Description
Note: Zulfu Livaneli will not perform at this concert
NEW YORK GYPSY ALL-STARS:
Comprised of classically-trained virtuosi coming from the world’s most prestigious music conservatories, the New York Gypsy All-Stars feel equally at home in traditional concert halls, jazz clubs, on festival stages, and hosting dance parties like Dromomania. The quintet of musicians is celebrated for their sophisticated and high-octane mix of music ranging from swinging salsa to pulsing bhangra which never loses its sharp musical focus and astounding technical abilities embodying the true spirit of their Gypsy namesakes.
With their unique blend of virtuosity and showmanship, the New York Gypsy All-stars perform everything from traditional world music to their own compositions and arrangements which highlight their diverse cultural backgrounds. Performing together in what can only be described as chamber music making of the highest order, the group has performed hundreds of concerts in presentations as varied as their genre-bending artistry.
The New York Gypsy All-Stars appear regularly in North and South America, Asia, Australia and throughout Europe at the invitation of prestigious concert halls and festivals such as Daniel Barenboim’s new Boulez Saal in Berlin, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Odeon Ankara, Balkan Trafik Festival Brussels, Music Meeting Nijmegen, Masala Weltbeat Festival Hannover, Sommer in Lesmona, and many more.
The All-Stars also appear with symphony orchestras and made their symphonic debut with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, one of Europe’s leading orchestras. Since then, a significant part of their touring calendar is on the concert stage with symphony orchestras all around the world.
Learn more about the NY Gypsy All Stars here
O. Z. Livaneli, born in 1946, is a best-selling Turkish author who is considered one of the most significant and influential authors and intellectuals of his time. His recent Turkish publisher, Dogan-Egmont only, sold more than 7 million copies of his books combined in the last four years and he won numerous literary awards, both in his home country and abroad. Although his books are viewed as highly literary, Livaneli is considered the most-selling contemporary author of Turkey today.
Livaneli is known for his novels that interweave diverse social and historical backgrounds, figures, and incidents, such as in ‘Bliss’ which won Barnes & Noble’s ‘Discovery of Great New Writers Award’ in 2006, and in his critically acclaimed ‘Serenade for Nadia’, ‘Leyla’s House’, and ‘My Brother’s Story’, which were all translated into 37 languages and won numerous Turkish and International literary awards, and were highly praised by prominent literary critics around the world. His fiction ‘Serenade for Nadia’ and ‘Disquiet’, sold more than 1.000.000 copies and keeps selling still. His novels have been turned into theatrical movies, stage plays, and operas.
Livaneli was detained in the military during the coup of 1971 and had to leave Turkey in 1972. He lived in Stockholm, Paris, Athens, and New York where he met and collaborated with artists and intellectuals such as Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller,James Baldwin, and Peter Ustinov among others. Livaneli returned to Turkey in 1984.
Livaneli’s works and cultural and political activities and contributions to world peace were recognized by UNESCO in 1995 when he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador to UNESCO — a post he resigned from in 2016 to protest the organization’s failure to condemn the Turkish government’s destruction of the Kurdish historical sites in Turkey. He also served a term in the Turkish Parliament as well as in the Council of Europe.
Livaneli received the Legion D’Honneur, the highest French order of military and civil merits, in 2014.
Livaneli is as accomplished as a writer as he is as a composer, cultural and political activist. Although he first became known for his contemporary music, Livaneli turned his focus to writing, in the last decade, when he realized that literature was closer to his heart. Now, several cultural centres and parks are built in his name and his statues erected in various parts of Turkey.
He now lives in Istanbul, Turkey with his wife Ulker Livaneli.