The Ottoman Encounter with Western Music

Folk literature and music represent one side of the Ottoman society’s cultural life. The daily life of the rural population, its poverty, relationship with nature, and sense of solidarity found embodiment in the people’s expression through words and music. Folk songs, manis (folk quatrains), and epics preserved the people’s sorrows, joys, and struggles in the cultural memory.

On another side of the Ottoman cultural life stood classical Turkish music, shaped in the world of the palace and urban elites. Influenced by Divan literature, this music took form in genres such as gazel, şarkı, peşrev (instrumental prelude or overture), taksim (solo instrumental improvisation), beste (vocal composition), and fasıl (sequence of vocal and instrumental pieces). It represented an aesthetic understanding centered on the city, distant from the concrete realities and hardships of daily life.

A third cultural vein was military music. The mehter was not only a symbol of the battlefield, but also of state ceremonies. From the 18th century onward, the adoption of Western-style military bands served as a cultural bridge between the Ottoman Empire and Europe, reflecting the musical dimension of modernization.

Intersections Between Folk Literature and Classical Music

Were there points of contact between folk literature and music and classical Turkish music in the Ottoman Empire? In other words, did a cultural convergence similar to that of Des Knaben Wunderhorn, the German folk poetry collection I examined in my previous essay, also occur in the Ottoman context?

In the Ottoman Empire, folk poetry and music never entered a deliberate process of integration, as seen in Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1805–1808). The poems compiled by Brentano and von Arnim were transformed into a national cultural project of German Romanticism and elevated into art by composers such as Mahler. In contrast, no such ideological effort at cultural synthesis was observed in the Ottoman case. However, intersections between folk and classical Turkish music were not entirely absent. Yet, these connections were much weaker compared to the Wunderhorn example.

Reflections of folk literature and music in the format of Western classical music also occurred on occasion.

Some poems of folk poets were transformed into lyrics for musical compositions. For instance, Karacaoğlan’s poem “İncecikten Bir Kar Yağar” (“A Gentle Snow Falls”) was set to music by Sadettin Kaynak in the Hicaz mode.

Because the uzun hava (free-rhythmic folk song) and zeybek (heroic folk dance and musical tradition) tunes of Anatolia corresponded to classical makam (mode) structures, they were performed in musical gatherings. Kerimoğlu Zeybeği carries the characteristic features of the Hüseynî mode, while Çökertme Zeybeği reflects those of the Hicaz mode.

Sultan Murad V, through the Western musical education he received during his princely years, adapted a zeybek into a Western form in his work “Aydın Havası.” This composition stands as one of the early examples of transferring folk melodies into Western musical frameworks.

The 19th-century composer Dellâlzâde İsmail Efendi incorporated melodic patterns derived from folk tunes into the classical şarkı (strophic vocal form) form in some of his works.

The above examples demonstrate that, although there was no ideological “national culture project” in Ottoman folk literature and music as in Wunderhorn, certain intersections emerged naturally through the creative practices of composers and the oral meşk (traditional system of oral and practical musical transmission) tradition.

In the Ottoman Empire, interest in Western classical music was particularly high within the palace during the 19th century. Because of this interest, some sultans attempted to carry the cultural foundations rooted in the people into Western music.

The Sultans’ Interest in Western Music and Palace Spaces

Contacts with the West in 19th-century Ottoman musical life were striking. The influence of mehter music in Europe, the establishment of the Mızıka-i Hümayun (Imparial Band), the employment of Italian musicians in the palace, and the example of Donizetti Pasha brought Ottoman music into contact with Western forms. During this period, visits of leading Western composers to Istanbul were also noteworthy.

The Ottoman sultans’ interest in Western music was not limited to personal curiosity. It also manifested itself in the organization of palace spaces and the establishment of new institutions. Throughout the 19th century, Western music became increasingly visible in Ottoman cultural life through the instruments of the court and diplomacy.

Mahmud II (1785–1839) abolished the mehter and established the Mızıka-i Hümâyun (Imperial Band) in 1826. This step is regarded as the beginning of musical modernization in the Ottoman Empire. With the invitation of the Italian composer Giuseppe Donizetti Pasha to the court, Western-style marches and polyphonic music became integral parts of palace ceremonies.

