Ulvi Cemal Erkin : The Composer Who Introduced Turkish Melodies to The World Through His Wonderful Classical Compositions

When it comes to Turkish contemporary music, Ulvi Cemal Erkin is counted as one of the founders and developers of it. He was one of the five composers that were named later as the ‘Turkish Five’ which were the first generation turkish composers of western classical music. Other four pioneers of modern Turkish music were Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Cemal Reşit Rey, Necil Kazım Akses and Hasan Ferit Alnar. All of these pioneers composed marvellous classical western music pieces by integrating traditional Turkish melodies.

Spotify creates public playlists nearly every week focusing on a different composer named ‘Composer Weekly’ and there is a playlist that was created with all of the ‘Turkish Five’ composers.

http://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX6xycFFqiF5S

Being one of the five pioneers of modern Turkish music, Ulvi Cemal Erkin was born in 14th of March, 1906. Hearing his mother play the piano and his older brother play the violin, his curiosity for music began at early ages. He began to take piano lessons from his mother. In the following years, he continued to improve his musical ability by taking lessons from the well-known teacher Adinolfi until he started high school. When he was a student at Galatasaray High School, Ministry of Education of Turkey decided to hold an examination to select some students and give scholarships to them for contemporary music education. Ulvi Cemal Erkin was 19 years old when he took the exam and he acquired a scholarship to take education at the Conservatory of Paris. After he graduated succesfully, he took composition classes in Ecole Normale de Musique.

After completing his studies in music, Ulvi Cemal returned to his hometown Turkey in 1930. He spent his first years as a teacher at the musical high school (Ankara Musiki Muallim Mektebi) in Ankara after he returned from Paris. When the conservatory of Ankara was established in 1936, he was assigned as the principal of the school. He remained as a teacher and head of piano department during the rest of his life.

Similar to the other members of the ‘Turkish Five’, Ulvi Cemal was inspired greatly by Turkish folk music and he integrated melodies of Turkish folk music into his compositions. The Turkish Five worked carefully to collect the pieces of musical depth that lie in all across Anatolia. They traveled all over the country to record songs and pieces of the local folk music in many cities. Being inspired by the richness of the folk music, all of the members included Turkish style in their compositions. Especially Ulvi Cemal Erkin is known for utilizing the Turkish rythm ‘aksak’ with loose layers and still ‘taksim’ which are musical improvisations to create his unique style of composition.

One of his greatest compositions include a dance rhapsody ‘Köçekçe’ which is inspired by Turkish traditional dancers known as ‘köçek’. His national award winning ‘Piano Concerto’, his early impressionist piano quintets, and violin concertos are very significant pieces. ‘Beş Damla’ is one of them and it was composed in 1931 when his return from Paris. He wrote all types of compositions in his career except for opera.

Being counted as one of the most important composers of Turkish contemporary music to this day, Ulvi Cemal Erkin is remembered and cherished as one of the initiators of the revolution of Turkish music. He is celebrated not only by Turkish people but also all around the world. As he introduced Turkish melodies to the world with his compositions, he was rewarded by French and Italian governments with badge of merit and badge of honor.

Resources

• https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulvi_Cemal_Erkin
• https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/kultur-sanat/cagdas-turk-muzigine-yon-veren-besteci-ulvi-cemal-erkin/1972831
• http://www.ulvicemalerkin.com/yasam_oykusu.htm