The Istanbul University State Conservatory ( Turkish: İstanbul Üniversitesi Devlet Konservatuarı) is a music, theatre, dance university in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. It is the oldest conservatory and the oldest continually operating music school in Turkey. It offers music training from secondary school to

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

. Its main building in

Kadıköy Kadıköy (), known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon ( gr, Χαλκηδών), is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the northern shore of the Sea o ...

is a historical market hall, and its ground floor houses an active theatre venue.

History

The State Conservatory has its beginnings in its later sister institution, Darülbedayi (House of Beauty). In 1914,

Cemil Topuzlu Professor Cemil Topuzlu (18 March 1866 – 25 January 1958), also known as Cemil Pasha, was a Turkish social democratic politician who served two terms as mayor of Istanbul. During his time in office he oversaw major developments in the city, in ...

embarked on an enterprise to establish the imperial school of drama and music, and French actor

André Antoine André Antoine (31 January 185823 October 1943) was a French actor, theatre manager, film director, author, and critic who is considered the father of modern mise en scène in France. Biography André Antoine was a clerk at the Paris Gas Utilit ...

was invited to Istanbul for this purpose. In its initial structure, Darülbedayi would teach performing arts and stage music, as well as European and Turkish music in their respective departments. The institution thus founded, its premises was initially going to be the famous Letafet Apartmanı, a now demolished fin de siècle housing structure. However, with

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

breaking out before its inauguration ceremony, the institution would go on an indefinite hiatus and was shut down entirely by 1916. Plans were made to revitalise the institution and establish a new and independent music school. They would materialise in New Years' Day 1917 as the Darülelhan (House of Melodies), a four-year academy that focused mainly on Turkish music. Following the foundation of the

Turkish Republic Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, Darülelhan would go on a period of restructuring, and would be renamed the Istanbul Conservatory, after the addition of a European-style music department. By the late 1920s, the school was teaching

solfège In music, solfège (, ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, pitch and sight-reading of Western music. Solfège is a form of solmization, though the tw ...

, music theory, harmony,

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

and orchestration, music history and instrumental training, among other skills. In these early years, lectures were given in the wooden townhouse that served as the schoolhouse. Performances by the three-piece chamber orchestra started by

Cemal Reşit Rey Cemal Reşit Rey (; 25 October 1904 – 7 October 1985) was a Turkish composer, pianist, script writer and conductor. He was well known for a string of successful and popular Turkish-language operettas for which his brother Ekrem Reşit Rey (1 ...

, a member of the later 'Turkish Five', would go on to be quite popular. By the early 1950s, a performing arts department was established, and director

Muhsin Ertuğrul Muhsin Ertuğrul (28 February 1892 – 29 April 1979), also known as Ertuğrul Muhsin Bey, was a Turkish actor and director. Muhsin Ertuğrul, who had important contributions to both Turkish theatre and Turkish cinema, was born in İstanbul ...

began his career at the conservatory as a teacher. In 1986, the conservatory became a school within Istanbul University.

Notable alumni

Since its inception during the late 19th century, the conservatory has had a number of distinguished list of graduates and teachers, including all of the members of the '

Turkish Five The Turkish Five ( tr, Türk Beşleri) is a name used by some authors to identify five pioneers of western classical music in Turkey.İlyasoğlu (1998), 14. They were all born in the first decade of the 20th century and composed their best music i ...

Ahmed Adnan Saygun Ahmet Adnan Saygun (; 7 September 1907 – 6 January 1991) was a Turkish composer, musicologist and writer on music. One of a group of composers known as the Turkish Five who pioneered western classical music in Turkey, his works show a maste ...

Ulvi Cemal Erkin Ulvi Cemal Erkin () (March 14, 1906 – September 15, 1972) was a member of the pioneer group of symphonic composers in Turkey, born in the period 1904–1910, who later came to be called The Turkish Five. These composers set out the direction o ...

Hasan Ferit Alnar Hasan Ferid Alnar (11 March 1906 – 30 July 1978) was a Turkish classical music composer. He was a member of the Turkish Five, in the first half of the 20th century. Alnar is known for his efforts for harmonization of classical Turkish music e ...

and

Necil Kazım Akses Necil Kazım Akses (May 6, 1908 – February 16, 1999) was a Turkish classical composer. Life Akses studied music and composition at the Musikakademie in Vienna with Joseph Marx and at the Prague Conservatory in Prague with Josef Suk and A ...

. Legendary soprano

Leyla Gencer Ayşe Leyla Gencer (, née Çeyrekgil; 10 October 192810 May 2008) was a Turkish operatic soprano. Gencer was a notable ''bel canto'' soprano who spent most of her career in Italy, from the early 1950s through the mid-1980s, and had a reperto ...

studied voice training in the conservatory. Some of alumni; :tr:Kategori:İstanbul Üniversitesi Devlet Konservatuvarı mezunları Ahmet Rıfat Şungar, Ali Güven, Ali İl, Alican Yücesoy, Aslı Yılmaz, Atılgan Gümüş, Aysun Metiner, Ayşen Çetiner, Ari Barokas, Boran Kuzum, Bennu Yıldırımlar, Buket Bengisu, Can Başak, Can Doğan, Caner Özyurtlu, Cemal Toktaş, Cenk Tunalı, Derya Kurtuluş, Doğan Duru, Engin Gürkey, Ferhat Göçer, Feyzan Soykan, Fikret Kuşkan, Fora Baltacıgil, Göktuğ Alpaşar, Gülen Karaman, Şencan Güleryüz, Güneş Berberoğlu, Güneş Duru, İpek Erdem, Jülide Kural, Kemal Kocatürk, Kosta Kortidis, Levent Yüksel, Memet Ali Alabora, Mine Tugay, Nejat Birecik, Nihal Yalçın, Okan Yalabık, Oktay Kaynarca, Olgun Şimşek, Peker Açıkalın, Selim Erdoğan, Serkan Ercan, Sevda Karababa, Sevgi Sakarya, Taner Ertürkler, Taner Ölmez, Tufan Karabulut, Uzay Heparı, Uğur Polat, Yeşim Alıç, Yeşim Koçak, Yıldız Asyalı, Sanem Çelik, Öykü Karayel, Özden Ayyıldız, Özge Borak, Özgü Namal

References

External links

*
MSFAU Dept of Music

References

{{authority control Music schools in Turkey Istanbul University 1917 establishments in the Ottoman Empire