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Fazıl SAY “We should know each other better...” By Hayri Uluç Fazıl Say is considered to be a "star" by the European and American Press. The French daily Le Figaro wrote "He is not merely a pianist of genius; undoubtedly he will be one of the great artists of the 21st Century". Born in Ankara in 1970, Fazıl Say won a scholarship to the Institute Robert Schuman in Düsseldorf when 17 years old, after having proved his genius while at the Turkish National Music Conservatory. He confirmed his exceptional talent at the Berlin Music Conservatory five years later. He became famous thanks to the many awards that he has won. From Japan to the United-States, many people have listened to him and talked about him, thanks to his performances with the Philharmonic orchestras of New York, Israël, Saint-Petersbourg, the BBC and France. Say is a pianist and a composer. He composed his first piece entitled "Black Hymns" when 16 years old. He then presented to the general public his concerto for piano in 1991 accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Berlin, and second concerto in 1996 in Boston. Then followed his third concerto presented in Paris and his "oratorio Nazım", which were inspired by Nazım Hikmet's poems. He has received numerous awards for his ever-popular creations and concerts. Like the French daily le Figaro said, Fazıl Say is indeed making history as one of the great artist of the 21st Century. The “Anadolu” team has interviewed Fazıl Say in his Istanbul home. The main topic was the accession process of Turkey to the European Union. Say explained that "artists think universally and speak a universal language", adding that "we speak a language spoken by all in the world of classical music culture. We do not make distinction between countries. These cities [in the EU], countries and that world are in fact at the same distance as our neighbourhood: so close to us…" The pianist-composer continued by declaring on the EU-Turkey topic that "We have been following the various issues for years with surprise. The European Union is a laudable project since it aims to unify a common world. I believe that this project can be developed and will reach its goal only through the participation of other countries. Material, spiritual and mentality differences may lie along this path, but they will be overcome with time. Besides the necessity for the Union's borders to remain as open as possible, the message that I would like to give is that the world we talked about should preserve its entirety …Turkey has a potential, a culture and great talents to offer to the EU. The most ancient civilisation in history was founded in Anatolia. It is true that the EU is an economic union and Turkey will have to make some efforts to reach the same level of economic wealth…On the other hand, other problems due to cultural and language differences will be overcome more easily. Turkey and Turkish people are familiar with the Christian culture but the opposite is not true: few Western Europeans know or are familiar with our culture…” His answer was: “It is something that has been taken out of context. I have personally experienced the German reunification. There was no question of a date. Such developments should be more spontaneous. I witnessed it in 1989 when I was living in Berlin: it was the people who made the German reunification, the course of events was innate. İt was the will of millions of individuals. Our union with the EU should follow the same path. What matters is that it comes from the people and the public opinion. The EU knows little about us, and that is our common fear to us the artists. They only see us as kebap sellers. Until recently, some people have asked me whether "there were pianos in Turkey?". We have been through these stages, these disturbances. In 1995, I left Germany. Nowadays, we have witnessed major improvements as Turkish artists now enjoy great success in Germany. The EU-Turkey relations should not be the concern of politicians only, but should be guided by the mutual understanding, recognition and friendship of the people. And to encourage this spontaneity, both parties must learn to know each other better. In that respect, I found the information campaign led in Turkey on the European project, in which the freedom of movement takes central stage, to be erroneous: Let us become part of the EU and thus we can travel to London, Paris...this is not what this is about. I have felt cheated which I find disturbing. We should not ignore certain realities and these same realities should be our starting point.” Take note in your agenda: Fazıl Say will perform at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels on 20 Decem-ber 2004.