Ömer Zülfü Livaneli (born 20 June 1946), is a Turkish musician, author, poet, and politician. Livaneli was imprisoned several times during the

1971 Turkish coup d'état The 1971 Turkish military memorandum ( tr, 12 Mart Muhtırası), issued on 12 March that year, was the second military intervention to take place in the Republic of Turkey, coming 11 years after its 1960 predecessor. It is known as the "coup by m ...

because of his political views and had to leave Turkey in 1972 and went on exile. He lived in Stockholm, Paris, Athens, and New York where he met and collaborated with artists and intellectuals such as

Elia Kazan Elia Kazan (; born Elias Kazantzoglou ( el, Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one o ...

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; ...

, and

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

among others. Livaneli returned to Turkey in 1984. His works and cultural and political activities and contributions to world peace were recognized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

in 1995 when he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador to UNESCO. He quit this UNESCO post in 2016 to protest the Turkish State's damage to the historic Kurdish Old Town of Diyarbakir. He served a term in the

Turkish Parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

as well as in the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

Personal life

Livaneli's real name is Ömer Zülfü Livanelioğlu. He comes from a family of Georgian descent. His father was a judge and later president of the Turkish Supreme Court. He has four brothers and a sister. His mother died at the age of 38, when he was 20, and his father later remarried. His wife's name is Ülker and his daughter's name is

Aylin Aylin (, ) is a Turkish female given name. It is sometimes used as a given name in the English-speaking world in modern times. (Also spelled as Aelyn, Ailyn, Ailynn and Aylinn.) The name Aylin also carries the meaning of; “Moon Halo" or, "The o ...

; she was born in Ankara, Turkey. Ülker is a translator. In March 2020, Livaneli announced that he and his wife had become infected with

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the co ...

during their visit to New York in February during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. He further stated that after receiving treatment both of them had fully recovered and were quarantined in Turkey.

Musical career

Livaneli was trying to go to Europe because he had gone to jail two times. For his first album, he didn't use his current name, Zülfü Livaneli. Instead, he used the name "Ozanoglu". Yet he did not get to the point where he wanted to be, therefore, he started using his current name, Zülfü Livaneli, on his new album, ''Chants Révolutionnaires Turcs'' (Turkish Revolutionary songs) in 1971 or 1973. When he was in Europe, his brother Ferhat informed him about how his songs were being sung by everyone in Turkey while they were protesting the government. Livaneli then made an album called ''Nazim Türküsü''. The album turned into the well-renowned poet

Nâzım Hikmet Mehmed Nâzım Ran (15 January 1902 – 3 June 1963), Note: 403 Forbidden error received 10 October 2022. commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet (), was a Turkish-Polish poet, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, director, and memoirist. He was ...

's poems to music and it became and stayed at the top hit on albums album for 48 weeks. Livaneli has composed some three hundred songs, a rhapsody recorded by London Symphony Orchestra–, and a ballet. His compositions have reached cult status nationwide and have been performed by artists such as

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

, Maria Farantouri,

Maria del Mar Bonet Maria del Mar Bonet i Verdaguer (Balearic Catalan: ; born 1947 in Palma, Majorca) is a Spanish singer from the island of Majorca. Early life and career Bonet studied ceramics in the school of arts, but eventually decided to dedicate herself t ...

Udo Lindenberg Udo Lindenberg (born 17 May 1946) is a German singer, drummer, and composer. Career Lindenberg started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969, he founded his first band Free Orbit, and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Micha ...

Haris Alexiou Haris Alexiou ( el, Χάρις Αλεξίου, ; born 27 December 1950 in Thebes, Greece as Hariklia Roupaka, el, Χαρίκλεια Ρουπάκα, ) is a Greek singer. She is considered one of the most popular singers in Greece and has been co ...

, Jocelyn B. Smith, and Kate Westbrook. He has also written five plays and thirty film soundtracks. Among these soundtracks are the soundtrack for "Yol" (The Path), directed by Yilmaz Güney and winner of the Golden Palm in Cannes Film Festival, "The Herd", directed by

Yılmaz Güney Yılmaz Güney (' Pütün; 1 April 1937 – 9 September 1984) was a Kurdish film director, screenwriter, novelist, and actor. He quickly rose to prominence in the Turkish film industry. Many of his works were devoted to the plight of ordinary wo ...

and Zeki Öktem, and "Shirin's Wedding" by German director

Helma Sanders-Brahms Helma Sanders-Brahms (20 November 1940 – 27 May 2014) was a German film director, screenwriter and producer. Biography Helma Sanders was born on 20 November 1940 in Emden, Germany. She attended a school for acting in Hannover from 1960 to 1 ...

. He has produced albums and performed with

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

and Maria Farantouri, and he has also collaborated with

Manos Hatzidakis Manos Hatzidakis (also spelled Hadjidakis; el, Μάνος Χατζιδάκις; 23 October 1925 – 15 June 1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely considered to be one of the greatest Greek composers and one of the most ...

