İZMİR NEW MUSIC DAYS-II

Following the first edition and experiencing the continuous interest of the audience, planning the event next year became inevitable. As the program was about to get published in early spring 2020 the pandemic came and we unfortunately had to cancel the event.

Following the first edition in 2019, the second edition of İzmir New Music Days took place in digital format. The festival started on May 30, 2021 with Ensemble Handwerk’s,  music video, themed around sustainability. Through ensemble’s unique, quasi-staged  approach we witnessed an extraordinarily refined performance, which also included  short works composed for this specific occasion by Yaşar University’s composition students. I believe the concept of sustainability initiated and presented by the Ensemble Handwerk, created a platform for the young Turkish composers, perhaps for the first time, to take part in such a conceptual approach, which I consider quite remarkable.

The second concert supported by Austrian Cultural Forum in İstanbul, continued with a performance on May 31, 2021 with one of the most distinguished performers in contemporary music, pianist Alfredo Ovalles, who presented a multifaceted program with works originating from Baltic Region to South America, an intriguing variety of works by well-known composers but also works by younger composers.

Following a 2-day workshop featuring brand new works composed for KNM Ensemble-Berlin by young composition students from our university, the final concert of  the festival held on October 1st, 2021. We had a remarkable period of time full of “new” music. It was an “extraordinary” possibility for our students to be able to work with such extraordinary musicians and witness their extraordinary professionality.