Sultan Abdülmecid (1823–1861) designed spaces suitable for Western music in the construction of the Dolmabahçe Palace. The magnificent theater building he had built next to the palace became an important center for operas, theatrical plays, and concerts.

Dolmabahçe Mosque and Palace Theatre (Source: https://www.eskiistanbul.net/5431/dolmabahce-camii-ve-saray-tiyatrosu#lg=0&slide=0)

Sultan Abdülaziz (1830–1876) embraced Western music not only as a listener, but also as a performer and composer. In addition to playing the ney (reed flute) and lute, he composed pieces in Western style. During his travels in Europe, he visited concert halls, took inspiration from them, and provided financial support to Richard Wagner’s Bayreuth project. During Abdülaziz’s reign, the palace became a cultural center where Western concerts were held regularly.

Murad V (1840–1904), influenced by his Western musical and piano education received during his princely years, sought to adapt folk melodies into Western forms through polyphonic arrangements. His harmonization of the Aydın Havası zeybek represents one of the examples of blending folk tunes with Western musical aesthetics. The musical spaces established within the Yıldız Palace served as venues for such Western musical experiments during Murad V’s time.

Abdülmecid Efendi (1868–1944) stood out not only as a statesman but also as a painter and composer. By painting portraits of composers such as Beethoven and Wagner, he made his admiration for Western music tangible. He also made efforts to turn the house where Liszt had stayed into a museum. The Dolmabahçe Palace and its surrounding concert halls were vibrant musical spaces during his era as well.

These examples demonstrate that, beyond personal interest, the Ottoman palaces became institutional spaces that fostered Western music. The Dolmabahçe Palace Theatre, the halls of the Mabeyn-i Hümâyun, and the music rooms of the Yıldız Palace connected Istanbul culturally with the European capitals of the era.

In the 19th century, another dimension of Ottoman–European musical interaction emerged through Richard Wagner and the Festspielhaus. One of Wagner’s greatest dreams was to build a theater exclusively for performing his works. When construction of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus began in 1876, the Ottoman court, alongside European monarchs and aristocrats, also showed interest in the project. It was reported in the European press that Sultan Abdülaziz had provided financial support and donated to Wagner’s endeavor.

The Liszt–Wagner–Bayreuth Chain: Family Ties, Artistic Patronage, and the Ottoman Connection

Pausing the discussion on the Ottoman sultans’ bridges with Western music, it is also important to examine the connection between Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner to understand the depth of artistic networks of that era.

The relationship between Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner developed along two axes: artistic patronage and family ties.

During his Weimar years (1848–1861), Liszt was among Wagner’s strongest supporters. While Wagner was in exile, Liszt personally conducted the world premiere of Lohengrin in Weimar in 1850. He brought Tannhäuser to the stage and, through his writings, fueled the debate on “the music of the future” (Zukunftsmusik).

The family connection was established through Countess Marie d’Agoult. Liszt’s daughter by d’Agoult, Cosima (1837–1930), first married Liszt’s pupil, the virtuoso conductor Hans von Bülow (1857). Bülow, as Wagner’s principal interpreter, conducted the Munich premieres of Tristan und Isolde (1865) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868).

The relationship between Cosima and Wagner, which began in the mid-1860s, culminated in their marriage on August 25, 1870, reinforcing the Liszt–Wagner connection through kinship. After Wagner’s death in 1883, Cosima directed the Bayreuth Festival until 1906.

The Festspielhaus (1876), designed as Wagner’s “own stage,” was the product of networks formed among European courts and elites. Within this framework, references in period press and music historiography note Sultan Abdülaziz’s financial contribution to the Bayreuth project. Thus, the Ottoman–European musical diplomacy, which had become visible through Liszt’s concerts in Istanbul, extended its influence to Europe’s institutional musical stage via Bayreuth.

Franz Liszt’s Visit to Istanbul (1847)

Franz Liszt’s visit to Istanbul in 1847 stands as one of the most significant examples of Ottoman–European cultural interaction.

Liszt’s Istanbul journey is recounted in detail in Said Naum Duhani’s Old People, Old Houses. To quote from the work:

“The Polish Street (today’s Nur-u Ziya), which runs parallel to the hill leading to the French Embassy, begins at the corner of the British High School for Girls. The High School was founded on the former site of Franchini-Longeville’s house. The Ottoman Bank once opened a branch on the ground floor of this building, where today the Kalivrusi Store stands.

