Internationally acclaimed Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say returns to the Belgrade Philharmonic, for a performance in both of those roles within the series For Adventurers, on Friday, 30 September (Kolarac, 8pm). Under the leadership of Howard Griffiths, Fazıl Say will play his own Silence of Anatolia, which will come after Anja Đorđević’s The Joy of Meeting Anew, a piece commissioned by the Belgrade Philharmonic. The sensual Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov will wrap up the evening of philharmonic adventures.
 
One of today’s most authentic artists, controversial Fazıl Say has been captivating audiences and critics alike for more than 25 years with his concerts that are regarded as a rarity in the world of classical music. His performances are straightforward and exciting, which can also be said for his compositions with oriental undertone, liberated and improvised way of thinking.
 
After four years, again teamed up with conductor Griffiths, Say returns to the Belgrade Philharmonic with Silence of Anatolia – his third piano concerto, written in 2001 as a commission from Radio France. Since 2008, Fazıl Say has been the European Union’s Cultural Ambassador, and he is also known as one of many intellectuals and artists prosecuted in Turkey for their public views against the pro-Islamic government.
 
The Joy of Meeting Anew was written by composer Anja Đorđević as one of the five commissions from the Belgrade Philharmonic Orhcestra for the season 2016/17, in accordance with its thematic series. In this piece, Anja offered her own interpretation of an adventure, since she has returned to symphonic music at the invitation of the Belrgade Philharmonic after 20 years of working on other genres. Thus, the title of her piece also directly reflects her work on the score: “The new creative energy, as well as the experience and positive feeling for the orchestra musicians, with whom I had cooperated in my other projects, made my work on this piece infused with special creative joy”, said Anja. She has composed music for many theatre and contemporary dance performances, documentary films and multimedia projects. Anja Đorđević won the Stevan Mokranjac award in 2002.
 
A frequent guest of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Howard Griffiths has appeared with many celebrated artists and leading orchestras around the world. Always receptive to new, unconventional projects, Griffiths will direct the first one in the series of concerts dedicated to philharmonic adventurers.