Chatty Pianist – Piano Rumours
Thu 28 May, 7:30pm£20.00 – £35.00 full price | £17.50 – £32.50 concession
Running time: 2 hours, including interval
Tickets & Times
| Thu 28 May | 7:30 pm | {{spektrix_instance_id_329548ASSCTMLDSGNTGDMRTBVKVKLNPCL_status}} |
Chatty Pianist: Piano Rumours
Gossip, myths and scandals in classical music
by Emir Gamsız
Music history is full of stories: some documented, some distorted, and some entirely invented. Works reach us carrying more than what is written in the score—controversial attributions, dubious nicknames, romantic rumours, rivalries between musicians, nationalist claims, and unreliable biographies.
In this programme, Chatty Pianist Emir Gamsız explores well-known virtuoso works by nine composers, from Bach to Prokofiev, alongside the rumours that surround them.
The first half of the programme focuses on post-Beethoven composers—their personal worlds, relationships, conflicts, and scandals that continue to echo today. The second half turns to two of the greatest figures in music history, Bach and Beethoven, examining the social tensions between art, the artist, and the ruling classes of wealth and power.
The second half opens with the premiere of Emir Gamsız’s new piano transcription of Bach’s most famous work, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565). With this transcription, Gamsız joins the long line of musicians who have reimagined this organ work—whose authorship has been debated for centuries—for the piano.
From scandals and composer rivalries to myths, salon gossip and Parisian cafés; from stories of imprisonment and duels to portraits of defiant artistic independence, this programme moves between documented history and inherited narratives. And in reflecting on today’s music world, the Chatty Pianist does not shy away from becoming a subject of gossip himself.
This is neither a lecture nor a comedy.
This is stories unfolding through a classical piano recital.
This is a Chatty Pianist concert.
Presented by Jeux d’Art and Educante.
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EMIR GAMSIZ
Emir Gamsız is a Turkish pianist, composer, writer, and interdisciplinary artist with one of the most unconventional paths in classical music. A former professional basketball player in the Turkish Basketball League, he began playing the piano at 20. Within a year, he was admitted—at an unprecedented age—to the piano department of Istanbul University State Conservatory (1995), later receiving the Lions Club’s Young Musician of the Year award (1999).
After graduating, he continued his studies in Paris with Seba Baştuğ Şen and Hüseyin Sermet, where he began performing professionally. Since then, he has appeared across Europe, the United States, and Turkiye. In 2008, he became the first Turkish pianist to perform J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations in Türkiye. He has also collaborated with leading musicians including Chen Halevi, Natalie Clein, Marina Chiche, Ittai Shapira, and Belcea Quartet.
Beyond performance, Gamsız works across composition, writing (philosophy and sociology), film, and interdisciplinary practice. He has produced radio programmes, written articles for Andante and Milliyet, and created long-running sold-out children’s productions, including The Tempest and Bach’s Riddle. His compositional work, encouraged by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer David Del Tredici at City College of New York, led to his debut album Alla Turca Around the World (2013).
During eleven years in New York, he developed numerous interdisciplinary projects with playwright-director Ege Maltepe, spanning theatrical-concerts and films. Together, they also curated concert series at Caffe Vivaldi and launched film projects exploring art, culture, and society. Gamsız is the creator of the “Chatty Pianist” concept which has been presented at venues including Lincoln Center, Süreyya Opera House and across international festivals. Chatty Pianist is an original form of stage performance that combines sociological approach to stories unfolded through a piano recital.
Since returning to Istanbul, he has co-founded Bach Café, launched the digital platform Jeux d’Art, and expanded into publishing, recording, and animation. His recent work includes multiple album recordings and the widely successful theatrical concert Bach’s Riddle. Current projects include new albums, books, and performances, including Chatty Pianist – comic book and his book Is Entertainment Art? Gamsız is currently teaching Music Appreciation – a curriculum he designed – in Bilgi University. Through Jeux d’Art, Gamsız has developed an alternative digital platform designed to give artists the fair share of their work,distinct from other mainstream channels.
For more details please visit app.jeuxdart.com and emirgamsiz.com
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
WoO 1 – Hungarian Dance No.5 (arrangement by J. Brahms)
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
S.141 – Paganini Étude No.3, “La Campanella”
S.172 – Consolation No.3
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Op.66 – Fantasie-Impromptu
Op.28 – Prélude No.15, “Raindrop”
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
L.121 – La plus que lente (Slower than slow)
L.113 – Cake-Walk (No.6 from Children’s Corner Suite)
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Op.34, No.14 – Vocalise (arrangement by A. Siloti)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Tango
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Op.33bis – March (from the opera “The Love For Three Oranges”)(arrangement by S. Prokofiev)
– INTERVAL –
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
BWV 565 – Toccata & Fugue (arrangement by E. Gamsız)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Op.57 – Piano Sonata No.23, “Appassionata”
1.Allegro assai
2.Andante con moto
3.Allegro ma non troppo
Tickets & Times
| Thu 28 May | 7:30 pm | {{spektrix_instance_id_329548ASSCTMLDSGNTGDMRTBVKVKLNPCL_status}} |
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