Slightly lower stood the central building and annexes of the Ragusa City Representation (*). After this diplomatic agency was closed, part of the building was converted into a dance school run by Professor Capello.

Capello’s work was later continued by M. Psalty, and afterward by M. Panosyan. The building in question no longer exists today. The marble plaque commemorating the presence of the Ragusa Representation there is carefully preserved somewhere.

The famous piano maker M. Alexandre Commendinger lived at 19 Nur-u Ziya Street. When Franz Liszt came to Istanbul, he stayed as a guest of the Commendinger family in this house. The great composer had the honor of performing before the Sultan in 1847 and gave a brilliant concert at the Franchini Mansion in Büyükdere on June 18, 1847.

Today, the current owner of the room Liszt stayed in is M. D. Démarchi, a descendant of the Commendingers through his mother. Under the Commendingers’ roof, La Dame aux Camélias almost found shelter too, for Alphonsine Plessis—better known as Marie Duplessis (1824–1847)—had so unsettled Liszt’s soul that the great musician wished to leave Paris for a while.”

Franz Liszt was born on October 22, 1811, in Hungary. When his talent was discovered at an early age, his father sent him to Vienna for piano training. There, he developed into a virtuoso. After his father’s early death, he supported himself by giving piano lessons. He met musicians such as Paganini and Berlioz and composed music inspired by Lamartine’s poetry.

Between 1840 and 1847, Liszt embarked on a tour stretching from Portugal to Russia. He arrived in Istanbul on June 8, 1847. In fact, his wish had been to come with Marie Duplessis. However, Duplessis died in Paris in February 1847, making this trip a journey of mourning for Liszt.

The Takvim-i Vekayi newspaper announced on December 2, 1846, “Liszt is coming.” However, the person who arrived was the German pianist Eduard Lisztmann, who performed concerts at the palace. Liszt’s later claim in a letter to his cousin, written 37 years afterward, that he had been arrested “because of the impostor,” has been proven historically false by Professor Ömer Egecioğlu.

Liszt stayed in Istanbul for 35 days and gave five concerts: two before the Sultan, one at the Russian Embassy, one at another embassy building, and one at the Franchini Mansion in Büyükdere, which later burned down completely.

Liszt’s custom-made Erard piano, which he brought with him from Paris, was among the instruments used in his concerts. The newspapers of the time reported that Sultan Abdülmecid listened to Liszt with great admiration and gifted him a jewel-encrusted box worth 12,500 kuruş (Ottoman coin).

Liszt’s beloved Marie Duplessis (Alphonsine Plessis), with whom he had planned to come to Istanbul, died in February 1847. Her story later inspired Alexandre Dumas Fils’s novel La Dame aux Camélias, Verdi’s opera La Traviata, and the film Camille (1936), starring Greta Garbo.

The house where Liszt stayed burned down along with the entire street two years later. However, a new building was later erected on the site, and a plaque was affixed in his memory. The plaque visible today, however, is on a building where Liszt never actually stayed.

Liszt’s legacy was later intended to be honored by painter and composer Sultan Abdülmecid Efendi, but the project was left unfinished with the abolition of the Caliphate. Abdülmecid Efendi’s portrait of Beethoven reflects this enduring admiration.

Conclusion: The Ottoman Musical Dialogue

The transitions between folk culture and palace music in the Ottoman Empire never turned into an ideological national project like Wunderhorn in the West. However, this does not mean that the various musical veins of Ottoman culture did not interact.

The verses of folk poets found their way into classical music, zeybek melodies into palace compositions, and European tours into Ottoman concert halls. Mahmud II’s reforms, Abdülmecid’s Dolmabahçe Theatre, Abdülaziz’s support for Wagner, and Murad V’s polyphonic experiments formed the building blocks of the bridge the Ottoman court built with Western music.

Ultimately, the Ottoman musical culture was the product of a dialogue extending from the people to the palace and from the palace to the West. This dialogue neither became a fully developed national cultural project nor remained a mere act of imitation. The Ottoman musical scene took its place in history as a uniquely layered cultural space where different aesthetics coexisted, intersected, and transformed one another.

(*) The Ragusa Representation was the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Dubrovnik, today within Croatia’s borders, to the Ottoman Empire.