Following military defeats in the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire modeled its institutions on Europe, making Western music a cultural extension of its modernization program. The musical transformation within the palace went beyond merely adopting new instruments, notation systems, or compositional forms. The Ottoman dynasty engaged in a multi-layered network of relationships involving European composers, virtuosos, opera institutions, music publishers, aristocratic patrons,

Folk literature and music represent one side of the Ottoman society’s cultural life. The daily life of the rural population, its poverty,...