Ahmet Say: A Concert above “Ordinary”

On Tuesday, April 5, 2106, the Hacettepe University Symphony Orchestra conducted by Burak Tüzün gave a studio concert at TRT Radio 3 Refik Ahmet Sevengil Studio. In the second half of the live concert, Can Aksel Akın's First Symphony was performed for the first time. The Saygun Philharmonic Choir accompanied the orchestra in the third part of the work titled “Sivas Pain”. We share the section about the piece from Ahmet Say's article published on Sanattan Yansımalar website: 

Let's talk about the highly anticipated piece of the concert... In European music culture, the rejoicing called “World Premiere” is very important. This first performance is like the birth of a baby. Even before the work is performed, people expect the baby to be born to be a “bundle of joy”. Our composer Can Aksel Akın's “1st Symphony” in three movements was, in my eyes, a baby that would be born like a ball of light.

I made a beginning that was not in line with the impression this symphony left on me. I should have started by saying: “Our composer Can Aksel Akın (b. 1979), naturally adopted a contemporary compositional approach in this work dedicated to Aziz Nesin.” To be honest, in the 21st century we live in, a compositional approach that looks back to ancient times would have been out of the question. The thing is, when the term “contemporary music” is mentioned, listeners all over the world are often startled. Classical music listeners have not warmed up to atonal music, which has been “repulsive” to them since the 20th century. Can Aksel Akın's symphony was not “tonal” either, but it had an intriguing appeal. To summarize, the composer aimed to do “much work with little sound” and he succeeded. In my opinion, this music, which at times gave the impression of being modal (or even maqamal), was not disturbing, but rather relaxing with its soft character. It was not boring because it was balanced.

This is how the first movement of Akın's “Symphony No. 1” began. Consisting of three movements, the piece did not exhibit the traditional “fast-heavy-fast” sections: The first movement titled “Özgür” was slow, the second movement titled “Yaşar” was fast and the last movement titled “Sivas Pain” was slow.

The composer had a strong grasp of orchestration and made impressive use of brass and woodwinds as well as percussion. Above all, there was an intriguing balance in this elegant work. My heartfelt congratulations to Can Aksel Akın. Besides him, the main element that provided balance in the piece was the choir. I also congratulate the directors and members of this valuable choir. And we would like to thank the efforts of Huriye Tütüncü and Ceren Abdullah for preparing such an above-average program for us, the presenter Selvi Karakoç and the tonmeister Levent Kent for their confidence-inspiring and engaging speeches.

You can access the full article from the link below:
http://www.sanattanyansimalar.com/yazarlar/ahmet-say/olagan-in-ustunde-bir-konser/958/