Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Kurtulmuş watched the special concert of CSO’s 200th anniversary with his Swedish counterpart Norlen

STOCKHOLM (AA) – Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Numan Kurtulmuş, together with President of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) Andreas Norlen, watched the concert held in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra (CSO). The concert, hosted by the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, at the historical Oscar Theater, was given by the Presidential Symphony Orchestra Strings under the direction of Conductor Emre Araci.

The special concert prepared within the scope of CSO’s 200th anniversary was followed by the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Kurtulmuş, who was in Stockholm for an official visit, together with the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament Norlen. At the concert, Turkey-Sweden Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Chairman and AK Party Konya Deputy Abdullah Ağralı, Turkey-Finland Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Chairman and AK Party Istanbul Deputy Tuğba Işık Ercan, GNAT Administrative Chief and DEM Party Bingöl Deputy Ömer Faruk Hülakü, GNAT Administrative Chief and MHP Gaziantep Deputy Sermet Atay, GNAT Clerk Member and CHP Tekirdağ Deputy Nurten Yontar, AK Party Mardin Deputy Faruk Kılıç and Turkey’s Stockholm Ambassador Oyun Can Tezel, as well as many distinguished guests, were also present.

Following the speech of Türkiye’s Ambassador to Stockholm Tezel, CSO Strings under the direction of Conductor Emre Araci took the audience on a musical journey from Istanbul to Stockholm with the European Music at the Ottoman Court concert. At the event, Sultan II. Giuseppe Donizetti Pasha, who came to Istanbul upon Mahmud’s invitation and played a leading role in establishing Western classical music in the Ottoman Empire, was commemorated.

In addition to Donizetti Pasha’s marches and orchestral works, the concert also featured compositions of Ottoman sultans such as Sultan Abdülaziz and Sultan Murad V. The program revealed how European dances, marches and waltzes were adopted and reinterpreted in Ottoman court music. At the reception held after the concert, guests were served special tastes from Turkish cuisine.