Kudsi Erguner (born 4 February 1952 in Diyarbakır, Turkey) is a Turkish musician. He is considered a master of traditional

Mevlevi The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya (; ) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya, Turkey (formerly capital of the Sultanate of Rum) and which was founded by the followers of Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Sufi ...

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

music and is one of the best-known players of the Turkish ney flute.

Biography

As a boy, Erguner studied with his father Ulvi Erguner and attended the

Sema Sama (; ) is a Sufi ceremony performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice dhikr. Sama means "listening", while dhikr means "remembrance".During, J., and R. Sellheim. "Sama" Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition. Ed. P. Bearman, T. B ...

of the Mevlevi-Sufi tradition along with other Dervish ceremonies. He started his musical career in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Radio in 1969. For several decades, he has researched the earliest roots of

Ottoman music Ottoman music () or Turkish classical music (, or more recently ) is the tradition of classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally features a solo singer wi ...

which he has also taught, performed and recorded. In the seventies Erguner moved to Paris where, at the beginning of the eighties, he founded the Mevlana Institute devoted to the study and teaching of classical Sufi music. Together with the Kudsi Erguner Ensemble he developed deep insights into the diversity of his culture: the group conveys both authentic, often improvised forms of expression of classical Ottoman performance culture as well as a comprehensive repertoire of modern and classical pieces that can be traced back to the 13th century. He took part in

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's movie ''

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'' in 1978. In addition to his own recordings, Erguner has performed with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

('' The Last Temptation of Christ'' soundtrack),

William Orbit William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...

's band Bassomatic ('' Set the Controls for the Heart of the Bass''),

Jean Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompan ...

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, George Aperghis, Didier Lockwood, Italian singer-songwriter

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and

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. In July 2016, he was named

UNESCO Artist for peace UNESCO Artists for Peace are international celebrity advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. This category of advocate is intended to heighten public awareness in addition to the categories UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and UNESCO Champion for ...

Discography

* ''Meditation on the Ney'' (Unesco Collection), 1978 * ''Whirling Dervishes from Turkey'', with Kemal Evren, Tugrul Inancer, Aram Kerovpyan, Muzzffereddîn Ozak, Hafiz Kemâl Ozmutlu, Mahmud Tabrîzîzade, 1981 * ''Turkey: Art of the Ottoman Tanbur'', 1989 * ''The Mystic Flutes of Sufi: Preludes to Ceremonies of the Whirling Dervishes'', with Suleyman Erguner, 1988 * ''Cérémonie des Derviches Kadiri'', 1989 * ''Fasl Hidjaz Houmayoun'', 1990 * ''Sufi Music of Turkey'', with Suleyman Erguner, Mahmoud Tabrizi Zadeh, Bruno Caillat, 1990 * ''The Turkish Ney'', with Salih Dede, Suleyman Erguner, 1990 * ''Gazel: Classical Sufi Music of the Ottoman Empire'', with Husnu Anil, Aziz Bahriyeli, Yusuf Bilgin, Mehmet Emin Bitmez, Suleyman Erguner, Hasan Esen, Fevzi Misir, Walter Quintus, Kurt Renker, 1991 * ''Ottoman Classical Music'', with Gilles Andrieux, 1992 * ''Peshrev & Semai of Tanburi Djemil Bey'', with Walter Quintus, 1994 * ''L'Orient de L'Occident: Flamenco & Ottoman Sufi Music'', with Yusuf Bilgin. Mehmet Emin Bitmez, Bruno Caillat, Pedro Soler, 1995 * ''The Sacred Flute of the Whirling Dervishes'', 1996 * ''Works of Kemani Tatyos Efendi'', with Husnu Anil, Mehmet Emin Bitmez, Suleyman Erguner, Necip Gulses, Dogan Hosses, Sükrü Kabaci, Baki Kemanci, 1996 * ''Vocal Masterpieces of Kemani Tatyos Efendi'', with Husnu Anil, Suleyman Erguner, Necip Gulses, Dogan Hosses, Sükrü Kabaci, Baki Kemanci, 1996 * ''Psalms of Yunus Emre'', with Yusuf Bilgin, Bruno Caillat, 1997 * ''Chemins'', with Pierre Rigopoulos, Martin Saint-Pierre, Derya Turkan, 1997 * ''Music from the Arabian Nights'', with Bruno Caillat, Tabrizi Mahmoud Zadeh, 1999 * ''Ottomania'', with Walter Quintus, 1999 * ''Islam Blues'', with Bruno Caillat, Renaud Garcia-Fons,

Nguyên Lê Nguyên Lê (Vietnamese: ''Lê Thành Nguyên''; born 14 January 1959) is a French jazz musician and composer of Vietnamese ancestry. His main instrument is guitar, and he also plays bass guitar and guitar synthesizer. He has released albums ...

, Derya Turkan, Mark Nauseef, Yunus Balcioglu, Halil Neciboglu, Walter Quintus, 2001 * ''Taj Mahal'', with Bruno Caillat, Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Derya Turkan, Ken Zukerman, 2001 * ''Nazım Hikmet – Şair Cenazesi'', 2002 * ''Gazing Point'', with

Markus Stockhausen Markus Stockhausen (born 2 May 1957) is a German trumpeter and composer. His recordings and performances have typically alternated between jazz and chamber or opera music, the latter often in collaboration with his father, composer Karlheinz St ...

, Mark Nauseef, Walter Quintus, 2003 * '' No Matter'', with

, Mark Nauseef,

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

, Walter Quintus, 2008 * ''Fragments Des Cérémonies Soufies, L'invitation à L'Extase'', Kudsi Erguner & Lâmekân Ensemble, Seyir Muzik 2021 With

Anouar Brahem Anouar Brahem (; born on 20 October 1957) is a Tunisian oud player and composer. He is widely acclaimed as an innovator in his field. Performing primarily for a jazz audience, he combines Arabic classical music, folk music and jazz and has bee ...

*'' Conte de l'Incroyable Amour'' (ECM, 1991)

References

* letişim Publications – ''Biogry of Kudsi Erguner''

External links

* NTV News Online �
''Interview with Kudsi Erguner''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erguner, Kudsi 1952 births Liceo Italiano alumni Living people People from Diyarbakır Ney players Performers of Sufi music Turkish musicians Musicians of Ottoman classical music Musicians of Turkish makam music ACT Music artists Turkish male singers