Erdogan honors two masters of traditional Turkish music

Two master performers of traditional Turkish music – Niyazi Sayin, who plays the Neyzen (reed flute), and Necded Yasar, who plays the tambur (a mandolin-type instrument) – were honored with the 2009 Culture and Art Grand Award of the Culture and Tourism Ministry in a ceremony over the weekend in Istanbul. The prestigious award, given in a different branch of art each year to artists who have contributed to its development, is handed out by a committee headed by Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay. The committee honored Sayin and Yasar for their efforts to carry traditional Turkish music culture into the next century through their sterling performances as well as for improving the practice of solo virtuosity in Turkish music, Gunay said. The ceremony was attended by scores of high-profile guests, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, State Minister Hayati Yazici, and Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas. In a speech at the ceremony, Gunay said that Sayin and Yasar, who together have spent more than a century in music, deserve this honor more than any other living Turkish classical musicians. Sayin, 82, and Yasar, 79, received their awards from Erdogan during the ceremony, where "Bir Yasam Oykusu" (A Life Story), a film by Fahri Tanir about the two artists' lives and work, was also screened.