This release from Brilliant Classics provides new insight into 19th-century relations between Europe and the Ottoman Empire. At this time, Turkish music permeated European classical music. Compositions like Mozart’s Alla Turca, janissary music by Spohr, and Haydn’s Military Symphony (No. 100) are undeniable proof of this.
Europeans composers such as Adelburg and Guatelli Pasha actually brought their music to the Ottoman Empire. Adelburg was born in Istanbul, but left for Vienna in later life. Pasha (18181-1900) became the director of music at the imperial Ottoman court in Istanbul. The confluence of these two styles makes for a very unusual record indeed.
April 2008
“Ear-catching music from the time that Turkey courted the West…”
