Classical music celebrity, virtuoso pianist and composer, Fazil Say, who captivated the music world with his extraordinary improvisational talent, will perform in Lithuania for the first time. Having won the prestigious "ECHO Klassik" award several times, the artist who plays in the most famous concert halls and the most famous festivals on October 22. will hold a solo concert at the National Philharmonic. Here he will perform a program of his selected works for the piano, filled with the sounds of modern classical and jazz music.
Fazil Say fascinates listeners with his versatile talent. He is a virtuoso pianist who has mastered the classical piano repertoire at the highest level of mastery, and at the same time he is a wonderful improviser who does not leave the audience indifferent with his performances. The French daily Le Figaro called Fazil Say a "genius".
The beginning of Fazil Say's creative path, which has lasted for more than 30 years, can be considered the year 1986, when the famous German composer Aribert Reimann visited Ankara, where the 16-year-old pianist was studying at the time, and recommended to the pianist David Levine who accompanied him to definitely visit the city's conservatory so that he too could hear the boy who "plays like the devil". Since 1987 Fazil Say began studying with D. Levine at the Robert Schumann High School of Music in Düsseldorf and in Berlin, and before that he studied in Ankara with Mithat Fenman, a student of the famous Alfred Cortot (with whom he studied in Paris). Fenman immediately noticed Fazil's creativity and encouraged Fazil to improvise every day in addition to mastering the classical repertoire. Contact with the free creative process and forms developed Fazil Say's extraordinary talent as an improviser and opened a broader approach to performance and creation. Later, for several years, the young artist improved in the piano master classes of the famous Menachem Pressler. Excellent technique and extraordinary musicality, performing works by J. S. Bach, J. Haydn, W. A. Mozart, as well as L. van Beethoven and F. Liszt, which require different pianism, allowed Fazil Say in 1994. to win the Young Artist Competition in New York. Since then, the pianist has collaborated with renowned American and European orchestras and conductors. The pianist managed to accumulate a diverse repertoire, from the above-mentioned J.S. Bach and Viennese classics to romanticism and modern opus, including his own work.
Fazil Say has performed on all five continents, for many years he played a duet with the world-famous Ukrainian violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. His other stage partners are the famous violinist Maxim Vengerov, Minetti Quartet, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa. in 2016 Fazil Say was awarded the Beethoven Prize in Bonn, 2017. - Duisburg City Music Prize.
2005-2010 he was at the Dortmund Konzerthaus, 2010-2011. – Artist-in-residence at the Berlin Konzerthaus. in 2011 He was a guest artist at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival. Fazil Say also resided at many festivals in Paris, Tokyo, Hamburg, Istanbul, Rheingau, in the latter he was awarded the prestigious Rheingau Music Prize. The pianist performs in halls such as New York's Carnegie Hall, Frankfurt's Alte Oper, etc. In addition, Fazil Say was soloist-in-residence at the Frankfurt Symphony Orchestra; not only as a pianist, but also as a composer, he was a resident of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and the Dresden Philharmonic.
As a composer, Fazil Say has been commissioned to create new works by the Salzburg Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Vienna Concert Hall, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, the BBC and other notable music organizations. In addition to piano and chamber music, Fazil Say also composes symphonic music, solo concerts with an orchestra, and is the author of two oratorios. Fazil Say's piano compositions such as Yeni Hayat, Four Ballads, Mount Ida Ballade, Jazz Fantasies and especially the famous Black Earth have received public acclaim and great success in various countries. All of them will be played at the concert in Vilnius.
In addition to his active concert activity, Fazil Say has released a number of recordings in the Teldec Classics and naïve publishing formats, and has even won four ECHO Klassik awards. Since 2016 he has a partnership with Warner Classics.
Concert of world-renowned pianist Fazil Say - October 22. at 7 p.m. at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic. The concert is organized by Vilnius Festivals.
