Turkish Daily News 27th June 2007
Classic brilliance resonates in ancient walls
Music gently whines through the corridors of the ancient Byzantine structure Hagia Eirini, at the concert, Festival Meetings II, performed by an acclaimed cellist, cello quartet and pianist. As four cellists raise their bows in the air and strike the cello strings with utmost grace, Bach’s Air in D Major gently resonates in a former Eastern Orthodox Church. As the music gently whines through the corridors of the ancient Byzantine structure and rises to the atrium, a surreal musical journey begins. Festival Meetings II, featuring an acclaimed cellist, Julian Lloyd Webber, cello quartet Cellistanbul and pianist Pam Chowhan is part of the 35th International Istanbul Music Festival. The night was not over yet, as Cellistanbul joined Webber on stage to perform the last three compositions. The silence was extensive and finally broken with loud applause. The applause brought Webber and the Cellistanbul quartet back on stage to perform an encore. A standing ovation ended a magical myriad of classical ethereal sound that was performed brilliantly.
