Memory, Myth & Melancholy

Memory, Myth & Melancholy

Pianist Beyza Yazgan’s debut album 'To Anatolia' powerfully evokes the moods, landscapes and memories of her homeland.

Brooklyn-based pianist Beyza Yazgan has journeyed far from her birthplace of Istanbul, but her self-produced debut album 'To Anatolia' transports the listener into the moods, memories and landscapes of her homeland. We recently spoke with Beyza to learn more about the inspiration behind this unique album, and the Turkish composers to which it pays tribute.

Beyza plays Meşeli: Adnan Saygun - Anadolu'dan (From Anatolia)

What inspired you to learn to play piano, and when did you know it was going to be your life’s work?

I was singing in a children’s chorus from the ages of five to nine; I remember during this time how much fun it was, and how I was amazed by the experience of polyphony. My parents would also take me to the orchestra, where I had a chance to see and hear all of the different instruments, which gave me a lot of inspiration as well. And at home there were classical music albums that I loved listening to, looking at their covers while daydreaming...

So music was always something I was interested in. Then, with the advice of the chorus director, my parents asked me if I wanted to learn an instrument—for me, piano was the only instrument I wanted, and so it all started from there, at the age of nine. Even at that time I think I knew it was going to be my life’s work.

Can you describe the vision behind your album ‘To Anatolia’?

I started this project as a love letter to my roots while exploring the universal emotions of belonging, longing, sense of identity, and all the other feelings that come with being an immigrant.

I moved to New York City from Istanbul five years ago. During this time I haven’t had a chance to return to Turkey very often, but have still found refuge in playing Turkish music as a way to cope with being away from home. This album was born from the idea of bringing the listener with me on a sonic journey to Turkey.

In order to evoke this ‘journey’, I realized the sequencing of the album would be very important—I wanted to create a storyline throughout from beginning to end, almost like reading a book of short stories which take place across a geography that I know well, but that also evokes something of a personal mythology from my childhood.

The album repertoire consists of pieces by a group of composers known as ’The Turkish Five’. These composers were the first Turkish classical (western) music composers that emerged when the country was declared a republic and modernized after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

During this time Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, emphasized the importance of art for a country's growth. For that reason the government began supporting composers to study abroad, creating opportunities for them, and 'The Turkish Five' were the first among them. I also wanted this album to carry that message from the past to today, about the importance of music’s place within a society’s development.

The ‘Turkish Five’ are not very well known in the West—do you hope this album will help give them more exposure to the world? What do you feel is significant about their work, for both the west as well as Turkey?

Definitely, that’s the whole idea. It makes me so happy when people ask where they can find the scores for the music or when they show interest in it.

The music of The Turkish Five has folk elements and that is part of what makes it very unique. Turkey is located in a geographic area where many cultures and civilizations have passed through and left an imprint in our society. It’s music is very rich and unique in that sense. The melodies, harmonies, and unusual time signatures feature this cross pollination between cultures. They also represent an important time in Turkish history when the most radical changes happened towards westernization.

What similarities/differences do you find between the styles and sentiments of these composers, compared to other western and eastern European classical composers of the piano?

They share similarities with the compositional style of composers like Bartok, French Impressionist composers like Debussy, Ravel etc. But this is also a consequence of the fact that the members of ‘The Five’ went to study in France and Austria.

Of course they were also using their own voice and combining it with inspirations and elements of the European composers of their time. I would say what sets them apart from these other composers is the use of Turkish scales and melodies. Also the feeling of melancholy is often present within Turkish music, and this definitely comes through in their works, and is a very unique contribution to the canon of classical music as a whole.

You have chosen to feature three different pieces from your album as beautiful films—how did you decide which works to feature from the album, and what inspired the idea to create an animated film?

Initially the idea was to do videos for each of the five composers. I began with Saygun’s Meşeli, since it is the opening track of the album, and then I chose Horon as the another which created a contrast. Then I wanted to do one for Ferid Alnar’s piece Şu Yamaçta (On the Slope). This piece has always evoked a certain landscape in my imagination whenever I play it—in my mind I see the vision of a girl standing on a windy hill.

The Animated Film Şu Yamaçta (On the Slope)

In addition to playing music I also draw illustrations, and I’ve experimented with how to make animations in the past. Animation is something I truly love, and I think I would have studied it if not for music. So I did this animated video by drawing each image frame by frame, and the vision in my head turned into something visual. The girl I was imagining is the main character, who transforms and becomes one with the universe through the music.

From what sources do you draw creative inspiration from?

Stories of people, ancient cultures, emotions, Japanese zen, music from all around the world… and most of all, nature.

What do you hope to offer through your art?

Communication, love and peace. Art is a reminder of the best of humanity and the best way to counter all of the terrible things we are constantly reminded about that go on around the world. It is hard to accept that humans are capable of such horrible things, but art is the most powerful way to remind ourselves that we are capable of so much more than that.

There’s a quote by Leonard Bernstein that I find inspiring: ‘this will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before’.