International stanbul Music Festival will be hosting world-famous mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli in stanbul.

As finalised between the Music Festival Management and the artist's agency, Cecilia Bartoli's and baritone Oliver Widmer's concert will be taking place on 22 June Sunday at the usual festival venue Hagia Eirene Museum. This special concert will be dedicated to the memory of the late Cevza Aktze, who had been the Director of the stanbul Music Festival for 26 years.

Born in Rome, Cecilia Bartoli received her voice training at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in the Italian capital, while at the same time being taught and coached by her parents, Silvana Bazzoni and Angelo Bartoli, both professional singers.

Bartoli's early career included collaborations with Herbert von Karajan, Daniel Barenboim and Nikolaus Harnoncourt: she studied Bach's Mass in B minor with Karajan, Mozart's da Ponte cycle with Barenboim and appeared on stage for the first time in a Mozart role as Cherubino under Harnoncourt in Zurich in 1988.

Bartoli has since worked with a host of other acclaimed conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, William Christie, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Dutoit, Christopher Hogwood, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Giuseppe Sinopol, Sir Georg Solti and Franz Welser-Mst amongst others.

The highlights of Bartoli's opera-singing career to date have been her performances as Cherubino (Zurich Opera House/Ponnelle/Harnoncourt), Zerlina (Scala di Milano/Strehler/Muti and the Salzburg Festival/Chreau/Barenboim), Dorabella (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Miller/Mehta), Susanna, Donna Elvira and Fiordiligi (Zurich Opera House/Flimm/Harnoncourt), Cenerentola (Metropolitan Opera/Lievi/Levine, Bavarian State Opera/Ponnelle/Fischer and Teatro Comunale di Bologna/de Simone/Chailly), Susanna (Metropolitan Opera/Miller/Levine), Despina (Metropolitan Opera/Curning/Levine and Vienna's Theater an der Wien/de Simone/Muti), Euridice in Haydn's L'Anima del Filosofo (Theater an der Wien/Flimm/Harnoncourt), Nina in the opera of the same name by Paisiello (Zurich Opera House/Lievi/Fischer), opera "L'Anima del Filosofo" at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, and Turco in Italia by Rossini (Zurich Opera House/Lievi/Harnoncourt.

Cecilia Bartoli's performances in concert and in recital have been no less significant than her career on the operatic stage. In her recital appearances she has been accompanied by leading pianists such as Daniel Barenboim, Myung-Whun Chung, James Levine, Andrs Schiff and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Her growing interest in Baroque music has led to her collaboration with outstanding ensembles from the ancient music scene, including Concentus Musicus Wien, Il Giardino Armonico, Akademie fr Alte Musik Berlin, The Academy of Ancient Music, Les Arts Florissants, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Le Musiche Nove.

Currently available on DVD are Cecilia Bartoli's concert with Bryn Terfel at the Glyndebourne Opera House in the spring of 1999, the "Cosi fan tutte" production of Jrgen Flimm and Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Zrich Opera House in February 2000, a Vivaldi concert recorded in public with Giardino Armonico, "La Cenerentola" from the Houston Opera and "Live in Italy" with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, the Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca and the Zrich "Don Giovanni" production by Jrgen Flimm and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. "Nina" and "Turco in Italia" are currently in preparation.

Cecilia Bartoli's album featuring arias from Italian operas by Christoph Willibald Gluck was released in October 2001. In February 2002 this recording won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance. "Gluck Italian Arias" is the result of Bartoli's ongoing quest to uncover rare jewels from the Baroque repertoire. The critically acclaimed CD topped numerous Best-of-the-Year lists.

In November 2001 she sang concerts in London, Brussels and Frankfurt under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt with whom she worked again in concert performances of Haydn's "Orlando Paladino".

Highlights of 2002 /03 season include many successful concerts of works of baroque and classical composers's all around Europe, in March 2002 she returned to the Zurich Opera House for the revival of Paisiello's opera "Nina" and a new production of Rossini's "Il Turco in Italia", in September 2002 she had her debut at the National Concert Hall in Dublin and crossing the Atlantic she just finished a North American tour : New York (Carnegie Hall), Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Newark and Toronto, with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightnment and Le musiche Nove ensemble, concentrating on the forgotten works of Vivaldi and Gluck; recitals of several European cities as London, Paris, Geneva and a return to the Zurich Opera for " Cenerentola" and a new production of Haydn's"Armida" with Maestro Harnoncourt conducting.

