Şerif Muhiddin Targan (January 21, 1892 – September 13, 1967), also known as Sherif Muhiddin Haydar or Serif Muhiddin Haydar, was a
Turkish Arab classical musician and
oud player. His instrumental compositions for the oud departed from the traditional style to explore the limits of this instrument, technically challenging the performer.
He was born in
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, Turkey in 1892, his father was Serif
Ali Haydar Pasha, and his mother was Sabiha Hanim, his father's first wife. He began to learn the oud at the age of six, and subsequently took private music lessons in Istanbul – he made his first concert appearance when he was only 13 years old. In 1924 Targan moved to New York, where his music was also well received. In 1932 he returned to Istanbul, where he joined the Istanbul City Orchestra. At the invitation of the Iraqi government, he became the dean of the
Baghdad Conservatory in 1936–37, which produced such famous oud players as the
Assyrian brothers
Munir Bashir and
Jamil Bashir, as well as
Salman Shukur and
Ghanim Haddad. He married the famous Turkish singer
Safiye Ayla in 1950 and died in 1967 in Istanbul.
He was good friends with
John G. Bennett who refers to him as "Prens Muhittin Haydari" in his autobiography.
See also
*
Hanna Petros
External links
* http://www.turkmusiki.com/serif%20muhiddin%20targan.htm
* http://www.oud.gr/serif.htm
1892 births
1967 deaths
Turkish classical musicians
Musicians from Istanbul
Turkish oud players
Composers of Ottoman classical music
Composers of Turkish makam music
20th-century Turkish classical musicians
Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni
Dhawu Zayd
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