Yüksel Koptagel (born 27 October 1931) is a Turkish composer and pianist. She 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 Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, granddaughter of General Osman Nuri Koptagel, a commander in the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

. Her maternal great grandfather Abdul Karim Khan Tareen, a physician, had migrated from

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) and had settled in Istanbul, adopting the name Abdul Karim Bey. Her father Baha Koptagel was a dentist and her mother Hikmet Koptagel was a teacher. Yüksel was brought up in a musical environment at home. She started playing the piano with Rana Erksan at five years old. From 1948 to 1955 she studied piano, harmony, counterpoint and fugue under composer and conductor

Cemal Reşit Rey Cemal Reşit Rey (; 25 October 1904 – 7 October 1985) was a Turkish people, Turkish composer, pianist, screenwriter, script writer and Conducting, conductor. He was well known for a string of successful and popular Turkish-language operettas fo ...

. Koptagel gave concerts with Istanbul Municipal Orchestra between the years 1951 to 1954. In 1955 she went to Spain on a grant from the Spanish government. She studied in the

Madrid Royal Conservatory The Madrid Royal Conservatory () is a music college in Madrid, Spain. History The Royal Conservatory of Music was founded on July 15, 1830, by royal decree, and was originally located in Mostenses Square, Madrid. In 1852 it was moved to the Roy ...

with

José Cubiles José Antonio Cubiles Ramos (15 May 1894 5 April 1971) was a noted Spanish pianist, Conductor (music), conductor and teacher. Biography Cubiles was born in Cádiz in 1894. His pianistic gifts were already apparent by the age of five. He first st ...

, Joaquin Rodrigo. In 1957 she was accepted to the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

where she worked with

Tony Aubin Tony Louis Alexandre Aubin (; 8 December 1907 – 21 September 1981) was a French composer. Life and Career Aubin was born in Paris on 8 December 1907. From 1925 to 1930, he studied at the Paris Conservatory under Samuel Rousseau (music theory ...

, Alexandre Tansman, and Lazare Levy. Invited by the Ministry of Culture in Spain, she attended a number of courses in the city of

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

and worked with

Alicia de Larrocha Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 192325 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist and composer. She was considered one of the great piano legends of the 20th century. Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", ''Time'' " ...

. After completing her studies, Koptagel took a position with the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and worked as a pianist and composer. She is considered to be the owner of the first classical guitar works composed in Turkey. Yüksel Koptagel was influenced by Turkish rhythms and motifs in her early works (e.g. Tamzara and Toccata). In some other youthful pieces, she was also inspired by Spanish music (e.g. Minorca Sonata and Epitafo). In general, her compositions are in the style of Western polyphony within a modal context.

Selected works

*''Quand nous nous sommes séparés'' (André Viaud after George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron) *''Pastorale'' for piano *''Impression de Minorque'' for piano *''Epitafio de un muchacho muerto en abril'' for piano *''Toccata'' for piano *''Fossil Suite'' (Suite im alten Stil) for piano or guitar *''Tamzara (Türkischer Tanz)'' for piano or guitar

References

1931 births Living people 20th-century Turkish classical composers Turkish women classical composers 20th-century Turkish women composers {{Women's-History-stub