Giora Feidman Giora Feidman ( he, גיורא פיידמן; born 25 March 1936) is an Argentine-born Israeli clarinetist who specializes in klezmer music. Biography Giora Feidman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his Bessarabian Jewish parents immigra ...

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and Ángel Parra. His 1997 Ankara concert was attended by no less than 500 thousand people. In 2010, he sang 'Mothers of The Disappeared' with Bono at U2's concert in Istanbul, Turkey, which was U2's first-ever concert in Istanbul. Livaneli has been distinguished with the awards Best Album of the Year (Greece), the Edison Award (Holland), and Best Album of the Year (Music Critics Guild of Germany), and the "Premio Luigi Tenco" Best Songwriter Award, San Remo, Italy, in 1999, among others. In 1986, the Greek composer

met Livaneli. Together, they produced an album called ''Güneş Topla Benim İçin'' (Gather The Sun For Me). After the album was released in Turkey, it peaked in the Turkish music market. At that time Livaneli met

Ahmet Kaya Ahmet Kaya (28 October 1957 – 16 November 2000) was a Turkish– Kurdish folk singer. Kaya was persecuted by Turkish nationalist celebrities and authorities. Kaya left Turkey in an act of self- exile, and moved to France, where he would sho ...

, another folk singer. Livaneli reached his first musical peak in the 1980s. The London Orchestra performed with Livaneli in 1998, and in 1999, UNESCO assisted Livaneli on the release of that album.

Political life

Apart from his career as an author and poet, Livaneli was highly influential in Turkish politics over the last thirty years. In the

1994 Turkish local elections Local elections were held in Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a s ...

, he was nominated as candidate for mayorship of

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by Social Democratic Populist Party but his bid failed. In the

2002 Turkish general election General elections were held in Turkey on 3 November 2002 following the collapse of the Democratic Left Party–Nationalist Movement Party– Motherland Party coalition led by Bülent Ecevit. All 550 members of the Grand National Assembly wer ...

, Livaneli was elected to the Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi (Grand National Assembly of Turkey) as a Deputy for

for the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party i ...

(CHP). Livaneli resigned from the CHP in early 2005, however, in protest at "CHP's non-democratic and authoritarian system of politics". Livaneli was a member of the

Turkish parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

for one term. During his political career in Ankara, Livaneli presented a legislative proposal for amending Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. The amendment proposed that the concept of "Turkishness" should be replaced with that of the "Turkish nation" which would put an emphasis on the concept of "nation" which, as formulated by the Republic, unites under its umbrella people of different origins. This amendment aimed to reduce stress associated with the notion of Turkish race. Besides this, in 2006 he presented a proposal to the National Assembly demanding that a commission be established to investigate the reasons for increasing violence and fanaticism among the youth; his proposal was accepted. Following his 2005 resignation from the party membership, Livaneli continued in his position in the Grand National Assembly as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

until the end of that term. He did not take part in the 2007 Turkish elections and appears politically inactive. He has since concentrated on his art and books. Livaneli was a daily contributor as a columnist in the newspapers ''

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

'', '' Vatan'', and ''

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 ...

''.

Films

Livaneli directed four feature films: Iron Earth, Copper Sky, Mist, Shahmaran and

Veda upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

. His film '' Iron Earth, Copper Sky'' was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

1987 Cannes Film Festival The 40th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 19 May 1987. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Sous le soleil de Satan'' by Maurice Pialat, a choice which was considered "highly controversial" and the prize was given under the jeers of the public. ...

that based on the life of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

is the last film written and directed by Zülfü Livaneli. One of the most acclaimed Turkish films of the decade – and one of the first narrative films to tackle the highly charged subject of honor killings – ''

Bliss BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C b ...

'' was originally adopted from Livaneli's best-seller novel. The film, reviewed by New York Times as a consistently gripping, visually intoxicating film and standing as a landmark of contemporary Turkish cinema.

Literature

Livaneli turned his focus to writing after gaining notability with his contemporary music career. Published in 1978, his first collection of short stories entitled ''A Child in Purgatory'' was turned into a movie by Swedish and German TV. Livaneli is known for his novels that interweave diverse social and historical backgrounds, figures, and incidents, such as in ''Bliss'' which won the

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 ...

's Discovery of Great New Writers Award in 2006, and in his ''Serenade for Nadia'', ''Leyla's House'', and ''My Brother's Story'', which were all translated into 37 languages and won numerous Turkish and International literary awards. His novels have been turned into theatrical films, stage plays, and operas.

