Performer Biography

With his exceptional pianistic artistry, Fazıl Say has been captivating audiences and critics around the world for over 25 years—in a way that is uniquely his own, especially in today’s increasingly structured and commercialised classical music world. A concert with Fazıl Say is never just a performance. It is more immediate, more open, more electrifying. In short: it speaks directly to the heart.

Since the beginning of his career, he has performed with many renowned American and European orchestras and numerous leading conductors, building up a diverse repertoire ranging from Bach to Viennese Classical Romantic and contemporary music, including his own compositions for piano. Guest performances have taken Fazıl Say to countless countries on all five continents, alongside numerous appearances as a chamber musician. With violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, he performs in a long-standing duo, and other notable collaborators include Maxim Vengerov, the Minetti Quartett, Nicolas Altstaedt, and Marianne Crebassa.

As a composer, Fazıl Say has received commissions from leading institutions including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the BBC, Salzburg Festival, WDR, Munich Philharmonic, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Wiener Konzerthaus, Dresden Philharmonic, and the Fondation Louis Vuitton, among others. His oeuvre encompasses six symphonies, two oratorios, several solo concertos, as well as numerous works for piano and chamber ensembles.