Returning this summer as a familiar face – and as the 2025 Artist in Residence – Fazıl Say once again graces the Gstaad Menuhin Festival with a series of original and deeply personal performances in solo, duo, trio, and quintet formats. He will give no fewer than three concerts that reflect the multifaceted personality of this piano virtuoso and born improviser. In keeping with one of this year’s festival themes, “migration,” Say will conclude his residency with the world premiere of a new composition commissioned by the festival: “Immigrants,” a trio for cello, double bass, and piano. This powerful piece explores the emotional journey of exile.

The Ankara-born artist is also preparing to release a new album with tenor Pene Pati and soprano Fatma Saïd, recorded at Lucerne’s KKL. The album will feature Mozart’s Requiem alongside Say’s own work, “Mozart ve Mevlana” – a metamorphosis on themes from Mozart’s Requiem, with Turkish translations of the Requiem texts. Say is an artist who creates musical bridges and emotions between East and West.

Fazıl Say, you’ve become something of a fixture in Gstaad …
Yes, I’ve been coming to play in Gstaad for such a long time, over 20 years now, with so many new projects every year or two. I love the idea of thousands of people from all over the world gathering in this small mountain village.

What do you enjoy doing in the region outside of music?
I love hiking between rehearsals – it’s such a stunning area. But I must admit, we artists really enjoy staying at the Ermitage Hotel in Schönried. The hotel and its restaurants are so fantastic that we often find ourselves in a kind of happy “lockdown” between the hotel and the concert hall!

You’ve been performing for more than 40 years now! What has changed most in the classical music world since you started?
Yes – 40 years already! I won a major competition in New York in 1995, and shortly after that, my professional concert career began, I signed with Warner. But I’ve been playing piano since I was five, so it’s almost 50 years now. Making music has always been my life – it still gives me immense joy. I love performing, making people happy, giving them a moment of meditation. That hasn’t changed. What has changed, though, is the context: the rise of social media, streaming platforms, digital music libraries. We need to find new ways of engaging audiences. It’s no longer enough to simply play Mozart – we must innovate, create new projects, and write new music.

This year, as Artist in Residence, you’re playing three different concerts at the festival. Each performance mixes well-known composers with your own works.
What excites you the most?
Composing, definitely. Christoph Müller has always asked me to write new pieces for the festival. This year, he commissioned an important trio that I’ll premiere on 24 July. To align with the festival’s “migration” theme, I composed “Emigrants” – a piece that addresses this difficult and emotional topic, a world premiere. I’m also thrilled about performing outside a concert hall. On 22 July, I will be giving an open-air concert at Berghaus Eggli, which is quite unusual for a classical musician.

You have always been an ambassador for peace; you received the International Beethoven Prize for Human Rights in 2016. How do you translate your vision of peace into music?
I’m from Turkey, living in Istanbul. Turkish culture and Western culture are different, and as an artist, I have always embraced this duality because it allows me to build bridges between them. I remember performing composers like Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and Chopin in the remote eastern provinces of my homeland, and realised it was the first time people had listened to this kind of music!

Likewise, I enjoy incorporating a wealth of Turkish rhythms and melodies into my compositions and performing them in Europe, America, or Asia. This is somewhat new for many audiences, giving me the opportunity to share both cultures, foster communication, and express peace through music in a meaningful way. It’s also true that, diplomatically, Turkey is increasingly playing a mediating role: between Russia and Ukraine, or Iran and Israel, for instance. This position reflects Turkey’s identity as a cultural and geopolitical bridge between East and West and its natural role as a communicator.

You’ve also been praised for blurring the boundaries, seamlessly blending classical, Turkish, and jazz elements. How did that come about?
From a young age, I played jazz, wrote my own compositions, and arranged music. Classical music tends to be conservative, so at first, I faced criticism for stepping outside traditional norms. But now, many classical pianists are performing my works. I was one of the first to be criticised for crossing those boundaries – and now things are evolving, and more musicians are daring to follow their feelings and fuse styles.

SASKIA VON ALTISHOFEN

SUNDAY, 20. JULY 2025
Fazıl Say, piano – Church Saanen

Scarlatti – 4 Piano Sonatas
Mozart – Piano Sonata No. 11 K. 33
Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 23
“Appassionata”
Fazıl Say – Kara Toprak Op. 8 –
Nazim, ballad, Op. 12 – Ses, ballad, Op. 40b – Yeni hayat, piano sonata, Op. 99

TUESDAY, 22. JULY 2025
Fazıl Say, piano, Aslihan And, flute – Berghaus Eggli

César Franck – Sonata FWV 8
(orig. for violin)
Fazıl Say – “Bosphorus Romance” & other pieces and improvisations

THURSDAY, 24. JULY 2025
Fazıl Say, piano, Bomsori Kim, violin, Öykü Canpolat, viola,
Anastasia Kobekina, cello, Uxia
Martinez-Botana, double bass –
Church Saanen

Fazil Say, Nightwalk, Sonata for
Solo Double Bass, “Immigrants”,
Trio for Cello, Double Bass and
Piano (world premiere)
Schubert, Piano Quintet D 667
“Trout Quintet”