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Ayla Erduran
Ayla Erduran in Aliye Berger's workshop
Born	(1934-08-22)22 August 1934 Istanbul, Turkey
Died	7 January 2025(2025-01-07) (aged 90) Istanbul, Turkey
Occupation	Classical violinist

Ayla Erduran (22 August 1934 – 7 January 2025) was a Turkish classical violinist. She studied with David Oistrakh. Her performances were broadcast on radio.

Life and career

Early life and education

Erduran was born on 22 August 1934 in Istanbul to Kadriye Erduran and urologist Behcet Sabit Erduran. Her mother was of mixed heritage, with Armenian, Greek, Italian, and Polish ancestry. Ayla was introduced to violin by her mother, who played the instrument. She began studying under Karl Berger at age four, and performed her first recital, a benefit for the Child Protection Agency at the Saray Cinema, when she was 10 years old. She often played for guests who came to her home, including Fuad Köprülü, Yunus Nadi, and Yahya Kemal. In 2015, Erduran recalled that her intense musical studies, encouraged by her mother, resulted in childhood isolation.

She went on to study violin at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1946 to 1951, and graduated with top honors. After her graduation she went on to the United States, where she stayed until 1955, and studied with Ivan Galamian and Zino Francescatti. From 1957 to 1958, Erduran studied under David Oistrakh at the Moscow Conservatory. She won the fifth place prize in the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in 1957,

Career

Erduran's performances with major orchestras included the London Symphony, the Suisse Romande, the Berlin RIAS, the Presidential Symphony Orchestra, and the Czech Philharmonia.

In 1958, she premiered Ulvi Cemal Erkin's violin concerto in Belgium. It was conducted by Erkin. Her first major tours were in Canada in 1961 and 1962; she then joined the Presidential Symphony Orchestra on their 1963 Middle East tour. In 1964, she performed in London for the first time. Her 1965 concert at London's Royal Albert Hall the following year was broadcast live by the BBC. That same year, Erduran also performed the Violin Concerto by Sibelius with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, conducted by Ernest Ansermet, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Sibelius in Geneva.

Her African tour, with Turkish pianist Verda Erman, began in 1968. Beginning in the 1970s, Erduran began playing only Bach in concerts, which she attributed to the fact that he was the only composer who could heal her soul following the murder of her cousin and aunt. In 1973, she played with Yehudi Menuhin at the first International Istanbul Festival. In 1977, she joined the Presidential Symphony Orchestra again, this time for a three week European tour.

For much of her early career, Erduran disliked being a soloist, finding it lonely; it was not until she turned 50 that she enjoyed her solo performances.

Her performances were broadcast on radio in Canada, Switzerland, England, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Iraq, the Netherlands, and the US. Erduran performed with notable musicians such as Yehudi Menuhin, Henryk Szeryng, the Navarra String Quartet, Igor Oistrakh, Valery Oistrakh, Victor Pikayzen, Guy Fallot, Collins, and Mieczysław Weinberg.

In 1985, she recorded the Violin Concerto by Johannes Brahms with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Her career as a violin teacher spanned between 1973 and 1990 in Switzerland, including her master's classes at the Lausanne Conservatory.

Personal life

Erduran never married or had children, which she attributed to the time that her career required. She continued to play violin in her later years, playing for three to four hours a day.

She died on 7 January 2025, at the age of 90.

Awards and recognition

• 1957 Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition, fifth place
• 1964 Harriet Cohen-Olga Veryney Award
• 1970 Beethoven Award of the Netherlands
• State Artist by the Republic of Turkey, 1971
• 2006 gold medal, Sevda-Cenap And Music Foundation (SCAMV) in Ankara
• 2012 Medaille d’Honneur – Medaille de Vermeil, Société d’Encouragement au Progrés and the French Senate
• 2015 Honorary Award, D-Marin Festival

References

1. ^ Erdogan, Koray (8 January 2025). "World-renowned Turkish violinist Ayla Erduran dies at 90". Türkiye Today. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
2. ^ Lloyd, Christian (8 January 2025). "Obituary: Violinist Ayla Erduran (1934–2025)". The Strad. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
3. ^ "Dünyaca ünlü keman virtüözü Ayla Erduran: Flört etmek için çok geç kalınmış bir hayattı benimki..." T24 (in Turkish). 16 August 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
4. ^ Gurkan, Yasemin (14 December 2006). "A lifetime devoted to the violin:Ayla Erduran". Hurriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
5. ^ "Sounds of Istanbul Ayla Erduran". Pera Museum. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
6. "3rd International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition". www.wieniawski.com. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
7. "Symphony Hailed on European Tour". Turkey Today (11). Embassy of Turkey, Washington, D.C.: 2. 1977.
8. ^ "İlk harika çocuklardan Ayla Erduran: Ben alkışı değil müziği sevdim | Zeynep BİLGEHAN Köşe Yazısı - Hürriyet Haberler". Hurriyet Daily News. 11 August 2024. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
9. "Ayla Erduran". Turkish Cultural Foundation. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
10. "Devlet Sanatçısı Ayla Erduran, İstanbul'da hayatını kaybetti". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
11. Lebrecht, Norman (7 January 2025). "The Turk who played duets with David Oistrakh". Slippedisc. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
12. "3rd International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition". Henryk Wieniawski Music Society in Poznań. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
13. Karaesmen, Erhan (2007). Ayla Erduran'a armağan : evrenimizi iç ışıklarıyla aydınlatanlar Ayla Erduran, müzik ve keman (in Turkish). Ankara: Sevda-Cenap And Müzik Vakfı Yayınları. OCLC 925374795.

External links

• Ayla Erduran discography at Discogs

• 1934 births
• 2025 deaths
• 20th-century Turkish musicians
• 20th-century Turkish women musicians
• 20th-century violinists
• 21st-century Turkish musicians
• 21st-century Turkish women musicians
• 21st-century violinists
• Academic staff of Lausanne Conservatory
• Moscow Conservatory alumni
• Musicians from Istanbul
• State Artists of Turkey
• Turkish classical violinists
• Turkish people of Armenian descent
• Turkish people of Greek descent
• Turkish people of Italian descent
• Turkish people of Polish descent
• Turkish women violinists
• Women classical violinists