We are thrilled to announce our forthcoming album, a collection of pieces most will be recorded for the very first time. This project is not just about music; it is a tribute to a transformative era, a specific place, and a revolutionary chapter in the history of music.

               In 1923, the Ottoman Sultanate was formally abolished, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established the Turkish Republic. This period marked a significant revolution characterized by the emancipation of women, secularism, and the introduction of Western legal codes, attire, calendar, and the Latin alphabet. Alongside these sweeping changes, there was a profound reform in the fine arts and music.

               Atatürk’s vision led to the education of talented young Turkish musicians in Europe. His goal was for the first generation of Turkish composers to blend elements of traditional folk music with contemporary Western techniques. This vision materialized in 1936 with the founding of the Ankara State Conservatory, supported by Paul Hindemith. Ethnomusicology studies soon followed, led by Béla Bartók, who collaborated with Turkish composers to document and preserve Anatolian folk music, resulting in the creation of the Turkish Folk Music Archive in 1938.

               Our album features the first-ever recording of the Flute Sonata by Necil Kazım Akses, a distinguished member of the “Turkish Five.” Composed in 1933, this piece has remained unrecorded until now. The sonata is a continuous movement with four distinct segments, each characterized by different tempos and modal expressions, rich in folkloric style.