ART IS NO PLACE FOR FAVORITISM…
Art is no place for favoritism…
She is only seventeen and still studying at the conservatory high school when she starts to sing at the fasil ensemble of Maksim Music Hall.
She earns her pocket money and supports her mother at home. The fasil ensemble at the Maksim Music Hole is a home for great names at the time. Müzeyyen Senar, Ercüment Batanay, Kasım İnaltekin, Emrullah Şengüller, İlker Turan, İsmail Şençalar, Özcan Korkut, Sami Özkan, Seyfi Kuyucaklı are only a few to name….
She keeps it secret from her teachers at the conservatory that she takes the stage at the music hall. They love her singing. Rauf Tamer mentions Nazire Yağız’s beautiful song at his article on Hürriyet Daily newspaper. Yağız’s teacher, Nida Tüfekçi reads the article and calls the young girl to her room next day. Reprimanded for signing at the music hall when still at high school, Yağız explains herself as “she needs to work and she has no other choice.”. She is relieved of disciplinary action.
Here you may find and enjoy the pleasant interview with Nazire Yağız Savran, a precious artist, who truly comes from the very background of the Turkish music, about the present day Turkish music.
Taking good care of children means and requires making sure that they listen to quality music.
How do you think a singer should approach music?
A singer plays a substantial part in breathing life to a piece, which, after all, is a co-creation of a composer and a poet. Conducting is nothing that can be acquired from books. Practice matters here, the learner and the master should work on it personally. One needs to have a command in literature, mode and breathing technique. First of all, you will sing for yourself. You need to check how you are feeling when singing.
How do you explain the decrease in the number of people that follow up with our classical Turkish music?
Think of it as the rings of a chain. Things would change for the better if each one of us shoulders responsibility; adopt the principle of acting together beyond family, school, environment and institutions, infrastructures, sound system and ego. Everybody should make peace with this approach for the sake of our music; otherwise the course of events appears not so good to me.
The sound systems at the concert halls, and particularly at TRT, should be good enough for the hard work. Instrument players and singers should be provided with the necessary means ensuring that they hear themselves properly, which is a precondition for quality performing. You will see the audience does not decrease but increase in number at the concerts as these rings come after one another successively.
As artists, we should work vigorously and determinedly, be open to innovations and come up with innovative works. Needless to say, presentation is important. If the concert halls are empty, one should think about the reason. The result remains unchanged unless quality music as an output of hard work is presented, and new and different pieces in addition to the favorite ones are performed. Also, one should feel the enthusiasm of going to a concert, not commuting to work.
Art is no place for favoritism, otherwise it no longer qualifies as art since it turns into something else,
What should be done to avoid recruiting artists by giving instructions?
Institutions admit only very few number of personnel, that’s why everybody takes great pains to be ready for the exams. I wonder if the best examinees are admitted. These exams are so harshly criticized by the art circles that it inevitably casts doubt on it. To avoid this, exams should be conducted not behind closed doors but overtly in the presence of competent persons, allowing broad participation. Similarly, making live broadcasts of these exams would help to remove doubt on them. Even if the examinees that successfully pass the exam are subject to blemish after all.
Art is not a place for favoritism, otherwise it no longer qualifies as art since it turns into something else, and culturally speaking, it costs a lot at the end of the day. I believe even those that are bumped up object to this if, needless to say, they have full self-confidence. To deserve a thing is so important. There is a great saying: “It is your conscience that makes the real verdict even though the judge sentences in your favor.” One’s conscience says it all. It is priceless to be able to feel as light as a feather in all conscience.
How do you evaluate Turkey in terms of music today?
We are listening whatever is popular, and clearly it is not classical western, classical Turkish music or jazz. We are far behind the average in Turkey as far as music is concerned. It’s time for society to change its perspective. Everything starts in the family. Taking good care of children means and requires making sure that they listen to quality music. We need to unveil their creativity. The state is greatly responsible for that, too. The state is obliged to promise a fair future, offer equal opportunities, recognize competence and avoid recruiting artists by giving instructions…
Does an artist feel genuine if she does not feel free?
Voice plus breath equals the soul. There is no place for art in a place where the soul is not free. System-driven wrongdoings result in pressure on the colleagues. As a result of this, efficiency of the artists diminishes. So, we repress our own work.
What projects are you preparing for the audience in the upcoming period?
Geleceğin Şarkıları, the album released a year ago, will be crowned with concerts and another album if things go as planned. In addition to that, I will be giving concerts. I will be keeping the audience updated by posting on social media when the dates are definite. Hopefully these prospective works will reflect a different style and different inspirations that I like from past to present.
Please let me express that I am truly honored to have your courtesy of sparing a spot on Makam Music Magazine, which assumes a dedicated role of serving our music. Thank you.
I am hoping everybody gets what he deserves …