Fazil Say in concert at the Halle aux grains: “All pianists love Toulouse”
The arrival of pianist Fazil Say on Tuesday April 19 at the Halle aux grains, with the famous Camerata de Salzburg, as part of the Grands Interprètes, is a major event.
Whether he plays the piano, composes a tribute to the first President of Turkey Atatürk or adapts Mozart to the frontiers of jazz, Fazil Say is an extraordinary artist.
When did you realize that your life would be linked to music?
We had a toy organ at home on which, at the age of three, I could play the records I heard on the radio with two hands. Later, I took lessons from Mithat Fenmen, one of the best pedagogues in Turkey. He helped me develop my sense of composition, because we start each lesson with an improvisation. He said to me: “Play on the piano what you see in the street, what you experienced today. I grew up with my father and his knowledge of music accelerated my progress.
Tuesday’s program is divided between your compositions and works by Mozart…
The Salzburg Camerata is one of the best chamber orchestras in the world. They played my ‘Chamber Symphony’ five years ago on tour and I’m delighted to have them included in Toulouse on this year’s tour. It’s a piece of about 17 minutes and I think the French public will like it. There will also be a famous piano concerto by Mozart. The Camerata Salzburg plays Mozart to perfection – Salzburg is its home town. It’s always a pleasure to play Mozart with them.
What does the “Displaced House”, the homage to Atatürk that you are presenting tell us?
The origin of this work is located in Yalova, Turkey, in the early 1930s and it evokes the love of Atatürk [Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) est le fondateur et premier président de la République de Turquie, NDLR] for nature. On the “Nation Farm” where he reorganized the land, which was his property, to develop the agriculture of the country, a modest dwelling was built next to a plane tree. When Atatürk returned to Yalova in 1939, the plane tree had grown and its branches reached the windows: they had to be cut. Atatürk’s answer was definitive: not a single branch will be cut and the house will be moved. It was, five meters further on – and the trees of the plane tree regained their freedom.
You have often played in Toulouse…
All pianists love Toulouse, because this city with a very pleasant atmosphere hosts an important piano festival, in which I participated a few times. I played with the Orchester de Toulouse ten or fifteen years ago and we were supposed to play together again, but I fell ill and it couldn’t happen. I am very happy to return to this city where music is so important and where the public is so good.