On the occasion of the UNESCO declaration of 2012 as the "International Itrî Year", Istanbul Culture and Arts Foundation (İKSV) organizes an international symposium on this great Turkish composer. The content of the event is advised by Gönül Paçacı, the Conductor of Turkish Music Ensemble of Istanbul University's State Conservatory and the Director of the Research and Performance Center for Ottoman Music (OMAR).

Organized by İKSV to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the death of great Turkish composer Buhûrîzâde Mustafa Efendi (Itrî), the international symposium entitled "Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Itrî and His Period" will be held at the Congress Cultural Center at İstanbul University's Beyazıt Campus on Monday, December 3. The symposium will evaluate 17th century in terms of various disciplines, with presentations on music, philosophy, history and literature of the era, thus implementing an interdisciplinary study of the period in which Itrî lived.

In the first part of the symposium where presentations related to music, philosophy and literature will be shared, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Genç, one of Turkey's most prominent experts on Ottoman history, will be evaluating the social and political structure of the Ottoman Empire in 17th Century while Prof. Dr. Walter Feldman who is known with his more than 30 years of research on classical Turkish music will focus on the characteristics as well as change of musical forms of the era in which important personalities like Ali Ufkî, Evliya Çelebi and Kantemir also lived. After Turkey's UNESCO National Commission Board Member Dr. Mehmet Kalpaklı's evaluation on the literature of the era, musicologist Ersu Pekin will explain Itrî and his period in the light of a collection of biographies. The General Secretary of the Inter Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Conference Member States Prof. Dr. Mahmut Erol Kılıç will be addressing the Oriental-Islamic culture of the era while famous musician and ney flute player Kudsi Ergüner who has been living in France for more than 40 years and known with musicological studies to promote Turkish music in the West, will be exploring the differences in interpretations of Ottoman classical music from Itrî and his period to day.

The symposium will also feature a special section in which recordings of Neva Kâr, the most competent composition of Itrî's Classical Turkish Music repertoire, will be shared with the audience. In this section, various recordings of different renderings of Neva Kâr will be examined in terms openness-privacy issues by Prof. Dr. Süleyman Seyfi Öğün, starting from the oldest. Within the same context, Dr. Önder Özkoç from Hacettepe University will be evaluating Necil Kazım Akses' "Scherzo for Large Orchestra on Itrî's Neva Kâr".

A publication featuring the presentations in the symposium will be produced in English and Turkish within the framework of the project. Symposium participation is free of charge although reservation is required from (0212) 334 08 18.

INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON ITRΔ AND HIS PERIOD
December 3rd 2012, Monday / Istanbul University Congress and Cultural Centre
Moderator:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Namık Sinan Turan, İstanbul University OMAR Assistant General Director

PROGRAM

Opening Gönül Paçacı, İstanbul University State Conservatory Artist, Faculty Member

10.00-10.30 The Social and Political Sructure of the Ottoman Empire in the 17th Century
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Genç, İstanbul Şehir University Faculty Member

10.30-11.00 Musical forms in the 17th Century: Itrî in between Ali Ufkî, Evliya Çelebi and Kantemir
Prof. Dr. Walter Feldman, New York University Abu Dhabi, Faculty Member

11.00-11.15 Q&A

11.15-11.30 Coffee Break

11.30-12.00 Ottoman Literature in the 17th Century
Dr. Mehmet Kalpaklı, Bilkent University Head of History Department

12.00-12.30 Itrî and his Period in the Light of Biographical Collections
Ersu Pekin, Istanbul University State Conservatory Musicology Department Faculty Member

12.30-12.45 Q&A

12.45-14.15 Lunch break

14.15-15.45 Concert: Neva Kâr (Recorded)

The performance of Münir Nurettin Selçuk from Darülelhan archives, Ulvi Erguner Choir from TRT archives, Bekir Sıdkı Sezgin, Meral Uğurlu

A Retrospective of Neva Kâr Performances
Prof. Dr. Süleyman Seyfi Öğün, Maltepe University FEA International Relations Department Faculty Member and Head of EU Department

Necil Kazım Akses' "Scherzo on Neva Kâr"
Comments: Dr. Önder Özkoç, Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory Faculty Member

15.45-16.00 Coffee Break

16.00-16.30 Oriental - Islamic Culture in the 17th Century
Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç, Marmara University Faculty of Theology, Department of Sufism, Faculty Member

16.30-17.00 The Traditional and Contemporary Interpretations of Our Music
Kudsi Erguner, Rotterdam Conservatory Faculty Member

17.00-17.30 Conclusion

Yukarı