were no concert programmes (COVID-19 rules) so I didn’t get to know the pieces or the composers, but for me discovering Turkish music was the highlight of the concert. On our tour we were told that the acoustics were a work in progress and would be adapted over the next few years, and I think that’s a fair assessment. Considering how much work was being done the day before to make sure the hall was open, I can see that there is still some finishing off to do. Equally, from the effort and speed with which they’ve made the hall, I’m confident the improvements will happen.

As part of the trip, we had a morning breakfast with Mehmet Ersoy, the Minister for Tourism and Culture, and a man who fully embodies Turkey’s cultural ambition. He the growing popularity of classical music is growing in Turkey, and there are plans to celebrate the Presidential Symphony Orchestra’s role in this with an exhibition to showcase the history and development of the orchestra.

There are 81 cities in Turkey, and Esroy was clear in his vision to make all of them popular as part of a new strategy to showcase all of Turkey. Although he comes from the tourism background, his commitment to culture was clear and he repeatedly spoke about how the two drove each other. He also took this opportunity to explain the future plans for the next step on the trip.

It turns out that the Presidential Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall will only have the title of “largest concert hall in Turkey” for a short period of time, as construction on a new concert hall in Istanbul which is 60% bigger and costing an expected €140 million had begun in February 2019. Incredibly, this is expected to open in June 2021.

After a short (and painfully early) flight, we arrived in Istanbul with the chance to explore the construction site of the new Ataturk Cultural Center. The original which opened in 1969 was designed by Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, and in what seems to be a fitting connection to the this the new building is being designed by his son, Murat Tabanlıoğlu.

Murat Tabanlıoğlu

Although the original has been totally demolished, Murat’s personal connection has seen him recreate the façade of the previous building. The star attraction of the new centre will be the opera house, with a a 2,100 seat hall inside a giant red sphere. It will also be home to smaller halls, cinemas, libraries, and restaurants.

It was rather surreal to walk around the inside of the shell of the building whilst being surrounded by workmen, but the lack of walls did give a unique glimpse to the scale of the construction. With a proposed opening in June, the whole thing seems incredibly ambitious. But when looking at the speed in which the concert hall in Ankara was finished, I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled out all the stops to get this completed.

The whole trip finished with a sunset boat trip on the Bosphorus… hard life I know. I spent half of it taking in the sights of Istanbul and the other reflecting on the previous few days. Where the rest of the world is cutting back on the arts and cancelling concert hall construction projects, here is a country that is building for the future. Not only with bricks and mortar, but also how cultural buildings support the artists that they house and the impact they can have on international tourism. It’s only a matter of time before Turkey becomes one of the “go to” stops for international orchestras and classical music tourists.