A GENIUS IS DISCOVERED

He was born in Istanbul, on the night of November 15, 1965. When he was two years old, he would swing in joy with the sound of his mother playing the piano. He began to make pleasant sounds with the piano when he was four years old, it also drew his mother’s attention that he could repeat songs that he hear and so she took him to Cemal Reşit Rey, one of the most important classical music composers of Turkey. The master played melodies to the child and asked him to repeat. He called out in his charming style: “Come and listen, there is an international talent here”. Tuluyhan was only 4 years old and confused.

IT IS DIFFICULT TO BE A GENIUS KID! He entered the conservatory exams without wasting time and began to learn musical notes before he learned the alphabet, when he was four years old. Next year he would start primary school and the difficult times would start. For years, he would watch from the room where he played the piano, as his friends were playing in the fields. He started composing when he was very young. He did not even know that these were compositions. He would gather people around the piano and say, “I’m going to play something for you” and when asked what it was, he would reply, “I made it up right now”.

THE GOAL IS VIENNA He entered the Infant Prodigy Exam when he was seven years old and achieved first place with his superior musical talent as well as his culture. He turned to the famous Turkish composer Adnan Saygun, who was in the jury, and without knowing to whom he was talking, he said “I am going to be the greatest Turkish composer. I am going to make compositions better than Adnan Saygun”, which showed that his future identity was already drawn when he was only seven years old. He went to high school and the conservatory simultaneously. He traveled to Vienna for a long time, after entering the departments of piano and composition in the Vienna Music Academy. Having successfully graduating from both departments of the Vienna Music Academy, Tuluyhan took an important decision for his art life.  

TULUYHAN SHOULD PLAY HIMSELF

He had played the music of the greatest composers of the world, and learned not only their notes, but also their lives. Would there be anything left behind if they had not played only their own works? When seeking the answer to this question, despite all difficulties, he decided to fight in the world of music and only play his own music.

In 1987, he completed his first album that consisted of recordings from the live concert recordings he gave in Europe. The work entitled “Go With God”, brought him fame in Central Europe and he was listed among respected names of the ethnic, classical, new age style. Topics of universe, Bach and beliefs deeply affected him. In his second album, he performed holly books, with the influence of Bach: Verses From Holly Books

CONCERTS WITH NASA IMAGES

Tuluyhan Uğurlu said, “I would be an astronaut if I was not a musician” when he was still a student in Vienna, he wished to enrich music with visuals and draw the attention of people to the universe. The improvisations he conducted with space photographs he obtained from NASA and the European observatories, drew wide attention in his concerts.

ISTANBUL UNDER MY WINGS

In 1993 he returned to Turkey for his military service. He met with Mustafa Altıoklar when he was in military service in Ankara as a reserve officer. Mustafa told him about Hezarfen, who tried to fly over Istanbul with wings, in the 17^th century and said “You are flying already, think about it”. Tuluyhan had completed the soundtrack of the movie month before it was shot… Drawing wide attention in Turkey and overseas, Istanbul Under My Wings brought him great fame. You may find the MP3s of the work in our MP3 section.

SYMPHONIC WORKS

In 1997, he composed a serious work that he was dreaming about for years. He composed a symphonic work for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, whom he adored deeply. He dedicated this work to the celebrations for the 75^th anniversary of the foundation of the republic. In 2002 he composed his first symphony and achieved a first in the world of music. In Symphony Turk, he used the piano, a symphony orchestra, a Mehter Band (historical Turkish military band) and instruments of Turkish music. (In the history of music, Mozart had used Mehter rhythms in his Turkish March and Haydn in the Military Symphony) (You may find a part of this work in the MP3 section.)

NEMRUD MOUNTAIN AND HISTORICAL PLACES

Tuluyhan Uğurlu started a new project after 2003 and began to perform his concerts in historical places rather than concert halls, as much as possible. In the framework of this project, he performed a meaningful concert entitled “Living together Easter and Western Cultures”, on September 4, 2003, at the peak of the Nemrud Mountain, at an elevation of 2150 meters. Concerts in historical places continued with Van Tuşba Fort, Hattuşa, Çanakkale Troy, Çanakkale Çimenlik Fort, Topkapı, Yıldız, Çırağan and Beylerbeyi Palaces, Waiting Room of the Sirkeci Train Station, Istanbul Archeology Museum.

In 2006 Uğurlu carried out the first individual project under the framework of the preparations for Europe Cultural Capital City Istanbul 2010 and made an album entitled World Capital City Istanbul, to depict the 3000 years and future of Istanbul using instruments. The work is currently performed in concerts throughout the world.