theartsdesk in Istanbul: Salzburg, Here We Come

Thanks to steel pipes, an international Turkish orchestra rises to the top

by Kate ConnollyMonday, 31 May 2010

A traditional melting-pot: 'Istanbul would lose its identity if it became too local.'

At a sprawling car plant in the suburbs of north-eastern Istanbul mechanics are busy repairing camshafts and dynamos, applying blow torches to the undercarriages of a range of luxury cars and retouching paintwork. Visitors to the building are met by signs reading: “Sheer Driving Pleasure” and “Check Your Engine”. Upstairs, away from the mechanical buzz, fine-tuning of a completely different kind is going on as the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra is taken through its paces by its vivacious Austrian conductor, Sasha Goetzel.

We could have established a basketball team or a football club, but we decided to concentrate on classical music because it was really dying in Turkey

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