- Ulvi Cemal Erkin
Ulvi Cemal Erkin (
March 14 1906 –September 15 1972 ) was a Turkishcomposer .Erkin graduated from Galatasaray High School. He passed the examination and was sent to
Paris ,France for his education withCezmi Rifki Erinc andEkrem Zeki Un by the state in 1925. He studied in theParis Conservatory and the Ecole Normale de Musique.Upon his return to
Turkey in 1930, he began teaching at theMusiki Muallim Mektebi (Music Teachers School). He met his wifeFerhunde Erkin at the Musiki Muallim Mektebi and married in 1932.He shared the grand prize of the
Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi withAhmet Adnan Saygun andHasan Ferit Alnar in 1943. He won the prize for hispiano concerto . He wrote the famous "Köçekçe" orchestra suite the same year. In an interview he said thatAlfred Cortot gave him the idea of composing a piano concerto during his visit to Turkey.The same piano concerto and "
Köçek çe" suite was premiered by thePresidential Symphony Orchestra onMarch 11 ,1943 . The orchestra was conducted by Dr.Ernst Praetorius , and Ferhunde Erkin was the soloist. On the request of AmbassadorFranz von Papen , the piano concerto was performed inBerlin ,Germany onOctober 8 ,1943 . TheBerlin City Orchestra was conducted byFritz Zaun and the soloist was again Ferhunde Erkin.Recognition
Erkin was awarded with the Palm Academique,
Légion d'honneur chivalarous and official degrees, and the Italian Republic Medal. He was namedState Artist by Turkey in 1971 and was awarded a medal of honor by theSevda-Cenap And Music Foundation in 1991. A postage stamp commemorating his life was issued by the Turkish postal system in 1985.Notable works
* Symphony No. 1.
April 20 ,1946 .
* Piano sonata. Premiered by Ferhunde Erkin onJanuary 15 ,1948 .
* Violin concerto. Premiered by the Presidential Symphony Orchestra, conductor Ulvi Cemal Erkin, played byLicco Amar onApril 2 ,1948 .
* Symphony No. 2.July 2 ,1958 .Karl Oehring conductingMunich Philharmonic Orchestra .
* Keloglan balet music.June 2 ,1958 . Choreography byNinet de Valois .
* Six preludes.November 20 ,1949 . Premiered byGülay Ugurata .
* Seven folk pieces.
* Sinfonia concertante. Written in 1966. Conducted by Prof.Gotthold E. Lessing premiered byVerda Erman onNovember 10 ,1967 .
* Symphonic part (for large orchestra). Conducted byPerrison onOctober 8 ,1976 ee also
* [http://www.ulvicemalerkin.com Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Official Web Site]
*The Turkish Five
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