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Violinist Gil Shaham back in Istanbul with Bach
When he was 9 years old, he became a student at the Aspen Music School in Colorado, studying with established teacher Dorothy DeLay, and two years later, he was awarded the first prize in the Claremont Competition. Following this success, he enrolled in the Juilliard School in New York and then attended Columbia University with his pianist sister Orli Shaham. Commenting on the influence of the teachers he encountered during his education, he says, “I was lucky to have had wonderful teachers at my schools that opened my eyes to the possibilities of music.”
Asked whether he wanted to pursue any profession apart from music in his childhood, he recalls that he always wanted to be a taxi driver as a child. “Driving a car seemed like the ultimate fun, and to do this for a living would be a dream,” he says, adding that he now feels the same way about being a musician.
Shaham has received a Grammy Award, the Grand Prix du Disques, the Cannes Classical Award, the Ritmo Prize and many others. He has recorded more than 20 albums on the Deutsche Grammophon label, and he also founded his own label, Canary, in association with the Vanguard Label. “There are many works I would like to play and many things I would like to study. I have been very lucky as an artist, and I hope people continue asking me to play,” he says, noting that music is about creating moments. “Sharing a moment with an audience is always a unique, special experience.”
Shaham plays a Stradivarius violin made in 1699. “It is an example of the maker’s ‘long- pattern’ violins. It was first owned by the Countess Polignac, who was an influential patron of the arts in Paris and Venice. She was supportive of the works of Antonio Vivaldi and, in fact, was the one who brought the ‘Four Seasons’ out of Italy for the first time,” he notes, adding that he would like to think this violin has a connection to these events and would tell great stories if it could.
During his concert in İstanbul, Shaham will present a program of pieces from his favorite composer, Bach. “A friend once told me he was at a cocktail party and was asked who his favorite composer was. He had a standard reply where he explained picking favorites is impossible. It’s like picking your favorite food, or person! However, that night he had a bit more to drink than usual and so he replied quickly without thinking -- ‘Bach.’ The next morning he thought about it and realized there was a lot of truth to that. Bach is his favorite composer,” he says, noting that he feels the same.
This will be Shaham’s second trip to Turkey. “I once spent two magical days in İstanbul and have been anxious to return ever since. I always associate Turkey with the kindness and hospitality of my Turkish friends. I look forward to seeing more of the country,” he says. Asked whether he is familiar with any Turkish musicians, he explains that although he does not know much about it, his impressions are that “traditional Turkish music is fascinating, enormously rich and beautiful,” adding, “I would love to learn more.”
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