In the Autumn Mrs Bartoli will be again in the recording studio, having renewed her exclusive contract with the Decca Music Group and "the Art of Cecilia Bartoli" album will be released at the same time worldwide with an overview of her repertoire as well as two unreleased duets with Luciano Pavarotti from "l'Elisir d'amore and Traviata.

The tickets of Cecilia Bartoli's concert in the 31st International stanbul Music Festival at the Hagia Eirene Museum will be offered for sale through Biletix and Atatrk Cultural Centre's Box Offices on 31 May Saturday, the same date for all performance tickets.

For the past 30 years, the International Istanbul Music Festival has been an asset to contemporary music life. Between June 5^th and July 3^rd, the Festival will host in its 31^st anniversary year numerous artists – both local and foreign – in various historical sites of Istanbul. The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts is proud to present one of Europe’s most prestigious musical events with a wide variety of performances. The 31^st International Istanbul Music Festival is sponsored by Eczacba Holding A.. as usual.

The festival is rich in venues this year. Venues for the previous performances included the Hagia Eirene Museum, Atatrk Cultural Centre and Cemil Topuzlu Open-air Theatre. In addition to these venues, this year performances are scheduled for Hagia Sophia Museum, Beylerbeyi Palace, Yldz Palace Theatre, Istanbul Archaeological Museum, the Imperial Mint, Rahmi M. Ko Museum and Schneidertempel Art Centre as well as the Church of St. Anthony’s and the Armenian Church of the Trinity.

An Honorary Award for the First Time

The International Istanbul Music Festival will honour local and foreign composers and performers who have contributed to the development of classical music with an Honorary Award. The first award will go to our esteemed composer, Nevit Kodall, for his extensive and unique contributions in the development of classical music in Turkey. The 31^st International Istanbul Music Festival will start with a concert and reception cocktail in the garden of Beylerbeyi Palace on the night of June 5^th. On this very special night, maestro Grer Aykal will conduct the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra with a programme of works of Turkish composers in celebration of the 80^th year of the Republic of Turkey.

We will have the chance to hear and watch performances by some artists who have participated in the Festival in the previous years. But there are some other artists who will be with us here for the first time – to begin with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, one of the foremost orchestras of Europe and maybe even the world over. The orchestra will be conducted by the distinguished conductor, Lorin Maazel. Pianist Hseyin Sermet will play with the orchestra in their second performance during the Festival.

Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra attends the 31^st International Istanbul Music Festival with two programmes this year and it will be the resident orchestra of Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts as of this year.

The 31^st International Istanbul Music Festival will include 34 performances and 1 workshop. There will be 7 orchestra concerts, one of them chorus-accompanied, 6 chamber orchestra concerts, 7 recitals, 3 chamber music concerts, 8 traditional music concerts, 1 dance performance and 1 oratorio. Moreover, the Soloists of the Royal Opera House will conduct a workshop with students from music faculties on June 8^th.

Opening Concert – Concert at the Hagia Sophia Museum

Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Grer Aykal, will perform for the second time on the night of June 6^th in another historical venue, the Hagia Sophia Museum. In this concert, organised in memory of Cevat Memduh Altar, a pioneer in the popularisation of polyphonic music in Turkey, the orchestra will be accompanied by Istanbul State Opera and Ballet Chorus in pieces from Mozart’s Requiem, Ramirez’s Misa Criolla and Ahmed Adnan Saygun’s Yunus Emre Oratorio. The soloists will be Yelda Kodall, the well-known soprano whom the Festival has had the chance to present in previous years as well as the mezzo-soprano Wilke Te Brummelstroete, tenor Daniil Shtoda and bass Manfred Hemm.

Besides the Hagia Sophia Concert, there will be a series of concerts underlining the rich amalgam of multicultural heritage in this unique city.

Another spectacular concert of this year is to be performed on June 27^th at the Church of St. Anthony’s by Martin Haselbck, one of the foremost organ players of our day. Haselbck has played both as a soloist and in the company of orchestras conducted by famous maestros, the like of Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti and Lorin Maazel. In this concert he will play works of C.P.E. Bach, Mozart and Liszt as well as an organ piece composed for him in particular.

Surp Takavor Church Choir will perform on June 10^th at the Armenian Church of the Trinity. Aaron Kohen Yasak Maftirim Hymns Choir will perform on June 22^nd at Schneidertempel Art Centre. These choirs are a pure manifestation of the rich cultural mosaic of Istanbul.

