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SPECTACULAR ANNIVERSARY CONCERTS
FROMTEKFEN PHILHARMONIC
Tekfen Philharmonic directed by Aziz
Shokhakimov, the Uzbek wunderkind of
classical music, gave a series of gala concerts
on the occasion of Tekfen’s 60th anniver-
sary. Known also as “The Sound of Three
Seas”, the orchestra hosted guest soloists
As part of Tekfen Group’s 60th anniversary celebrations, Tekfen Philharmonic scheduled a special gala
programme. After concerts in Ankara on November 2 and in İstanbul on November 3, the orchestra
played for children on November 6 as “Tekfen Philhar-mini.”
from the Black Sea, the Aegean, and the
Mediterranean Sea in honour of the three
founding partners of Tekfen. The Black Sea
was represented by music from Russian
composer Tchaikovsky, performed by ac-
complished domra player Inna Akulinina,
the Aegean by Alkistis Protopsalti, the diva
of Greek music, and the Mediterranean by
Rabih Abou Khalil, the famous Lebanese
oud player and composer. Tekfen Philhar-
monic also accompanied its regular soloists,
kanun player Göksel Baktagir, oudi Yurdal
Tokcan, and lutist Ercan Irmak, all master
musicians of Turkey.
On November 6, Tekfen Philharmonic
played for children at the Zorlu Performance
Arts Centre in the form of “Tekfen Philhar-
mini” in order to get children to enjoy classi-
cal music at a young age. The lively narrative
of award-winning actress Serra Yılmaz took
the children on an unforgettable journey
of classical music carefully selected for the
younglings.
The program included works that are
both entertaining and instructive, such
as polka favourites by Richard Strauss,
The Carnival of the Animals
by Camille
Saint-Saëns,
The Flight of the Bumblebee
by Rimsky Korsakov, and
The Dance of the
Knights
by Sergei Prokofiev. Yiğit Sertdemir,
the actor, director and founder of theatre
company “Theater After Six,” and his team
were also part of the show; their group of
clowns called “The Philhar-minis” as well
as giant colourful puppets shared the stage,
adding a visual dimension to the musical
feast.