Emre Aracı (born 22 December 1968) is a Turkish

music historian Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history of ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Early life and education.

Aracı was born in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, Turkey and moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1987. He studied music at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, graduating in 1994 with a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

with

honours Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...

followed by a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1999. The subject of his

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

was the life and works of Ahmet Adnan Saygun. During his years in Edinburgh, Aracı founded the Edinburgh University String Orchestra. In 2000, the orchestra established the Emre Aracı Composition Prize, which is annually awarded to student composers. With funding from the

Türk Ekonomi Bankası Türk Ekonomi Bankası (TEB; English: ''Turkish Economy Bank'') is one of Turkey’s oldest financial institutions. In addition to providing its customers with corporate, SME, commercial, treasury & capital market, retail, and private banking p ...

, between 1999 and 2002 Aracı was a research associate at the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, studying European music in the Ottoman Empire. In 1999, he founded a

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first a ...

called the London Academy of Ottoman Court Music which performed his

orchestrations Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

of compositions by Italian musicians resident at the Turkish court in the 19th century, as well as original works by Ottoman sultans in the popular dance forms of the period. The ensemble which was in existence between 1999 and 2003 and performed in London at venues including

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, England. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. The churc ...

and St John's Smith Square. They held a concert in the Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge in 2000.

Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records and Teldec Records labels. Based in France, Warner Cla ...

released an album featuring a selection of these compositions recorded by the ensemble in 2002, under the title ''Invitation to the Seraglio''. In Turkey, the same material was pre-released by Kalan Müzik on two CDs; ''European Music at the Ottoman Court'' and ''War and Peace: Crimea 1853-56''.

Research

His research focuses primarily on European musical practice in the

Ottoman court Ottoman court was the culture that evolved around the court of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman court was held at the Topkapı Palace in Constantinople where the sultan was served by an army of pages and scholars. Some served in the treasury and th ...

. Based in the United Kingdom, he conducts research on Turco-European historical music under the patronage of the Çarmıklı family and

Nurol Holding Nurol Holding is an industrial conglomerate in Turkey operating in the construction, defence manufacturing, energy, investment banking and tourism industries. Its core business is construction; Nurol Construction was founded in 1966. It is privat ...

. Aracı wrote the first comprehensive biography of

Giuseppe Donizetti Giuseppe Donizetti (6 November 1788 – 12 February 1856), also known as Donizetti Pasha, was an Italian composer. From 1828 he was Instructor General of the Imperial Ottoman Music at the court of Sultan Mahmud II (). He was replaced by Guatell ...

which was published in Turkish in 2006. He also conducted a commemorative concert in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

at the

Teatro Donizetti The Teatro Donizetti is an opera house in Bergamo, Italy. Built in the 1780s using a design by architect Giovanni Francesco Lucchini, the theatre was originally referred to as either the Teatro Nuovo or Teatro di Fiera. The first opera to be mou ...

on 4 December 2007. Aracı is a

public speaker Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

on Turkish-European musical exchange, having lectured at venues including

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, and the Universities of Cambridge,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He also acts as a cultural ambassador, with lecture tours organised by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hosted by various Turkish embassies, from

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. He contributes to Turkish and English journals including ''Andante'', '' The Court Historian'', ''International Piano'', ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' was an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer's Musical Times and Singing Circular'', but in 1844 he sold it to Alfr ...

'' and ''Cornucopia''.

Recordings

The album ''Bosphorus by Moonlight'', which features his violin concerto bearing the same title, was recorded in the

Rudolfinum The Rudolfinum is a building in Prague, Czech Republic. It is designed in the neo-Renaissance style and is situated on Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava. Since its opening in 1885, it has been associated with music and art. C ...

by the

Prague Symphony Orchestra The Prague Symphony Orchestra ( ''FOK'') is a Czech orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra has traditionally been known by the acronym 'FOK', standing for 'Film-Opera-Koncert', reflecting the orchestra's fields of activity as envisioned by its fo ...

with Turkish violinist Cihat Aşkın. The same album also includes miniature musical portraits of the Ottoman Imperial family by Callisto Guatelli, a director of the Istanbul palace orchestra. ''Istanbul to London'', Aracı's fourth album released by Kalan Müzik, was also recorded in the

with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonic Choir and features two choral hymns, one by Angelo Mariani and the other by

Luigi Arditi Luigi Arditi (16 July 1822 – 1 May 1903) was an Italian violinist, composer and conductor. Life Arditi was born in Crescentino, Piemonte, Kingdom of Sardinia. He began his musical career as a violinist, and studied music at the Milan Cons ...

. ''Euro-Ottomania'' is the title of

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also s ...

