From One Generation to the Next: Zülfü Livaneli

He devoted his life to music, literature and cinema… We listened to Sezen Aksu, Fazıl Say, Feridun Düzağaç, Selda Bağcan and Teoman speak about Zülfü Livaneli — creator of the compositions engraved in our memories, of the novels we cannot put down, and of the films that have left their mark on all our lives…

Sezen Aksu

I believe that, in order to understand someone correctly, one must take their body of work, and its continuity and consistency, as the basis. Throughout his whole life, Zülfü has made the good of his country — indeed of the peoples of the world — his own cause; and while waging that struggle, he is a spirit who has never lost the skill of steadily preserving his grace without falling into the weaknesses into which all of us can sometimes fall…

It is no coincidence, then, that everything born of the hand and tongue of this spirit is cherished in this country. He is one of the masters of dialogue — that indispensable dialogue we need always, but most of all right now. He is among those who choose a solution-oriented, useful language instead of spirals of argument that serve nothing but to salve egocentric, existential troubles of identity. Because he can grant the right to state an opinion by accepting the other person without prejudice, and can voice his own opinion by embracing and enfolding it rather than excluding it, the true worth of his word is great.

I do not think there is anyone in the life of my friend — who, with his vast empathy, never breaks a heart and never bears a grudge either — with whom he has taken offence, sulked, or parted ways forever… While we search for the methods of uniting our paths in peace and of reaching understanding, Zülfü is a lesson to be learned… And should you ask, “Does this man have no faults at all?” I would say, “Concern yourself with the meaning and the added value he produces as a whole.” When crediting someone their due, every sentence built with “buts” and “howevers” passes on to me the feeling of someone who secretly deems himself flawless and quietly favours himself…

Livaneli has added, and continues to add, value to life. May he be well, may he live long.

Fazıl Say

Zülfü Livaneli holds a very important place for all of us in Turkey's cultural and intellectual life, both through his music, his songs, his literature and his cinema, and through the contemporary worldview of his articles. I have known him for many years as an elegant, modest, guiding and deeply patriotic person; this friendship is an honour for me…

Feridun Düzağaç

That the fiftieth-anniversary celebration of such an exceptional artist — one who, having witnessed more than half the history of our Republic, has created, thought, and grown by leaving behind immortal works — should coincide with a climate so starved of the very universal values he most exalts in his works: freedom, justice, thought and the sense of togetherness — is an exceedingly painful and sorrowful thing. His minstrelsy and his works are proof that the greatest cipher for setting some works apart from the ordinary and making them special and great lies in defying the spirit of the age. The corpus of Livaneli is a fairy-tale land where the sun warms more warmly and the rain cleanses more purely. It is an exceptional state, far from being expressible in words.

Selda Bağcan

Zülfü is a unique artist who has left his mark on our country's music history, who has been an idol for the young, and who, from the 1970s to today, has always held an important place in our lives… People have modelled their voices on his and tried to make their bağlama playing resemble his… He is an extremely creative artist, because he can both write lyrics and compose the music… We did an overseas tour together that began in 1979 and lasted six months. It was just before the coup. I learned the bağlama thanks to him. Until I met him I only knew how to play “Yuh Yuh,” which I had learned in the studio from Arif Sağ. It was Zülfü who taught me the tones on the bağlama, the “kara düzen” tuning. And even the “misket” mode… The weekend after he taught me the kara düzen, I composed a piece in kara düzen and went straight to Zülfü. He was stunned. After he taught me the misket mode, I again went to him with the pieces I had composed in that mode. He could not hide his astonishment; he must not have expected such a thing in so short a time… In fact, I had also composed “Tahliye Olanların Ardından,” the first song of the album “Drawing Freedom and Democracy,” in the same period. Again during that tour I had learned “Çırak Aranıyor” from Zülfü and had played and sung it on the bağlama at my own concerts. Under the influence of these lived experiences, I sang “Çırak Aranıyor” on my 50th-year album as well.

Teoman

The album Ada came out in 1983, meaning I was in high school when I was listening to it. I'm actually a “heavy metal” guy, but I adore this album. And 33 years later, when I was told, “Come on, sing a piece by Livaneli,” immediately “İstanbul'u Dinliyorum” (I Am Listening to Istanbul)! Two birds with one stone — both Livaneli and Orhan Veli…