Saygun (1907-1991) – the father of modern Turkish classical music – was a friend, supporter, and spiritual compatriot of Ataturk, the visionary man who established a secular Turkish state to replace the old Ottoman Empire, and made Turkish the national language instead of the old Ottoman. Saygun came from a line of spiritual descendents from the great poet Rumi, a proponent of Sufism, still a controversial offshoot of Islam, and looked upon with suspicion in many parts of the Muslim world.
It is impossible to underestimate the influence of Saygun in his native land, and only recently have we been hearing more of him in the west. His life was long and complex, as was his reaction to the various forces he had to contend with over his musical life. One can hear traces of nationalist sentiments, Bartok, Hindemith, and Ravel in his music; always done with the utmost care for expression and economy of means.
His Viola Concerto is a rather adventurous work, completed in 1977 after his Forth Symphony, and abounds with metrical irregularities and folk influences. More sedate and lyrical is the 1987 Cello Concerto, more autumnal in tone, and yet still infused with a sense of extraordinary craftsmanship. Tim Hugh, certainly a well-known name among cello fanciers, plays the work with undeniable authority and skill, while violist Mirjam Tschopp gives no less in her reading of the Viola Concerto. Howard Griffiths, definitely not underrated among those familiar with his work, leads the world-class Bilkent Symphony in performances that I cannot imagine being better. Saygun will not be for everyone—and the diffuse and overblown notes to this release don’t help him that much—but he is a voice worth hearing, and no one purchasing this disc will feel cheated in the least. CPO provides sound of great vibrancy and presence.
— Steven Ritter