Dear friends of the Museum for Islamic Art,

The encounter of East and West in the music of Dimitrie Cantemir: We would like to invite you to get to know the compositions of an extraordinary personality in the history of music and to embark on a musical journey full of cultural and historical encounters. The concert with pieces by Dimitrie Cantemir will take place on April 18, 2024 at 18:00 in the auditorium of the James Simon Gallery.

Dimitrie Cantemir was born in 1673 as the son of a Moldovan prince at a time when Moldova was a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. At the age of 15, he was sent to Istanbul to ensure the Moldovan prince's loyalty to the Ottoman Sultan. His 12 years in Istanbul were to have a profound impact on him. Back in Moldova, he became an important universal scholar: historian, music theorist, composer, geographer and encyclopedist. He went down in music history as a composer and inventor of the first musical notation for recording Ottoman music. Thanks to Cantemir, we now know what Ottoman music sounded like in the 17th century.

In our concert, under the direction of Derya Türkan, the instruments of Istanbul music, represented by Kemençe (Derya Türkan) and Kanun (Serkan Mesut Halili) and the instruments of Baroque music, represented by Theorba (Daniel Kurz) and Viola da Gamba (Christiane Gerhardt), come together. In addition, Dilek Türkan provides vocal accompaniment for some of the pieces. The repertoire also includes Turkish songs and folk music from the Moldavian region from the 17th century.

Before the concert begins, Prof. Klaus Kreiser will give an introduction to Cantemir's "Ottoman identity".

Admission is free of charge. Prior registration is required at: isl@smb.museum
A confirmation will be sent by e-mail, which will serve as an admission ticket at the entrance.

With the support of the Yunus Emre Institute Berlin and the Friends of the Museum for Islamic Art in the Pergamonmuseum e.V.