Every year, Gaudeamus, Grachtenfestival and November Music issue an open call, in which composers can write new work for a solo musician who is an expert on an instrument for which composers do not often get the chance to write music. This year, four composers were chosen to write new work for Emine Bostancı, who plays the Istanbul kemenche – a type of traditional stringed instrument found in various forms in the eastern Mediterranean – and the Cretan lyra. It fits perfectly with Bostancı’s mission to bridge the gap between traditional Ottoman-Turkish and contemporary classical music.
Here is a video of Emine playing the Cretan lyra:
Programme
Kostas Zisimopoulos - ‘ànemos : PÒROS’
Mojan Alaiyeh - Red, but from the Lovers' Mistake
Niccolò Angioni - L’INCONTRO
Livia Malossi Bottignole - new work
All these four new works are commissioned by Gaudeamus, November Music and Grachtenfestival, and financially supported by Performing Arts Fund NL.