Celebrating Ayla Erduran (1934-2025)
I dedicated the last of my Ysaÿe recordings to the great Turkish violin virtuoso Ayla Erduran, who passed away a week ago in Istanbul. I think it would be insufficient to remember dear Ms. Erduran with the emotional intensity that sent shivers down your spine in each of her recordings, only with the fulfilling artistic career she had, and with her musicianship that is in the same class as those legendary artists we all admired.
First of all, I will remember Ms. Erduran with her strong character and the values she stood behind without compromise, which for me make her far more from only being a legendary violinist. She was always the embodiment of honesty, fairness, and hard work, and she always honored these values in others. Ayla Erduran had become the “grandmother” figure of the classical music world in Turkey for the last few years; but whenever I saw her, I felt that childlike spirit in the body of an old woman, the spirit that is essential for great artistry.
I must admit that I was a little emotional when I finished this recording, but not because it was sad. I think Ysaÿe Sonata 5 expresses many things very well: Although the first movement, “L’Aurore”, means dawn, it now means waking up to a day without her; but you feel that you are slowly enveloped by her emotional intensity, which always stood out in her own playing, and finally embraced by her warmth that reaches the level of a burst of sunbeams.
The second movement, “Danse rustique”, can only be seen in one way: celebration. Because Erduran has always shown us all the purest side of true artistry. She has always recognized the talent, hard work and goodness in someone and has extended a hand to many of us. Personally, she touched my life very early in my violin journey, when I was only 12 years old, and I could not realize its impact until later in life.
Ayla Erduran was the embodiment of the values that I wanted to live and be remembered for one day.
Our photo is after the Brahms concerto I played with IDSO in 2023. She did not have to listen to this concerto also from me, that she had played herself perhaps hundreds of times in her time, and listened to live from the best in the world such as Oistrakh and Szeryng, but even in these last years when she had health problems, she continued to honor young musicians like myself with her selflessness.
Rest in peace, great violinist and human, Ayla Erduran.
