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For the avid classical music collector, discovering something new can be a thrilling experience. This is, of course, the driving force behind any passionate pursuit. It is especially exciting when this discovery is a purely personal one, not merely the result of an aficionado’s recommendation or a radio station’s choice of programming.

Remembering how I came across the Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say, I think how easily his talent could have slipped under my ubiquitous musical radar. It was his ‘Paganini Variations’ which were first brought to my attention when researching a fun encore piece to perform which would leave the audience needing to know what it was they had just heard. The theme of the 24th solo violin caprice of Niccolo Paganini lends itself perfectly to the variation format – an instantly memorable tune over a deliciously simple tonal structure. Indeed, Paganini’s original is in the form of the theme followed by 11 variations and a short coda. Everyone from Lutoslawski to Lloyd Webber has given their contribution to the Paganini Variations melting pot, and in all different instrumental combinations too – from carillon to ‘cello and rock band. The theme is not the easiest choice to create something new, something inspiring, and something ultimately worthwhile.

Fazil Say, however, relishes this task. His variations come in the style of modern jazz. Not just this, but each variation has its own distinct genre, from Rumba to New Age to Swing, with everything in between. Somehow, it works wonderfully. Say’s live performance of the work, towards the end of his disc entitled ‘Black Earth’, is simply electrifying. More often than not, there is just the right amount of restraint to allow the virtuosic passages to really fly (in the way we think of Horowitz sounding faster than he actually was). The clarity of the finger work, especially in the streams of quick and quiet right hand notes, is especially commendable – after all, many people can play loud and fast, but playing at the opposite end of the dynamic spectrum requires far greater skill. One of Say’s greatest influences, the incomparable Art Tatum, shines through strongly here. My only complaint – and I would also register this with some of the other live Say performances I have heard – is the tendency to rush the ends of phrases. Whilst this gives the music a gripping sense of propulsion, one can’t help but think complete technical control is being supplanted with a cheap effect. However, though a number of variations are omitted in performance compared with the original score’s version, one still gets the impression of a solid structure, in which the music hangs together well. The enormous creativity involved in the compositional process is evident from the outset with a heavy reliance on syncopation to give a jazzy feel to a standard classical work. Overall, this is a near-perfect encore piece.

Every track on the ‘Black Earth’ CD, which I came across whilst hunting for something entirely different in a classical CD shop in Notting Hill, is written by Mr. Say, and he proves himself to be a very adept composer in a wide range of styles. The opening title track is a wonderfully evocative and atmospheric blend of jazz, modal and traditional Turkish folk music. Instantly striking, the first melodic phrases are played with the right hand on strings that are deadened by the left, imitating the saz, a Turkish instrument from the lute family. The central section reverts to a more conventional playing style, though here we are certainly more immersed in the world of jazz than classical music, with syncopated rhythms and bass ostinati. The piece is a real gem, and would make an immensely enjoyable addition to any pianist’s repertoire – be they jazz or classically trained.

What follows is a violin sonata in five movements, though the first, ‘Introduction’, and the fifth, ‘Epilogue’, are identical. The sonata is full of unforgettable melodies and pulsating rhythms. Skillfully written, the antiphonal writing and instrumental balance are handled with aplomb. Again, neither the Turkish nor the jazz influence is ever far away, and the music is always deeply colourful and full of interest. Off-beat accents and clever piano effects (such as those in ‘Black Earth’) permeate the work and the Perpetuum mobile third movement allows both the pianist and the violinist to demonstrate their technical prowess. Fazil Say is joined by the French violinist Laurent Korcia, whose redolent playing is a fine match for this work.

Say further displays his ability to write convincingly in a number of styles in his concerto for piano and chamber orchestra, ‘Silk Road‘. The jazz element is still there, though pushed to the back of the room in the second movement, ‘Indian Dances’, which follows the rich tapestry of sound unveiled in ‘White dove black clouds’, a first movement inspired by the land of Tibet. The transition between the movements is made clear by the striking of a Chinese gong, though each section’s style is so different one wonders if this is absolutely necessary. Further along the road, the conflicts and contrasts of Mesopotamia are adroitly displayed in a dramatic and deeply arresting third movement, which reminds me of a number of scenes from Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’. Only with the fourth movement, ‘The Song of Mother Earth’, inspired by Say’s motherland, Anatolia, does respite come. A simple yet effective melody emerges over the repeated bass notes of the piano as the work fades to a close.

The ‘Silk Road‘ concerto was written in 1994 and is the earliest work on the CD (‘Black Earth’ and the Violin Sonata both date from 1997, whilst the ‘Paganini Variations’ was completed in 1995). Seven years after the concerto was written, Fazil Say returned to the genre of writing for piano and orchestra. In ‘Pieces for Piano and Orchestra’, written in 2001, the ensemble is huge, with a notably large percussion section. Indeed, the rhythmic pulse throughout the whole work is mesmeric at times. The first movement, ‘Silence of Anatolia’, is in a very similar style to ‘Black Earth’, though on a much grander scale. The second movement, ‘Obstinacy’, is the closest to twentieth century classical music we are going to get from Say. The influence of Stravinsky and Bartok is clear, with complex rhythms recalling ‘The Rite of Spring’, though the harmonies remain in Say’s distinctive Turkish/Western fusion. Both the orchestral performances (Orquestra de Camara Gulbenkian under Muhai Tang in the ‘Silk Road’, and Orchestre National de France under Eliahu Inbal in the newer work) and the solo piano playing (Say himself) are astonishingly committed and rhythmically tight, putting both these works forward as strong contenders for a place in the standard repertoire of a number of more adventurous pianists.

The final piece on the CD, and an appropriate inclusion, showcases Fazil Say’s work with the Kudsi Erguner Quartet. Originating in a ‘jam session’ between a few friends, the ‘Dervish in Manhattan’ combines swing music and Sufi (a type of music with no direct religious affiliation known throughout Asia, which allegedly transports listeners into a state of spiritual ecstasy) in a fast-paced gallop utilising ever-changing time signatures, offbeat accents and rhythmic sequences. The playing of Kudsi Erguner on the ney-flute (a Persian reed flute) is delightfully elastic over the stricter chordal music of the piano part.

‘Black Earth’ is a CD which is exceptionally hard to classify. Is it jazz? Is it classical? I think the answer is neither. What makes for such an enjoyable listen is just how different it is from so much music being performed today. Even though each work – and, if truth be told, each movement – has its own unique style, every note on this disc has the imprint of Fazil Say’s distinctive compositional style. It is this that separates a great composer from a mere methodologist. Coupled with Say’s unfaltering piano technique and musical ingenuity, I believe with all honesty that Fazil Say could, as Le Figaro put it, become “one of the great artists of the twenty-first century”.