Kudsi Ergüner & Süleyman Ergüner

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Kudsi Ergüner & Süleyman Ergüner · Kudsi Ergüner is a Turkish musician, born in Diyarbakır in 1952. He is regarded as a master of the traditional Sufi music of the Mevlevi and as one of the best-known players of the ney, the Turkish flute. As a child he learned from his father Ulvi Ergüner and attended the sema, the Mevlevi ceremony, and other dervish rituals. In 1969 he began his career at the radio in Istanbul.

Music and breakthrough

In the 1970s Kudsi Ergüner moved to Paris. In the early 1980s he founded the Mevlana Institute there, for research into and teaching of classical Sufi music. With his own ensemble he played both improvised forms from the classical Ottoman tradition and pieces dating back to the thirteenth century. For decades he searched for the oldest roots of Ottoman music, which he also taught and recorded.

Influence

He also collaborated with Western musicians. He played on Peter Gabriel's soundtrack for The Last Temptation of Christ and worked with the director Peter Brook and the choreographer Maurice Béjart. In 2016 he became a UNESCO Artist for Peace. His work connects a spiritual tradition of centuries with the contemporary concert stage.

Listening

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  Zikr · Kudsi Ergüner & Süleyman Ergüner, 1990