Hikmet Şimşek (1924, Pervari – 12 October 2001, Ankara) was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

conductor of

Western classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

Life

His father was an officer. He was born in

Pervari Pervari ( ku, Berwarî) is a town and seat of the Pervari District of Siirt Province in Turkey. It is populated by Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group nati ...

(of

Siirt Province Siirt Province, ( tr, , ku, Parêzgeha Sêrtê) is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. It has an ar ...

). But the family soon moved to

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

. In 1936, he attended to military junior high school. He continued his military training in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. But in 1946, before completing military education, he transferred to Ankara conservatoire where he was trained under

Eduard Zuckmayer Eduard Zuckmayer (3 August 1890 – 2 July 1972) was a German music educator, composer, conductor and pianist. He was the older brother of the famous German writer Carl Zuckmayer (1896–1977). Family and Youth He was the first son of wealthy ...

, Ferit Alnar and Adnan Saygun. In 1953, he graduated from the conservatoire with honors.Hürriyet newspaper
/ref> He married painter Nihal Şimşek.

Career

He began teaching in the conservatoire and after 1959 he was appointed as the assistant conductor of the

Presidential Symphony Orchestra The Presidential Symphony Orchestra ( tr, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Senfoni Orkestrası), with headquarters in Ankara, is the presidential symphony orchestra of the Republic of Turkey. Its history dates back as far as 1826, making it one of the first s ...

(CSO) of Turkey.Biography page
/ref> He kept this position up to 1986.CSO page
He became one of the most popular classic music men: Because he worked hard to publicize classical music by radio programs of

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...

(TRT) on Sundays. In these programs, before playing he lectured on the compositions. He also introduced Turkish composers via foreign language services of TRT. In 1981 he received the honorary title of

state artist State Artist ( tr, Devlet Sanatçısı, also sometimes translated as "National Artist") is an honorary title granted to prominent artists by the government of Turkey for their contributions to the Turkish culture. It was established in 1971 by the ...

of Turkey. In the 1980s, he released a number of albums with compositions from Turkey. He also took part in the formation of three new conservatoires in Turkey, namely those of İzmir, Bursa and Çukurova conservatoires.

Death

He died on 12 October 2001 in Ankara military hospital where he was taken due to

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simsek, Hikmet Turkish conductors (music) State Artists of Turkey 1924 births 2001 deaths Turkish musicians 20th-century conductors (music)