news
2020
film projects for the Akademie der wissenschaften und der literatur Mainz 1 & 2
"Stefan Pohlit's transkulturelles Komponieren" by Dr. Gisela Nauck in Deutschlandfunk Radio
"Towards a Theory of Ika: The Rhythmic Identity of Melody in Late-18th Century Turkish Art Music", together with Nikolaus Grill in the upcoming Analytical Approaches to World Music book project
Lucifer (études pour piano I-IV), recorded by David Ezra Okonşar
Vapur, commissioned by the Hessen Radio Symphony Orchestra (Frankfurt) (2020)
Klazomenai, commission for Klangforum Heidelberg, Ensemble aisthesis (2021)
Şafakların Cihangiri, concerto for solo kanun and orchestra, commissioned by the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (2021)
2019
Dr. X, commission for Andreas Borregaard (accordion), sponsored by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation , premiere Dec. 10, 2019, Musik der Jahrhunderte Stuttgart
la forêt pétrifée (1st string quartet from 1999) at the First Arab Avant-Garde Music Conference, Dec. 19-22, 2019, Tunis, recording 11/2020 in Hannover
Rain performed by the Sonar Quartet (Berlin) on June 30th at the festival Albanova (also Radio Klara, Belgium) and in December in the scope of a portrait concert organized by Edition Juliane Klein and Musik der Jahrhunderte in Stuttgart.
2018 in review
independent contributions to ZENITH Magazine ("Journal for the Orient") Link
February
unexpected victory in my precedent case against Istanbul Technical University
some press coverage:
Hürriyet (English)
Hürriyet (Turkish)
Sputnik (Turkish)
Sendika63 (Turkish)
nmz (German)
Le Petit Journal (French)
This advance had been preceded by a death threat, an assault by a car and a visit by the secret police in Urla/Izmir. "XY" for ensemble and solo santur, composed exclusively for the ICM Conference in Samsun, was spontaneously removed from the program.
March
ICM Intercultural Music Conference and Concerts, Samsun (as keynote speaker) - cancelled
April
RAIN for string quartet: JACK QUARTET @ NUNC!/ Festival in Chicago
June
"Maqām and Beyond: A Unified Theory in Julien Jalâl Ed-Dine Weiss’s Last Composition", presented @ Analytical Approaches to World Music Conference in Thessaloniki Link
September
return to Germany after 11 years spent in Turkey
October
RAIN for string quartet: MUSIKFABRIK @ Fremde Heimat, Komponieren im Exil/Bochum Link1 Link2
December
new piece for tuba solo, composed for Jack Adler-McKean
"Hommage à Julien Weiss" (materials arranged by S. Pohlit) @ Institut Français in Ankara, Tahir Aydoğdu (soloist) Link
photo: introduction with Özlem Gül and the institute's director, Sébastien de Courtois
Masterclass, Bilkent University/Ankara
June 2017
In the future, Stefan Pohlit will be represented exclusively by Edition Juliane Klein, Berlin.
November 2016
Interview with Raoul Mörchen, Deutschlandfunk/Musikjournal, on the present situation in Turkey
Aleppo Dialogues at Bilkent University (Composer in Residence)
(click to enlarge)
in Sanattan Yansımalar (Aslıhan Kecebaşoğlu & Yığıt Aydın)
Tombeau de Julien Bernard in
Mikrotonalität. Sechs Uraufführungen für Qanun und Ensemble in Berlin (Michael R. Entreß)
Musiktexte No. 151 (Nov. 2016)
"Behind the dramatic unrest of this impressive piece, one sensed the actual political and cultural situation of his second home, Turkey, brew almost painfully. Pohlit, who wrote his dissertation on Julien Weiss' tuning system in Istanbul, draws a sdifferenciated image of the maqams [...]"
September-October 2016
Tombeau de Julien Bernard à la mémoire du patrimoine anéanti d'Alep
in:
Aleppo Dialogues - 1001 Töne aus der Zukunft (Concept and Research: Stefan Pohlit)
World Premiere (commissioned work):
Tombeau de Julien Bernard à la mémoire du patrimoine anéanti d'Alep
Neophon Ensemble (dir.: Konstantin Heuer) & Tolga Volkan Kılıç (Weiss-Qanun)
concept & co-direction: Stefan Pohlit
March 2016
Stefan & wife Fadime Pohlit in 5 portraits by artist XENIA KRAVCHENKO (Büyükada)
click on either picture for full gallery
Integrative Approaches to Contemporary Cross-Cultural Music-Making:
Turkey, Italy, Germany
German Historical Institute, Rome & Orient Institute, Istanbul
with concert, Ensemble Hezarfen: de-sero for string quartet
Welcoming Maqam
Ensemble Neophon (direction: Konstantin Heuer) & Nurullah Ejder (Weiss qanun)
Co-Direction: Stefan Pohlit
Stefan Pohlit: "Neue Musik in der Türkei", in:
Lexikon Neue Musik (Hiekel, J.P. & C. Utz, eds.), Metzler/Bärenreiter, 2016
May 2015
Sieh, ich starb als Stein... on United Phoenix Records
November 2014
new publication: Stefan Pohlit & Julien Jalâl Ed-Dine Weiss: “Divisions of the Apotome on the Middle-Eastern Qānūn”. In: Mikrotonalität. Praxis und Utopie. Walter, C.-J. & C. Pätzold (hz.), Stuttgart: Schott, 2014
http://www.schott-musik.com/shop/2/show,321499.html
November 2013
Rowing for the German TV: Stefan Pohlit acting as "Expat in Istanbul"
ZDF WISO Reisen (ZDF-Mediathek), Nov. 25th 2013, after 19'40"
UMS 'N JIP: The Turkey Project (an initiative by Stefan Pohlit, UMS 'N JIP, and İTÜ MİAM)
Thanks to UMS 'N JIP (Swiss contemporary music duo) for great premieres and workshops in İstanbul (İTÜ MİAM, State Conservatory for Turk. Music, Babylon Lounge) and on Büyükada (orthodox Cathedral of Ay' Dimitri, see Foto)!
LOVE IS MY RELIGION (after Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi), 2013
The "Religion of Love" was the second concert ever performed at Hagios Demetrios: We feel deeply honored by the Ecumenical Patriarchate's permission to our small contribution to inter-faith dialogue on an island where (at least) the People the Book have always coexisted peacefully.
Portrait within the program series "Turkish Musik Night" (Link) of the Bavarian Radio:
Sounding
Alphabet of Istanbul
New Music in Turkey (in
German)
Nov. 9th 2013, BR Klassik
by Christoph Hahn
Summer 2013
Winter 2012/13 will see the foundation of a new intercultural music ensemble in which he will equally perform as a santur and keyboard player.
In 2014 Stefan Pohlit will be Composer in Residence of the ISCM branch of the Canton Valais (CH).
new works:
Himmelsleiter for large ensemble
new large score for Ensemble Reconsil, Vienna
new work for Middle-Eastern and Western instruments
Love is my Religion for Ensemble UMS 'N JIP
new piece for violin and piano for the internationally renowned violinist Cihat Aşkın