The Presidential Symphony Orchestra ( tr, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Senfoni Orkestrası), with headquarters 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 ...

, is the presidential

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

of the

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

. Its history dates back as far as 1826, making it one of the first symphony orchestras in the world. After

The Auspicious Incident The Auspicious Incident (or EventGoodwin, pp. 296–299.) (Ottoman Turkish: ''Vaka-i Hayriye'', "Fortunate Event" in Constantinople; ''Vaka-i Şerriyye'', "Unfortunate Incident" in the Balkans) was the forced disbandment of the centuries-old Ja ...

and closing of the

Janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ...

in 1826 by Sultan

Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

, the Mehter Band was transformed to a western band. On September 17, 1828,

Giuseppe Donizetti Giuseppe Donizetti (6 November 1788 – 12 February 1856), also known as Donizetti Pasha, was an Italian musician. From 1828 he was Instructor General of the Imperial Ottoman Music at the court of Sultan Mahmud II (1808–39). His younger broth ...

assumed the role of principal conductor. Until Sultan Vahdeddin the band was called Mizika-i Humayun (Mızıka-ı Humayun, the Imperial Band). In Vahdeddin's reign, it was called Makam-i Hilafet Muzikasi (The Caliphs Band). After 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 ...

, the State orchestra moved to the new capital Ankara on April 27, 1924, upon the orders of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

, Founding President of the Republic of Turkey. Upon moving to Ankara, the

Musiki Muallim Mektebi Bamboo steamers, called ''zhēnglóng'' () in Chinese,it originated in Han Dynasty． The most famous kind of bamboo steamers are used in Chinese cuisine and date back to 5,000 years in Southern China. They are produced by removing the skin from ...

(Music Teachers School) was also formed (in 1924) with the efforts of Zeki Üngör. This school later became the basis of the

Ankara State Conservatory The Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory ( tr, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Ankara Devlet Konservatuvarı), the first conservatory to be founded in the Republic of Turkey, was established in 1936 by a directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Th ...

. On June 25, 1932, the orchestra was named the "Riyaseti Cumhur Orkestrasi" (Republican Orchestra). With this new formation the band and the orchestra clearly separated. Hasan Ferit Alnar became the conductor of the orchestra, and remained until 1957. In 1957 a law was passed changing the name of the orchestra to the "Cumhurbaskanligi Senfoni Orkestrasi" ("Presidential Symphony Orchestra"). the Orchestra had played in Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Rumania, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, Italy, France, Switzerland, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, Poland, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, South Korea, Japan, USA and England. Between 1961-2020, the orchestra was hosted by the concert hall building near by

Ankara Railway Station Ankara railway station ( tr, Ankara Garı) is the main railway station in Ankara, Turkey, and is a major transportation hub within the city. The station is the eastern terminus of the Istanbul-Ankara railway corridor, as well as the easternmost s ...

and was moved to its new venue at

CSO Ada Ankara CSO Ada Ankara (Presidential Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall, tr, CSO Konser Salonu) is the musical campus in Ankara, where the symphonic concert hall which hosts the Presidential Symphony Orchestra is located. The complex houses 2023-seat CSO Ma ...

in 2020.

Principal conductors

Guest conductors

References

External links

*
beethovenlives.net
{{authority control Turkish symphony orchestras Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey) Musical groups established in the 1820s Culture in Ankara