Fazıl Say: A Turkish Musician in Europe

Identity isn’t given once and for all:it is built up and changes throughout a person’s lifetime.1The aim of this paper is to determine how and to what extent Fazıl Say, whose inspiration, according to his own words, is the bridge between Europe and Asia, has become an ambassador between Europe and Turkey.2 A further aim is to determine whether Fazıl Say may be referred to as ‘hybrid’ concerning both his person and his works. This will be done first by describing his background and then the conditions which led not only to his European, but also his global success. Assuming that not only his family, social environment and education were decisive in this process, the social changes that took place in Turkey following the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923 are detailed, with special consideration of the reforms directly affecting art and music. To offer more insight into this context, the mutual influences on music between the Ottoman Empire and Europe are outlined.