3–6 December 2026 · Every evening at 20:00
Concerts
December · Thursday
65 min · no interval
Municipality of Çankaya Yaşar Kemal Cultural Center
Türkiye · Voice & guitar
Ayşegül Aykaç & Efgan Rende
After releasing their single “Kimseye Etmem Şikâyet” in 2022, vocalist Ayşegül Aykaç and guitarist Efgan Rende have continued to create and perform together, reinterpreting traditional melodies with an acoustic, unadorned approach. Their repertoire spans Turkish folk music, Turkish art music and popular songs from different eras, in guitar arrangements by Efgan Rende that keep the modal and rhythmic character of each piece while the guitar enters into a dialogue with the voice.
Programme
- Bayati Şiraz Mugam — lyrics: Cahit Mürtezaoğlu · music: traditional
- Kimseye Etmem Şikâyet — lyrics: İhsan Raif · music: Serkis Efendi
- Nemrudun Kızı — words & music: Arif Çelik
- Aman Bre Deryalar — traditional (Thrace)
- Senede Bir Gün — lyrics: Sadık Şendil · music: Şekip Ayhan Özışık
- Yalgızam — lyrics: Resul Rıza · music: Tofiq Quliev
- Güller ve Dudaklar — words & music: Bora Ayanoğlu
- Nazende Sevdiğim — lyrics: İslam Seferli · music: Reşit Bekirof
- Tez Gel — lyrics: Zeynal Cabbarzade · music: Tofiq Quliev
- Ben Kendimi Gülün Dibinde Buldum — traditional (Kütahya), source: Hisarlı Ahmet
- Pencerenin Perdesini — words & music: Muhlis Sabahattin Ezgi
About the artists
Ayşegül Aykaç (b. 1987, Istanbul) studied at the Turkish Music State Conservatory of Istanbul Technical University, graduated in musicology from the same university and studied musicology at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Italy. Combining traditional and contemporary vocal technique, she works in theatre music, vocal performance and teaching; the play Nihayet Makamı, in which she took part, won the 2019 Afife Jale Award for Best Stage Music.
Efgan Rende (b. 1976, Berlin) studied music education and classical guitar at Uludağ University and completed a doctorate in music at Yıldız Technical University. He wrote the guitar curriculum and textbooks for Türkiye’s Fine Arts High Schools, has performed and taught at national and international festivals, and is an assistant professor at Ankara Music and Fine Arts University.
December · Friday
80 min · no interval
Municipality of Çankaya Yaşar Kemal Cultural Center
Norway · Austria · Solo guitar
Kristina Vårlid · Florian Palier
On the second day of the festival, two guitarists known on international stages — Norway’s Kristina Vårlid and Austrian guitarist and composer Florian Palier — meet the audience. Their recital explores the bridges the classical guitar builds between periods and musical worlds: from Schubert, Ravel, Rodrigo and Barrios Mangoré to contemporary works and much-loved melodies arranged for the guitar.
Programme · Kristina Vårlid
- F. Schubert – Piano Sonata No. 16, I. Moderato (arr. K. Vårlid)
- M. Ravel – Pavane pour une infante défunte (arr. K. Vårlid)
- A. Dumond – Hommage à Ravel
- G. Tailleferre – Guitare
- J. Rodrigo – Toccata
Programme · Florian Palier
- F. Sor – Introduction et Variations sur l’air „Que ne suis-je la fougère!“, Op. 26
- A. Barrios Mangoré – Mazurka Appassionata
- H. Arlen – Somewhere over the Rainbow (arr. T. Takemitsu)
- J. Lennon / P. McCartney – Yesterday
- J. Gruchmann – Hommage à Tōru Takemitsu
- E. Pujol – Tonadilla · Romanza · Tango · Impromptu · Guajira
December · Saturday
65 min · no interval
Municipality of Çankaya Yaşar Kemal Cultural Center
North Macedonia · Clarinet & guitar
Taneski–Bageski Duo
Clarinettist Petar Taneski and guitarist Darko Bageski have performed together since 2025. Their programmes for clarinet and guitar range from the Classical and Romantic eras to 20th-century and contemporary music, dance forms and works inspired by different musical traditions — a dynamic dialogue between two distinctive instrumental colours.
Programme
- G. F. Handel – Lascia ch’io pianga
- G. Bizet – Habanera (Carmen)
- A. Piazzolla – Oblivion · Libertango
- G. Feidman – Let’s Be Happy (arr. G. Fröst)
- Ž. Jovanović – Djelem, Djelem (solo guitar, arr. D. Bageski)
- N. Badev – Parahodot (solo guitar, arr. D. Bageski)
- Macedonian traditional music – Jovano Jovanke · Eleno Kerko Eleno · Piperkovo Oro · Kalajdžisko Oro
About the artists
Darko Bageski studied in Skopje, Zagreb and at the Franz Liszt School of Music in Weimar, followed by postgraduate studies at the National Conservatory in Thessaloniki and a master’s degree with Costas Cotsiolis. He has performed across Europe, China and the USA, appears as a soloist with chamber orchestras and the Macedonian Philharmonic, and is guitar professor at the Faculty of Music in Skopje, artistic director of the Tremolo Guitar Festival and president of the Macedonian Classical Guitar Community.
Petar Taneski is a Macedonian clarinettist, professor and founder of the Clarus International Clarinet Academy in Ohrid. He studied at the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music in Sofia as its first international clarinet student on a full scholarship, and performs as a soloist and chamber musician across the Balkans and Europe.
December · Sunday
80 min · no interval
Municipality of Çankaya Yaşar Kemal Cultural Center
Mexico · Brazil · Solo guitar
Alejandro Córdova · Luis Leite
The festival’s final evening brings two international guitar virtuosos to the same stage. Mexican guitarist Alejandro Córdova, winner of more than thirty international competitions, pairs the poetic colours of Mexican and Spanish music with highlights of the twentieth-century repertoire. Brazilian guitarist, composer and educator Luis Leite, who brings classical music, Brazilian music and jazz together in his own voice, plays his own compositions alongside favourites of the Brazilian guitar tradition.
From Manuel Ponce, Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Heitor Villa-Lobos to contemporary music and the rhythmic world of Brazil, the concert brings the festival to a powerful close.
Programme · Alejandro Córdova
I. A Musical Home in Croatia
- S. Fumić – Nocturno
II. The Spanish Guitar Tradition
- J. Malats – Serenata española
- A. José – Sonata: Allegro moderato · Final
III. A Prayer in Music
- A. Barrios Mangoré – Una limosnita por amor de Dios
IV. Echoes of a Homeland
- G. Tamez – Aires de Son: Aire istmeño · Quedo · Son trunco
- M. M. Ponce – Estrellita · Scherzino mexicano
- E. Hernández Lunagómez – Rocksoul
Programme · Luis Leite
Brazilian Guitar Recital
- H. Villa-Lobos – Prelúdio (Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4)
- L. Leite – Flor da Noite
- L. Leite – A Lenda da Coruja Branca
- S. Assad – Valseana
- G. Gil – Drão
- L. Leite – Beniño
- B. Powell – Deixa
- D. Reis – Tempo de Criança
- Garoto – Jorge do Fusa · Inspiração · Lamentos do Morro
- Guinga – Di Menor
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