Composer and Pianist Fazıl Say’s New Album, "Violin Works: Volume 2"

Released on Naxos, the album features Say’s Violin Concerto No. 2, a string sextet, sonata for solo violin, and a string quartet

The Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say has released the second volume of his complete violin works on Naxos. 

Featured artists include violinist Friedemann Eichhorn, the Gropius Quartett, and the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin with conductor Christoph Eschenbach, plus Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Sao Soulez Lariviere, and Maceij Kulakowski. 

Works on the album include Say’s four-movement Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 87, “Karantina günlerinde bahar sabahları” (Spring Mornings in the Days of Quarantine); "Leopards for string sextet," Op. 103; Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 92c, “Ruşen Güneş Anısına” (In memoriam Ruşen Güneş); and String Quartet, Op. 29, “Divorce.”

To purchase and listen to the album, click here. 

Say’s Violin Concerto No. 2 was composed during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when he was inspired by the colours and textures of sunrises during a walk on the beach. 

“Leopards” expressed unique melodies and rhythms, while his Sonata for Solo Violin is a tribute to the Turkish violist, Ruşen Günes. Finally, the String Quartet “Divorce” uses music to relate the experience of separation and the failure of a relationship.

This album follows Say’s Naxos release of Violin Works: Volume 1 in 2020.