NEWS

The work that was created by Kamran Ince with inspiration derived from the Blue Symphony painting created by Burhan Doğançay, one of the most important names in Modern Turkish art, was performed for music lovers at the Istanbul Modern with the support of Yıldız Holding. Ince’s composition which was interpreted by the Los Angeles Times newspaper as "A rare composition that has been able to remain exotic without severing its connection with modern music” was executed by pianist Hüseyin Sermet. This extraordinary experience that took place at the Istanbul Modern was broadcasted on the specially prepared web site www.mavisenfoni.com and was also viewed on mobile devices.

Yıldız Holding Board of Directors Assistant Chairman Ali Ülker, who made a speech before the performance, said that they do not see the contributions that have been made as limited to economic activities. Ali Ülker continued by adding: “We plan for Yıldız Holding, which we also consider to be responsible for community benefit, to especially be involved in projects that are oriented towards culture and the arts. We have supported very special projects in the fields of modern art and Islam. We are proud to support such projects as The Koran in its 1400th year Exhibit and ‘The Rarest Works of Calligraphy: Hilye-i Şerifeler Exhibit’. We are continuing to support modern art with more activities. Our Art Beat sponsorship was also among these. One of our biggest projects in the field of modern art was the “Half a Century of City Walls: A Burhan Doğançay Retrospective” that was held on May 22 at the Istanbul Modern.  We thank Kamran Ince for the composition that has been created for the Blue Symphony, one of Burhan Doğançay’s most important works and Hüseyin Sermet for his successful performance of the composition.”

Burhan Doğançay, who spoke after the performance of the Blue Symphony, said that the evening was very significant in terms of Turkish music. Doğançay said “It is not often that a composition is created based on a work of art. That this was accomplished by a Turk is something I am very proud of. I hope we will be able to hear this work performed abroad as well someday.”

Kamran Ince who said that he wrote the Blue Symphony full of excitement and participated in the evening by connecting from the US via Skype expressed himself with these words: “I have a lot of respect for Burhan Doğançay’s art. The closeness in our art really excited me. I wrote this work with a lot of pleasure. You will hear the surprises in Mr. Burhan’s pictures through my work. I would like to thank Ali Ülker and Yıldız Holding. You can’t see it right now but one of the posters in my office is a 1999 Istanbul Music Festival Poster... I performed the opening concert there. The sponsor there was Ülker too. I would also like to thank IKSV and the Istanbul Modern. I also thank Hüseyin Sermet. He plays the work excellently. I hope you will have a pleasant evening.”

The “Blue Symphony” painting can be viewed in the “Half a Century of City Walls: A Burhan Doğançay Retrospective” supported by Yıldız Holding until September 23rd at the Istanbul Modern. In this comprehensive exhibit comprised of 50 years of Burhan Doğançay’s work, 14 different periods and 120 of his works that are found in the collections of prominent museums are presented to audiences.

Details from the Evening:

The Blue symphony was presented on a 45 meter square interactive LED screen. People who walked by the motion sensitive screen could see the notes of the symphony on the digital screen. The Istanbul Modern’s garden was decorated with inspiration from the Blue Symphony. The details of the painting were reflected in the decorations. Cuisine prepared by four chefs was presented to the guests for dinner. Murat Karduman from the Borsa Restaurant,  Claudio Chinali from the Masa Restaurant, Michel Muir from the X Restaurant and Iskender Erocak from the Istanbul Modern Restaurant created a special menu together for the symphony evening. 

The hosts of the evening were Yıldız Holding Board of Directors Assistant Chairmen Ali Ülker and  Ahmet Özokur, Yıldız Holding Joint Enterprise Retail and Godiva authority Assistant Chairman Burak Elmas, Yıldız Holding Corporate Communication General Manager Zuhal Şeker, Burhan Doğançay his wife Angela Doğançay, Bülent and Oya Eczacıbaşı. Yıldız Holding Board of Directors Chairman Consultant Rose Marie Bravo also attended the evening. Ayşe Kulin, Nuri Çolakoğlu, Siren Ertan, Esra Oflaz Güvenkaya, Esra Civelek, Esra Ekmekçi, Sedef Korkmaz, Tilda Tezman, Şeli Ipekeli Elvaşvili and Turgay and Nurcan Artam were among those that attended the recital.