The Istanbul paintings ofthe world-renowned Russian painter Ayvazovsky has met with art lovers accompanied withthe “AyvazovskyRhapsody” performed by composer and pianistAnjelica Akbar.

The event,titled the “Ayvazosky’s Istanbul”,was organized in the St. Micheal Castle (MihaylovskyZamok) Hall of the St. Petersburg Russian Museum under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey and withsupport from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yunus Emre Institute, “LichnostPeterburga”  History and Culture Foundation (St. Petersburg), Turkish Airlines and the Turkish Telecom.

Most of the audiencecomprised representatives from Russian political, art and business circles. Instructors and students of the Turkology departments of various universities as well as Turkish university students and businessmen in Russia also showed great interest in the event.

The event opened with an introductory concert by world-renowned composer-pianist Anjelica Akbar, followed by the display of Ayvazovsky’s paintings depicting  the people and views  of his time under the artistic direction of Murat Öneş.

Anjelica composed the “Ayvazovsky Rhapsody” translating the paintings of Russian painterIvan Ayvazovsky into a somewhat musical language. During the concert, she played the Ottoman musicwhich Ayvazovsky herd during his travels  to Turkey,  the Crimean Tatarthemes that he learnt in his birthplace Feodosia during his childhood,  the Armenian and Caucasian  tones which were part of his Armenian origin and the Russian music that he listened in St. Petersburg where he studied and lived. Russian violinist Danila Popov and percussionist BerkantÇakıcı accompanied Akbar during the performance.

Ivan Ayvazovsky

Ayvazovsky, who was fond of Istanbul, had about 200 paintingsof Istanbul. His unprecedented paintings present a visual memory of Istanbul’s cultural and civilization history effectivelydepicting the people and viewsof his era.

The renowned painter Ayvazovskyvisited Istanbul quite often during the reigns of  Sultan Abdulmecid and Sultan Abdulhamid, and on many occasions he described Istanbul as the most beautiful city in the world. Most of his more than 5000 paintings are being displayed instate museums in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Yerevan. About 30 of his pieces are included in the collections of  Dolmabahçe Museum, Naval Museum and other museums in Istanbul.

Angelica Akbar

Composer and pianist Angelica Akbar was bornin the USSR and studied there. She moved to Istanbul by means of a UNESCO  project before the disintegration of the Soviet Union. She composedthe “Ayvazovsky’s Rhapsody” translating Russian painter Ivan Ayvazovsky’s paintings into a musical language.

She acted as the manager of the project which combined Ayvazovsky’s largest ever collection with modern technologies. During the concert, the paintings were reflected on huge screens and she played both her own pieces as well as the pieces related toAyvazovsky such as the  Ottoman piece“Dede Efendi” that he heard during his travels to Turkey, the Crimean Tatarthemes that he learnt in his birthplace Feodosia during his childhood, the Armenian and Caucasian  tones that were part of his Armenian origin and the Russian music that he listened in St. Petersburg where he studied and lived.

Akbar obtained digital rights for about 500 of Ayvzovsky’s paintings from Russian museums and collections for the “Ayvazovsky’s Istanbul” project that took almost four years to complete.She said she took the audience on a world journey together with Ayvazovsky in this project, expressing her sincere desire for the project to be displayed in many public halls in Russia. She also expressed her wishthat “the Ayvazovsky’s extraordinary paintings’  journey with the music, which helped Russia and Turkey meet on a common emotional denominator, would continue.”