Publications

* ''Arafat'ta Bir Çocuk'' (''A Child in Purgatory'') (1978) * ''Orta Zekalılar Cenneti'' (''The Heaven of the Mediocre'') (1991) * ''Diktatör ve Palyaço'' (''The Dictator and the Clown'') (1992) * ''Sosyalizm Öldü mü?'' (''Is Socialism Dead?'') (1994) * ''Engereğin Gözündeki Kamaşma'' (''The Eunuch Of Constantinople'') (1996) * ''Bir Kedi, Bir Adam, Bir Ölüm'' (''Memory Of Snow'') (2001) * ''Mutluluk'' (''Bliss'') (2002) * ''Gorbaçov'la Devrim Üstüne Konuşmalar'' (''Conversations With Gorbachov On Revolution'') (2003) * ''Leyla'nın Evi'' (''Leyla's House'') (2006) * ''Son Ada'' (''The Last Island'') (2008) * ''Sevdalim Hayat'' (''Sevdalim Hayat'') (2009) * ''Sanat Uzun, Hayat Kısa'' (''Art is Long, Life is Short'') (2010) * ''Serenad'' (''Serenade'') (2011) * ''Edebiyat Mutluluktur'' (''Literature is Bliss'') (2012) * ''Kardeşimin Hikayesi'' (''My Brother's Story'') (2013) * ''Son Ada'nın Çocukları '' (''Last Island's Kids'') (2014) * ''Konstantiniyye Oteli '' (''Constantinople hotel'') (2015) * ''Elia ile Yolculuk'' (2017) * ''Huzursuzluk'' (2017) * ''Rüzgârlar Hep Gençtir'' (2019)

Partial discography

* ''Chants Révolutionnaires Turcs (Turkish Revolutionary songs )'' – 1973 * ''Yasak Plak'' – 1971–1974 * ''Eşkıya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz(Thug World Ruler No way )'' – 1976 * ''Merhaba (Hello!)'' – 1977 * ''Nazım Türküsü (Nazim's Song)'' – 1978 * ''The Bus'' (OST) – 1978 * ''Alamanya Beyleri'' – 1979 * ''Atlının Türküsü (The Horsemen Song)'' – 1979 * ''Günlerimiz (Our Days)'' – 1980 * ''İnce Memet Türküsü (Thin Memet Song)'' – 1980 * ''Anadoluyum Ben( I Am A Anatolian)'' – 1981 * '' Maria Farandouri Söylüyor Zülfü Livaneli ( Maria Farandouri Singing Livaneli)'' – 1982Rosie Ayliffe ''Turkey'' p.1048 1843530716 2003 – From the early 1980s, this was a landmark collaboration between historical enemies: Greek star Maria Farandouri singing Livaneli compositions in both Greek and Turkish. Beautiful ..." * ''Yol (The Way)'' (Soundtrack) – 1983 * ''Eine Auswahl (A selection )'' – 1983 * ''Ada (Island)'' – 1983–1984 * ''İstanbul Konseri'' (Istanbul Concert) – 1984 * '' Güneş Topla Benim İçin (Gather The Sun For Me)'' – 1986 * ''Livaneli / 10 Yılın Ezgisi (10 Melodies of the Year)''– 1986 * ''Zor Yıllar (Difficult Year)'' – 1987 * ''Hoşgeldin Bebek (Welcome Baby)'' – 1987 * ''Gökyüzü Herkesindir (Sky Belongs to Everybody)'' – 1988 * Soundtracks – 1988 * ''Crossroads'' (

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

) – 1991 * ''Saat 4 Yoksun (Hour 4 Not Here)'' – 1992 * ''Sevgiyle (With Love)'' −1994 * ''Neylersin'' – 1994 * ''Yangın Yeri (The Place in Fire)'' – 1996 * ''Janus'' (Symphonic Poems) – 1996 * ''Livaneli & Theodorakis'' : Together – 1997 * ''Nefesim Nefesine (I breathe the breath)'' – 1998 * ''New Age Rhapsody, London Symphony Orchestra Plays Livaneli'' – 1998–1999 * ''Unutulmayanlar (Unforgettable)'' – 1999 * ''İlk Türküler (First Songs)'' – 2001 * ''Hayata Dair (About Life)'' – 2005 * ''Suyun Belleği (The Memory of Water)'' – 2005 * ''Efsane Konserler (Best Concerts)'' – 2006 * ''35. Yıl Konseri (35. Year Concert'' – 2008 * ''Gökkuşağı Gönder Bana (Send Me a Rainbow)'' – 2013 * ''Livaneli 50. Yıl "Bir Kuşaktan Bir Kuşağa'' – 2016

References

External links

*
Official website in English

Official website in Turkish

{{DEFAULTSORT:Livaneli, O. Z. 1946 births Living people Turkish people of Georgian descent People from Ilgın Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey) politicians Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Best Music Score Golden Orange Award winners Golden Orange Life Achievement Award winners TED Ankara College Foundation Schools alumni Turkish columnists Turkish film directors Turkish male singers Turkish poets Turkish writers Turkish socialists Deputies of Istanbul Vatan people Milliyet people Sabah (newspaper) people UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors Turkish novelists