Orchestra Concerts

Music lovers in Istanbul are invited to a feast with two concerts each by two prominent foreign orchestras: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks will be conducted by one of the most famous conductors of our times, Lorin Maazel, on July 2^nd and 3^rd at Atatrk Cultural Centre. The orchestra will play two different programmes comprising masterpieces of classical music. On the night of July 3^rd, pianist Hseyin Sermet will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 accompanied by the orchestra.

The Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Ivan Fischer, will perform pieces by Stravinsky and Rachmaninov in their first concert on June 23^rd. The orchestra will also play Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite that brought them a “Diapason d’Or” Award. In the second concert of the orchestra on June 24^th, the Georgian pianist Alexander Toradze will accompany the orchestra with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Working with Valery Gergiev, the pianist has played and recorded five concertos by Prokofiev that earned him great appreciation.

Chamber Orchestras

The International Istanbul Music Festival hosts elite chamber orchestras this year. There are three striking orchestras which perform with period instruments. Les Musiciens du Louvre–Grenoble will visit Istanbul for the first time on the night of June 21^st in the Hagia Eirene Museum. One of the most outstanding maestros of the young generation conducts the orchestra: Marc Minkowski. Starting his career in music playing the bassoon, this great musician pleases critiques with his immense mastery in interpreting the composers of the French Baroque period.

Europa Galante conducted by Fabio Biondi will perform on June 13^th and 14^th in the Hagia Eirene Museum with two different programmes. Festival-goers showed great appreciation for this orchestra in the previous festivals. The first concert of the orchestra will include arias from the operas of Vivaldi, mostly known for his instrumental pieces. Fabio Biondi conducts and plays the solos in both concerts with a programme basically focused on the works of the composers of the Italian Baroque period.

On June 30^th, we will hear an orchestra that started out their musical journey in Eastern Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall: Akademie fr Alte Musik, Berlin. In the beginning, the orchestra had a hard time getting the attention they deserve as they strove for survival through financial and bureaucratic difficulties, but in the end, they got to play in all the eminent centres in Europe and have been invited to all foremost festivals. The orchestra is conducted by maestro Stephan Mai and will play a programme of Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons.

The Istanbul Chamber Orchestra, which played a major role in the music life of Istanbul for many years and then ceased its concert activities for a long time, made a return with a brand new team of young musicians in 2001. The orchestra will perform “Waltzes with the Sultans on the Bosphorus”, conducted by Emre Arac, on the night of June 25^th at the Archaeological Museum. As the title of the concert suggests, the orchestra will focus on pieces from western music that were played at the Ottoman Court. The programme includes the Violin Concerto by Emre Arac as well as a number of works of the Sultans who composed in western style. The soloist is violonist Cihat Akn.

Tekfen Philarmonic Orchestra, conducted by Saim Akl, will play on June 12^th in the Hagia Eirene Museum. The orchestra was formed with musicians of the countries that are members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. The concert will comprise classical works as well as works of the composers from member countries. The soloists are Ercan Irmak and Yannis Saoulis - on the bouzouki.

On the night of June 18^th, the Hagia Eirene Museum will host one of the most spectacular events of the festival: the famous violonist Shlomo Mintz who has attended the festival previously, the famous Turkish violonist Cihat Akn and Israel-born violonist and lute-player Yair Dalal will perform for us in this concert titled The Story of Three Violins. The musicians will elaborate on the similarity and interaction of the Middle Eastern cultures from a musical point of view. The soloists will be accompanied by the Istanbul Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Orhan allel. This concert will be the premier of the young Turkish composer Mnir Nurettin Beken’s latest work: Concerto for Three Violins. Other musicians that have a role in this concert are: Erkan Our, Oriental Ensemble and Hadass Pal-Yarden.

Recitals

Pianist Kenneth Hamilton will play on June 10^th and 11^th at the Yldz Palace Theatre. His programme comprises pieces that Franz Liszt played in the presence of Sultan Abdlmecit in the raan Palace during his visit in 1847. A famous researcher on Liszt, Hamilton will also give the audience information about the works of Liszt and his trip to Istanbul.

Pianist Muhiddin D. Demiriz, currently teaching at the Belgian Royal Conservatoire, will give a recital on June 12^th and play a number of preludes from different epochs, and among them, his own composition: Prelude for the Orient Express.

Chamber Music Concerts

One of the most recognised chamber music ensembles of our times, the Tokyo String Quartet, will perform on June 10^th at the Hagia Eirene Museum. The orchestra deserves attention not only with their amazing interpretation of musical pieces, but also for the instruments they play. All four instruments were the works of the legendary violin maker, Antonio Stradivarius and have been in the special collection of Nicolo Paganini.

