Symphonic work depicting quake tragedies wins int’l award

MALATYA

Associate Professor Mehmet Güneş Açıkgöz, a faculty member at İnönü University’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Music, won the “Best Composer” and Best Composition awards at a competition in the U.K. for his symphonic work “Yaradılış Capriccio,” which portrays the pain caused by the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes.

Açıkgöz composed the piece while staying in a caravan, reflecting on the tragedies of the Feb. 6, 2023, earthquakes that also caused significant destruction in Malatya. He wrote the six-minute capriccio on his faculty piano and recorded it in a studio before submitting it last month to the International Leadership in Music Awards, which featured entries from 20 countries.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Açıkgöz said he wanted to convey the pain of the earthquakes to the world through music. He emphasized the deep roots of Turkish musical culture and its unique appeal when blended with Western musical forms.

“This piece carries that identity. The melodies we hear feel familiar and can evoke sorrow in our people, but because it is composed in a Western music form, people elsewhere can feel the same emotions. That is very important to me. I am happy to reflect our culture and proud that it has an identity on an international stage,” he said.

Describing the composition, Açıkgöz added, “The themes in the work take us emotionally to a certain place, and then also convey excitement and hope. That mirrors our experience during the earthquake, we grieved for what we lost, yet we found hope in survival. The piece tries to express both emotions simultaneously. Joy, excitement, awe at the miraculous nature of life, the chaos we lived through, and the subsequent pain, all are embedded in the themes. I believe the jury noticed these emotional and thematic layers, which contributed to its positive reception. The challenges we experienced and the hope we saw for the future likely played a role in the piece’s success.”

Açıkgöz hopes the work will soon be performed by a skilled orchestra in a major concert.

He is also working on a new piece, which he has submitted to the Beethoven International Music Competition. “I aim for it to share the same identity, combining our tradition with Western music. It also reflects our melodic heritage and culture, and I am hopeful about it,” he said.