Yunus Emre Institute continues to carry out memorable events by bringing together Turkish culture and the cultures of other countries through its representatives in different geographies of the world.

In cooperation with the Romanian Ministry of Culture and Romanian Yunus Emre Institute, “the Presentation Ceremony of Dimitrie Cantemir’s ‘Book of the Science of Defining and Performing Music with Letters’ to the Romanian State” and a huge organization called “From the Sultan to the Queen-Piano Album Concert” was organized within the scope of “100th Anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye” and “2023 Dimitrie Cantemir Culture Year” with the contributions of the Turkish Embassy in Bucharest and Turkish Airlines.

The most prestigious event hosted by Ateneul Român, one of the historical icons of Romania, and organized within the scope of the “2023 Dimitri Cantemir Culture Year” throughout Romania, was attended by Romanian Minister of Culture Raluca Turcan, Turkish Ambassador in Bucharest, Özgür Kıvanç Altan, Yunus Emre Institute Vice President Assoc. Dr. Abdullah Kutalmış Yalçın, Romanian Yunus Emre Institute Coordinator Mustafa Yıldız, 50 ambassadors residing in Romania, Romanian bureaucrats, art lovers and press members from Romania and Türkiye.

A facsimile edition of Dimitrie Cantemir’s book, which is not available in Romania, was gifted to the Romanian State

As a result of the personal research carried out by Romanian Yunus Emre Institute Coordinator Mustafa Yıldız, it was determined that there was not even a copy of the “Book of the Science of Defining and Performing Music with Letters”, written in Ottoman Turkish by Dimitrie Cantemir, who studied at Enderun during the Ottoman Empire Period and served as the ambassador of the Ottoman Empire, in Romania. As a result of the examination and studies carried out by Coordinator Yıldız, a facsimile of this work was procured and presented to the Romanian Minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan.

Following the ceremony, Romanian Minister of Culture Raluca Turcan presented the “High Order of Merit” to Romanian Yunus Emre Institute Coordinator Mustafa Yıldız for his work in the process of finding this book from Türkiye and presenting it as a gift to the Romanian State.

Expressing her satisfaction with the event where the 2023 Dimitrie Cantemir Culture Year and the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye were celebrated together and said, “Today is an important day for the cultural relations of the two countries. We commemorate Dimitrie Cantemir, a common value of both countries. It is very meaningful for us to present a facsimile of the work of Dimitri Kantemir, one of Romania’s most important values. Yunus Emre Institute continues to strengthen the cultural relations between the two countries with the activities it carries out in Romania,” the Romanian Minister of Culture, Raluca Turcan said.

The Turkish Ambassador in Bucharest, Özgür Kıvanç Altan made the evaluations in his statement: “We carried out this activity together with the Romanian authorities as a sign of our common history of friendship with Romania on the 100th anniversary of the founding of our Republic. The participants at the ministerial level, especially the Romanian Minister of Culture, many senators, deputies, ambassadors and diplomats attended the event. Such cultural activities are the best symbol of friendship between the two countries.”

After the ceremony, the unique works included in the music album that Sultan Abdülhamid II. Khan gifted to Queen Elisabeth of Romania during his reign and which was found in the Netherlands years later, were performed by Pianist Prof. Dr. Evren Kutlay.

At the reception given by Yunus Emre Institute, the music album dated 1876, prepared by Sultan Abdülhamid II. Khan specifically for the visiting foreign state protocol, and Dimitrie Cantemir’s “Book of the Science of Defining and Performing Music with Letters” were exhibited.

“Book of the Science of Defining and Performing Music with Letters”

Dimitrie Cantemir was a versatile Romanian nobleman who lived between 1673 and 1723. He has works in different fields, especially history and music. Dimitrie Cantemir wrote “Book of the Science of Defining and Performing Music with Letters” in Turkish in Istanbul. The work is a very valuable source as it contains hundreds of musical notes from the 17th century and before, written in abjad notation. It is also important because it puts Ottoman music in written form and protects it.

The work, written in Ottoman Turkish, was studied by musicologist and composer Yalçın Tura, with the original text of the work as a facsimile and the translation of these texts into today’s Turkish. As a result of the research carried out by Romanian Yunus Emre Institute Coordinator Mustafa Yıldız, when it was determined that the original of this special work was in Türkiye and that there was not even a copy of the work in Romania, it was decided to bring a facsimile of the work to Romania and gift it to the Romani state.

The Album Gifted by Sultan Abdulhamid II. Khan to Queen Elisabeth of Romania

When Sultan Abdülhamid II. Khan noticed that Elisabeth, known as Romanian Queen Carmen Syiva, who visited Istanbul, was interested in music, he gave her the piano album dated 1876 as a gift. Later, Queen Elisabeth gifted the work to her servant and confidant Euphrosine de Gradisteano. After the death of Gradisteano, who married a Belgian nobleman, the album was preserved by the Gradisteano family for 100 years and was offered for sale by a Dutch collector in 2018. The album was purchased at auction by Abdullah Altay, Former Coordinator of Amsterdam Yunus Emre Institute.

The first part of the album, which consists of two parts, consists of Ottoman anthems and the second part consists of Turkish music adapted to Western music style.