Dedicated to my beloved grandmother and her lament.

If We Had Not Get Divided...(...لا تصير غياب جمعتنا)

Movements (Connected)
I-Wordplay
II-Irony
----Interlude----
III-Self Mockery
IV- Spoiled Joke
----Interlude----
V-Inside Joke

The aspiration of this piece is to reflect humorous and theatrical parodies of Frédéric Chopin’s famous Ballade no. 1 in five individual sections. There is a circulating improvisational character in the piece. This character originates from elements of humour and the concept of joke. All humorous elements are accumulated with new ones, just like in a series of jokes that develop when two people are joking with each other and building up the pure idea of joke. This idea is represented within each unique sections of the piece separately.
The piece is neither a recomposition, nor a deconstruction. Just like in hip-hop culture, cutting some bits of a previously composed music, repositioning and filtering various passages, this piece quotates four different themes of Frédéric Chopin’s G minor Ballade and constructs a new piece with them, defamiliarizing the source and generating new meanings.

Parodies of a Ballade

This piece is composed for the “Re-imagining Brandenburg Concertos” Project by Klasik Keyifler ensemble (Turkey)
The main goal of the commission was to celebrate the  300th year of Brandenburg Concertos of J. S. Bach. My task was using the same instrumentation with the 2nd Brandenburg Concerto. So the piece contains the exuberant aura of the Brandenburg Concertos. Some stylistic references and some excerpts from the 2nd Brandenburg Concerto are also used. Therefore, humorous elements and filtrating techniques are combined with the inspirations of Brandenburg Concertos in a contemporary classical style.

Konçerto Pera

This piece was inspired by Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi's quotation; create like a god, command like a king, work like a slave." Brancusi's modern and minimalist sculptural style was also a source of inspiration for me. However, I did not intend to create a minimalist expression but aimed to convey Brancusi's style from my perspective.

In general, the piece consists of an extended crescendo and diminuendo respectively. As Iannis Xenakis notes, the terms crescendo and diminuendo do not simply refer to dynamics; they are applicable to increases and decreases in any parameter. In this piece, in addition to the prelude and postlude, we perceive a crescendo and diminuendo in the intensity of the instrumental build-up. The piece is constructed with transitional sections connected to each other through "injections" of gradual transitions of various parameters.

Brancusi (for string orchestra)

Akın Kilis was born on June 13, 1998 in Adana. In 2016, he became a composition student at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Here, he worked with Özkan Manav, Hasan Uçarsu, Mehmet Nemutlu, and Ahmet Altınel, and graduated in 2020. In 2020, as part of the Erasmus+ program, he worked with Gordon Kampe at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. At the same time, he also worked with names like Alexander Schubert, Sebastian Sprenger, Roberta Vidic, and Catarina Fourcassie. In the same year, he started his master's degree education at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Istanbul State Conservatory as a student of Özkan Manav. In the academic year 2022-2023, he worked with Klaus Lang at Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz as part of the Erasmus+ program, and had the opportunity to work with names such as Beat Furrer, Franck Bedrossian, and Clemens Gadenstätter multiple times. In the academic year 2023-2024, he will continue his second master's degree education at the same school with Clemens Gadenstätter.
----------
Some ensembles performed his works and some performed pieces: Ensemble Multilaterale (France) "C Major Trauma", Quatuor Diotima (France) "Bounded Mobility", Ensemble Oerknal (Netherlands) "Parodies of a Ballade", Appasionato Ensemble (Italy) "If We Had Not Get Divided...", Gilgamesh Ensemble (USA) "Epope", Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra (Lithuania) "Brancusi", Klasik Keyifler (Turkey) "Konçerto Pera", Diskant Ensemble (Turkey) "Stepwise to the Tenebrous Aura", Anadolu Wind Quintet (Turkey) "Insomnia".
----------

Some awards he received in competitions: 2nd Prize at the 9th Mersin International Music Festival Composition Competition (2017), 3rd Prize at the 11th Mersin International Music Festival Composition Competition (2019), Audience Special Award and Honorable Mention at the Süleymanpaşa Municipality Bisanthe Gülsin Onay Piano Composition Competition (2019), Honorable Mention at the IV. International Composition Competition 2020 "Appasionato Ensemble" (2022), 3rd Prize at the 2nd International Balsys Composition Competition 2021, 3rd Prize at the Gilgamesh Composition Competition (2022), 6th Prize at the 2nd International contest of choral composition UAH 2022, 1st Prize at the 4th International Composition Competition New Music Generation, Jury Special Award at the Aima 25th Anniversary Composition Award (2023).
----------
Names he has worked with so far: Onur Türkmen, Mahir Cetiz, Yiğit Aydın, Michael Ellison, Ülkemin Akbaş, Pieter Snapper, Shih-Hui Chen, Hideki Kozakura, Michael Edward Edgerton, Samir Todeh-Tamimi, Kamran İnce, Gordon Kampe, Klaus Lang, Beat Furrer, Franck Bedrossian, Yann Robin, Francesco Filidei, Clemens Gadenstätter, Klaus Lang, Jean-luc Herve, Pierluigi Billone, Marco Stroppa, Martin Matalon, Mark Andre.
----------
Festivals he has attended: 10th, 11th, and 13th Journey of Sound: Young Composers Festival (2017, 2018, 2021), The Second Everlasting Hope: Gustav Mahler & Terezin Composers Festival (2018), Bilkent Composition Academy (2017-2019), Istanbul Bilgi University Bilgi New Music Festival (2021), Barcelona Modern Academy, Impuls Composition Academy (2023).
 ----------
Seminars he attended: Onur Türkmen, Tolga Yayalar, Mahir Cetiz, Pieter Snapper, Hanna Eimermacher, Noel Zahler, Eivind Buene, Stefan Lienenkamper, Ken Ueno, Michael Edward Edgerton, Hideki Kozakura, Helena Tulve, Kamran İnce, Tolga Tüzün, Leopold Hurt, Moritz Eggert, Franck Bedrossian, Yann Robin, Francesco Filidei, Clemens Gadenstätter, Klaus Lang, Marton Illes, Annesley Black, Min Tzao, Jean-luc Herve, Pierluigi Billone, Clara Iannotta, Bernard Lang, Marco Stroppa, Martin Matalon, Mark Andre.
----------
A significant portion of his experience in composition has been gained through his relationship with the Istanbul Composers Collective. He considers them as his most valuable school and companions on this journey, especially Mithatcan Öcal, Emre Dündar, Mehmetali Uzunselvi, and Uğurcan Öztekin. The composer expresses gratitude to his dear friends Emircan Pehlivan and Mithatcan Öcal for their music discussions and collaborations.

Akin Kilis

Popular tracks