's global release, including the choral numbers as well as August Ritter von Adelburg's ''Aux Bords du Bosphore''.

Concerts

As well as taking part in the Izmir and Istanbul International Music Festivals, Aracı has also worked with various Turkish orchestras including the

Presidential Symphony Orchestra The Presidential Symphony Orchestra (; CSO), with headquarters in Ankara, is the presidential symphony orchestra of the Republic of Turkey. Its history dates back as far as 1826, making it one of the first symphony orchestras in the world. Afte ...

, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Antalya Opera and the Borusan and Istanbul Chamber Orchestras. He gave a performance with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta in the presence of

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born ...

in December 2006, as well as in May 2008 with

Alexander Rudin Alexander Israilevich Rudin (; born 1960) is a Russian classical cellist and conductor. Biography and career Rudin was born in 1960, in Moscow, and he studied piano and cello at the Gnessin Institute before later studying conducting at the Mo ...

's Musica Viva in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He has also performed in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, the latter being in

Kadriorg Palace Kadriorg Palace (, ) is an 18th-century Petrine Baroque palace in Kadriorg, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Both the Estonian and the German names for the palace mean "Catherine's valley". It was built in 1718–1725 to Nicola Michetti's desi ...

, as well as in

Hagia Irene Hagia Irene () or Hagia Eirene ( , "Holy Peace", ), sometimes known also as Saint Irene, is a former Eastern Orthodox church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. It is the oldest known church structure in the city and on ...

in Istanbul with the Naval Forces Band and the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra on 20 October 2008.

Works

Voice and Orchestra *Farewell to Halûk setting of Tevfik Fikret's poem ''Halûk'un Vedaı''">Tevfik_Fikret.html" ;"title=" setting of Tevfik Fikret"> setting of Tevfik Fikret's poem ''Halûk'un Vedaı'' (baritone and orchestra), 1994 Orchestra *Elegy for Erkel [for Osman Erkel], (strings and timpani), 1993 *Marche Funèbre et Triomphale, (strings and percussion), 1995 *Turkish Ambassador's Grand March, (Dedicated to Özdem Sanberk) (strings), 1998 *In Search of Lost Time, for the

Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...

(large orchestra), 2002 Solo Instrument and Orchestra *Bosphorus by Moonlight Violin Concerto nspired by Abdülhak Şinasi Hisar’s novel">Abdülhak_Şinasi_Hisar.html" ;"title="nspired by Abdülhak Şinasi Hisar">nspired by Abdülhak Şinasi Hisar’s novel(strings), 1997 Voice and Piano *In Memoriam Lord Leighton (soprano), 2002 *Idyllic Prague [Inspired by Siegfried Sassoon’s poem ''Idyll''], (baritone), 2003 Solo Piano *Prelude alla Turca, 2004

Recordings

*European Music at the Ottoman Court ( Kalan Müzik, CD 177) *War and Peace: Crimea 1853-56 (Kalan, CD 257) *Bosphorus by Moonlight (Kalan, CD 303) *Istanbul to London (Kalan, CD 349) *Invitation to the Seraglio (

, 2564-61472-2) *Euro-Ottomania (

, 93613)

Books

*Adnan Saygun – Doğu Batı Arası Müzik Köprüsü ( Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 2001) *Donizetti Paşa – Osmanlı Sarayının İtalyan Maestrosu (YKY, 2006) *Naum Tiyatrosu – 19. Yüzyıl İstanbulu'nun İtalyan Operası (YKY, 2010) *Kayıp Seslerin İzinde (YKY, 2011)

Selected articles

*"Reforming Zeal". (1997). ''The Musical Times'', ''138''(1855): 12–15. https://doi.org/10.2307/1003539. *"Giuseppe Donizetti Pasha and the Polyphonic Court Music of the Ottoman Empire". (2002). ''The Court Historian'', 7(2): 135–143. https://doi.org/10.1179/cou.2002.7.2.004. *"A Levantine life: Giuseppe Donizetti at the Ottoman court". (2002). ''The Musical Times''. *"Food, music, Rossini and the Sultan". (2006). In ''Turkish Cookery'', Saqi Books.

Notes

General references

Emre Aracı, Sultan Abdülaziz’i Warner Classics sanatçısı yaptı, ''Kelebek''

Emre Aracı'dan 'Türk Kasidesi', ''CNN Turk''

* ttps://www.cornucopia.net/magazine/articles/music-to-a-sultans-ears/ Music to a Sultan's Ears, ''Cornucopia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Araci, Emre 1968 births Living people Turkish musicians Turkish musicologists Turkish scientists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh