saygun piano competition

Named after Ahmed Adnan Saygun, one of the Turkish Five, the competition was the only competition in Türkiye devoted to introducing young pianists to his music. Its jury was chaired by State Artist Gülsin Onay, the Festival’s Artistic Advisor and a former student of Saygun. The competition was held every year at first, and later every two years.

Pianists competed in two age categories, with works by Saygun as compulsory repertoire and an audience vote. The final was held on the Ancient Quarry stage as part of the Festival programme.

Winners went on to give winter concerts at Notre Dame de Sion in Istanbul. The 2012 jury was Gülsin Onay (chair), Lilya Zilberstein, Karst de Jong, Julian Gorus, İbrahim Yazıcı, Toros Can and Eren Levendoğlu.