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About the show
Chatty Pianist: Piano Rumours
Gossip, myths and scandals in classical music
by Emir Gamsız
Music history is full of stories: some documented, some distorted, and some entirely invented. Works reach us carrying more than what is written in the score—controversial attributions, dubious nicknames, romantic rumours, rivalries between musicians, nationalist claims, and unreliable biographies. In this programme, Chatty Pianist Emir Gamsız explores well-known virtuoso works by nine composers, from Bach to Prokofiev, alongside the rumours that surround them. From scandals and composer rivalries to myths, salon gossip and Parisian cafés; from stories of imprisonment and duels to portraits of defiant artistic independence, this programme moves between documented history and inherited narratives. And in reflecting on today’s music world, the Chatty Pianist does not shy away from becoming a subject of gossip himself.
This is neither a lecture nor a comedy.
This is stories unfolding through a classical piano recital.
This is a Chatty Pianist concert.
Programme: Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Prokofiev
Featuring
Emir Gamsız
Emir Gamsız is a Turkish pianist, composer, writer, and interdisciplinary artist with one of the most unconventional paths in classical music. A former professional basketball player in the Turkish Basketball League, he began playing the piano at 20. Within a year, he was admitted—at an unprecedented age—to the piano department of Istanbul University State Conservatory, later receiving the Lions Club’s Young Musician of the Year award.
Since then, he has appeared across Europe, the United States, and Turkiye. In 2008, he became the first Turkish pianist to perform J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations in Türkiye. He has also collaborated with leading musicians including Chen Halevi, Natalie Clein, Marina Chiche, Ittai Shapira, and Belcea Quartet.
He has produced radio programmes, wrote for Andante and Milliyet, and created long-running children’s productions, including The Tempest and Bach’s Riddle. His compositional work, encouraged by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer David Del Tredici at City College of New York, led to his debut album Alla Turca Around the World (2013).
During 11 years in New York, he curated concert series at Caffe Vivaldi and launched film projects Gamsız is the creator of the “Chatty Pianist” concept which has been presented at venues including Lincoln Center, Süreyya Opera House and across international festivals. Chatty Pianist is an original form of stage performance that combines sociological approach to stories unfolded through a piano recital.
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