Biography

Esen Kıvrak 1st violin
Nilay Sancar 2nd violin
Efdal Altun viola
Poyraz Baltacıgil violoncello

The Borusan Quartet was founded in 2005 under the guidance of Maestro Gürer Aykal. They have since joined masterclasses of Alban Berg Quartet, Juilliard Quartet, Gürer Aykal, Joshua Epstein and Maxim Vengerov. As a result of Borusan Sanat’s collaboration with the Maggini Foundation in Switzerland, they had the opportunity to make music with invaluable instruments.

In addition to their regular performances at the Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy, Istanbul, the Quartet enjoys a busy schedule with concerts and tours in Turkey and abroad. They have participated in Schleswig-Holstein, Merano, Mozart, Napfilon, Bodensee, West Cork, Europalia, Mersin, Bodrum D-Marin, Istanbul and Ankara music festivals and in addition to many venues in Turkey, appeared at Zurich Tonhalle, Carnegie Hall (New York), Wiener Konzerthaus (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Philharmonie de Paris (Paris), Konzerthaus (Berlin), Le Corum (Montpellier), Schloss Elmau (Germany), L’arsenal (Metz), G. Verdi Hall (Milan) and Musikverein (Vienna).

In addition to their recitals, they also played as soloists with Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, Bilkent Symphony, Orchestra’Sion, Academic Orchestra of the Capital, and the state symphony orchestras of Samsun, Izmir, Istanbul, Bursa, Eskişehir and Antalya.

They received the “Chamber Ensemble of the Year” award at the Turkish Andante magazine’s first Classical Music Awards in May 2010 and the same year, won the gold medal at the 2010 ICMEC International Chamber Music Competition the finale of which was held at the Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, NY.

Until now, they have given the world premieres of works by contemporary Turkish composers Oğuzhan Balcı, Mahir Cetiz, Turgay Erdener, Özkan Manav, Alper Maral, Turgut Pöğün, Meliha Doğuduyal and Hasan Uçarsu written for them. They had the privilege of premiering violinist and composer Alexey Igudesman’s two works, From Edirne to Kars and String Quartet, dedicated to them, and Cem Oslu’s work, In the Blink of an Eye, commissioned by Borusan Sanat for the Centenary of the Republic of Türkiye. Their first CD Erkin, Aykal, Saygun featuring string quartets of the composers in the title was published in May 2013 followed by their CD with İdil Biret of Schumann’s Piano Quintet published by IBA label of Naxos in 2014, Mozart & Verdi published by Lila Music in July 2016, and last CD Company published by Onyx in September 2017 and was named the BBC Chamber Recording of the Month by BBC Music Magazine.