Ayşegül Sarıca (28 May 1935 – 10 March 2023) was a Turkish concert pianist, pedagogue.

Life

Ayşegül Sarıca was born into an Ottoman military family 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 1935. Ahmet İzzet Pasha (1864–1937), one of the last Ottoman

grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

s was her maternal grandfather. In 1955, she married Nejat Diyarbekirli and gave birth to a son named Osman and a daughter Zeynep.

Music training

Prior to the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, many

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had escaped from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and emigrated to Turkey. Gertrude Isaac, a pianist was one of them, and she gave Sarıca piano lessons when she was as young as five years old. She continued her study in the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. There, she became a student of Ferdi Statzer. In 1944, while she was only nine years old, she gave her first recital in

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

Halkevi Halkevleri (Turkish: ''Halkevi'' literally meaning "people's houses", also translatable as "community centres") is a Turkish community enlightenment project. They were founded in 1932 and entirely abolished in 1951. Background The Turkish Repub ...

, Istanbul. In 1951, she went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, to study at the National Concervatory of Paris. Lucette Descaves and

Pierre Pasquier Pierre Pasquier may refer to: * Pierre Pasquier (businessman) * Pierre Pasquier (colonial administrator) Pierre Marie Antoine Pasquier (6 February 1877 – 15 January 1934) was a French colonial administrator. French Indochina Pasquier served ...

were her teachers. In 1953, she graduated with honors.

Music career

After 1968, she became the piano soloist of the

Presidential Symphony Orchestra The Presidential Symphony Orchestra (; CSO), 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 symphony orchestras in the world. Afte ...

of Turkey. She gave concerts in such countries as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Soviet Union, Hungary, former Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Australia. In concerts, she was accompanied often by

Ayla Erduran Ayla Erduran (22 August 1934 – 7 January 2025) was a Turkish classical violinist. She studied in Istanbul, Paris, the US and Moscow. A fifth place prize in the 1957 Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition opened an international career for her. S ...

, a close friend and a violinist. Between 1991 and 2000, she served as an academic for musicology at

Bilkent University Bilkent University () is a private non-profit research university located in Ankara, Turkey. It was founded by İhsan Doğramacı, the first president of the Council of Higher Education and the head of the prominent Doğramacı family, with th ...

's music master program. Currently, she serves in the Dr Erol Üçer Music Research Center of

Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University, also known as Technical University of Istanbul (, commonly referred to as İTÜ), is an public university, public technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...

Awards

Sarıca received an honorable mention in the International Munich Piano Competition in 1954. In 1957, she won the special prize, "Gabriel Fauré Association," in 1959 she won one special prize "City of Paris" in the Marguerite Long–Jacques Thibaud Competition. In 1971, she was given the honorary title of

State Artist State Artist (, 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 President of Turkey ( Ce ...

by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

.Nkfu Information page
/ref> In 1970 she was decorated with golden "Beethoven medal" for her Beethoven interpretations by German Ministry of Culture. In 1974, she received the ''Chevalier de I’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' from the French Ministry of Culture. In 2006, she was awarded the “Merit of Honor" in music by the Istanbul Culture and Art Foundation."

References

External links