Another chamber music orchestra comes from London: The Soloists of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. They will perform on June 7^th and 9^th for the Istanbul audience. In the first concert, they will also play Facing Phaselis, composed by the young Turkish composer Sdka zdil for the soloists in particular.

A World Premiere from Fazl Say

His amazing interpretation and composition skills earned the famous pianist Fazl Say the appreciation he absolutely deserves. This year, he attends the festival with two projects. On the night of July 3^rd, he will premier an oratorio he has composed in memory of poet, Metin Altok. He will be accompanied by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism State Polyphonic Choir conducted by brahim Yazc at the Cemil Topuzlu Open-air Theatre. Zuhal Olcay and soprano Burcu Uyar will also accompany the great artist in his oratorio that he named “Only a broken hope remains for us, to bear with tomorrow’s darkness”

Fazl Say Public Concerts

Fazl Say will attempt to reach a new class of audience in his concerts on June 10^th, 11^th and 12^th in three districts that are not in the proximity of the centre of Istanbul, where artistic events are organised: Zeytinburnu, Avclar and mraniye.

Traditional Music

Traditional music concerts have always had a special place in the programme of the Istanbul Music Festival ever since day one. This year, the festival is again rich in traditional music programmes and venues. A series of four concerts scheduled to be staged at the Imperial Mint will give us examples from a number of periods of classical Turkish music. On June 16^th, Bezmara Ensemble will perform under Fikret Karakaya. On June 17^th, the concert will elaborate on the “Fasl Music in the Ottoman–Turkish Tradition” under Kani Karaca. On June 18^th and 19^th, we will hear examples of “19^th Century Fasl Music”, conducted by Nurettin elik, and “Ten Instrumental Semais” of Ferit Alnar, respectively.

On June 20^th, the singer Sema will perform canticles and Bektashi hymns accompanied by a small group of musicians in the Sema & Zen’Ensemble concert at Rahmi M. Ko Museum.

The Rahmi M. Ko Museum will also host the traditional Japanese tsugaru-shamisen performer Shinichi Kinoshita who offers us a chance to experience Japanese culture and music on July 1^st.

The only dance performance of the 31^st International Istanbul Music Festival will be on June 16^th by Zeynep Tanbay.

The Soloists of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden will hold a workshop to meet with the young musicians of Istanbul on June 8^th. The workshop will be led by Tony Hougham, principal double bass player of the orchestra of the Royal Opera.

Ticket Sales

Ticket sales for the 31^st International stanbul Music Festival will begin on 24 May 2003, Saturday at 11.00am through the BILETIX sales system and at the box office of the Atatrk Cultural Centre (AKM) as detailed below. Sales of Hagia Eirene Museum’s Special Balcony tickets will begin on the same date. For prices, please refer to the chart in the Festival brochure.

For the Friends of stanbul Red Tulip Card holders, 20 % discount will be applicable for each price category, including the Special Balcony tickets of the Hagia Eirene Museum. No discount is available for listeners other than Tulip Card members except a limited number of student tickets, which will be put for sale this year. Tickets for the performances will be available on all sale systems (BILETIX retail, BILETIX call centre, Internet) and the venue box office on the day of the performance. An additional service charge will be required at all sales locations except Atatrk Cultural Centre. Tickets will be on sale at the box office at the Hagia Eirene Museum starting from 5 June, Wednesday between 10.00am and 5.00pm, and until 8.30pm on the days of the performances. No service charge is applicable on the ticket sales made at the concert venue on the performance date.

Biletix by phone (0216) 454 15 55

Only credit cards are valid for purchases made daily by phone through (0216) 454 15 55, between 8.30am and 9.00pm (from 24 May at 10.00am). Tickets can be obtained at the venue before the performance begins upon presentation of the credit card. (We recommend that you get your tickets from one of the BILETIX sales locations at least one day before the performance in order to avoid queues on the performance night.) Upon request, tickets can be delivered to address at the expenses of the addressee.

Ticket sales through the web

www.biletix.com

Tickets purchased on the Internet may only be picked up at the performance venue upon presentation of the credit card.

AKM box office sales

No service charge is applicable for sales through Atatrk Cultural Centre’s box offices between 11.00am-6.00pm on 24 May, Saturday and between 10.00am-6.00pm on the days to follow. Box office will remain open until the performance time.