24.04.2024

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Gülsin Onay is a state artist of Turkey and a renowned pianist. She has also performed with the symphonic orchestra of Bayerischer Rundfunk. Together with her son Erkin Onay (violin), she gave an enthusiastically received concert evening (19 April 2024) at the German-Turkish Forum Stuttgart. The harmonically bold and expressive sonata movement stood out clearly in the sensitive rendition of the Sonata for Violin and Piano in B flat Major (KV 378/317d by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) with Erkin Onay providing convincing accents for both the refreshing and melancholy passages. There was no shortage of graceful and rapturous sequences, and the concertante passages in particular gained an energetic momentum. The inner fire of the powerful bow stroke burned indefatigably. Again and again, the motivic moments were also captured very precisely and vividly. Imitative outbursts in scales captivated the audience immensely. The expressive pianist Gülsin Onay then interpreted the Sonatina op. 15 of Ahmed Adnan Saygun, beautifully emphasizing the thematic connections. The post-romantic elements of Saygun’s music came to the fore in a moving way in this extremely sensitive performance. In some places, there were flashes of associations with Aram Khachaturian, although the classical forms and impressionistic coloration were certainly not neglected. An elemental and rhythmically vital style dominated.
Saygun, who died in Istanbul in 1991, was Gülsin Onay's teacher. He was also referred to as the “Turkish Bartok” and the “Turkish Szymanowski”. In fact, Saygun’s music also has a certain closeness to folk quint and triad parallels. Gülsin Onay and Erkin Onay closed with the Sonata for Violin and Piano op. 82 by Edward Elgar, which contained echoes of Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy. However, both soloists also emphasized the wonderful independence of this composition. The charm of the timbres came out brightly in this rendition. As an encore, they both gave a very moving performance of Sergei Rachmaninov’s Vocalise. Afterwards there was a surprise – three of Gülsin Onay's piano students played "encores". Ilyun Bürkev interpreted a “Scherzo” by Frederic Chopin with passionate exuberance, followed by Zehra Sümerkan with a delightfully played piece by Claude Debussy. Eren Parmakerli interpreted another explosive piece by Ahmed Adnan Saygun, with irrepressible spirit. There were cheers and many shouts of “Bravo”.
 
Alexander Wather