A most interesting concert of contemporary Turkish music was hosted by the President at the Music Room, Sant’Anton Palace, in collaboration with the Turkish Embassy.

Works by two Turkish composers were performed by the Herzarfen Ensemble consisting of Cem Önertürk (flute), pianist Müge Hendekli (the only lady musician), Özcan Ulucan (violin),  Ulrich Mertin (viola) and Ozan Tunca (cello). It was refreshing and intriguing to enjoy this rare live exposure to such music from a neighbouring Mediterranean country.

Zeynep Gedizlioglu’s fiery Akdenizli for violin, viola and piano (2008) reveals an obsession with saba makam and the European avant-garde. The Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s Cendres (1998) was performed by piano, flute and cello. My favourite was the US composer and artistic director of the ensemble Michael Ellison’s Invocation-Meditation-Allegro for solo flute performed with great virtuosity by Cem Önertürk.

I was not prepared for such a rapid succession of techniques in this enchantingly approachable work. I could detect about 10 and after the concert the flautist said to me that there were 24 of them, adding I did not do too badly for a first-time hearing.

Other works performed were the very powerful and nigh mesmerising violin solo Horon by Ozkan Manav and the intriguing, oddly named  Kamran Ince’s Fantasy of a sudden turtle (1989) for piano quartet.