Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seda Tüfekçioğlu and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Tunçer, faculty members of the Department of Turkish Music at Istanbul Medeniyet University, undertook the artistic direction of the concert in which the works of kanun-composer Göksel Baktagir were performed, and they accompanied soloist Göksel Baktagir with their kanun and piano.
In the magnificent concert held on January 8, 2025 at the Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum Turkish Hearth Hall, Ankara Music and Fine Arts University Turkish Music Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra accompanied Baktagir under the conductorship of Ahmet Serkan Ece. In the concert, Çiğdem Gürdal, an artist of the Ankara Turkish World Music Ensemble of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Fine Arts, took part as a guest artist. The piano accompaniment arrangement of 4 works in the concert, where valuable works of Baktagir, who is considered one of the most important representatives of the kanun instrument, were performed, was carried out by our faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Tunçer.
In the first part of the concert, after Baktagir's solo performance, Seda Tüfekçioğlu accompanied the soloist in two pieces with the kanun and Deniz Tunçer with the piano. In the following parts, the concert continued with the participation of the Ankara Music and Fine Arts University Turkish Music Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra. Finally, the concert ended with the accompaniment of Ankara Music and Fine Arts University Rector Erhan Özden with his ney.
Who is Goksel Baktagir?
Göksel Baktagir, who started music at the age of eight, graduated from the ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory in 1988. He joined the Ministry of Culture Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble conducted by Tanburi Necdet Yaşar and gave concerts in various countries with the “Necdet Yaşar Ensemble”. Göksel Baktagir, who started composing during his conservatory years, has around 800 works, both vocal and instrumental. Many of his works have been included in the TRT repertoire and have been deemed worthy of many awards in Turkey and around the world.
Since 1984, Baktagir has been continuing his work on the technique he developed, especially for the “left hand”, in addition to other techniques in performing the kanun. The artist, who is considered one of the most prominent kanun performers of today, has expanded the perspective of the kanun instrument, which is essentially a Turkish musical instrument, to other musical genres such as New Age and Jazz.
In addition to his duties at the Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Baktagir has given concerts with the Istanbul Sazendeleri group in England, France, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Macedonia, Malta, the USA, Canada, Argentina, Malaysia, India, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Japan since 1999.
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