Now in Istanbul

In this early 2017 between the many concerts, exhibitions, shows and football and basketball matches there are plenty of things to do and see in Istanbul. Here is the agenda from mid-January to the end of February. Do not hesitate to share your experiences with us!

CONCERTS

/January

January 13 – Waldeck: l’auteur, compositeur et interprète autrichien de musique électronique, aussi associé au trip-hop sera sur la scène du Babylon.

January 13 – Sıla: the Turkish pop singer, liked or disliked according to circles in Turkey for her political positions is in concert at the Maslak Show Center for a concert that is worth the detour.

January 13 & 14 – Kış Sahnesi: many Turkish rock and pop artists such as Gripin, No Land, Pentagram and many more will meet at the Küçükçiflik Park.

January 14 – Alexei Volodin: the Russian pianist who played with the world’s greatest orchestras will be at The Seed, the concert hall of the magnificent Sakip Sabanci Museum on the banks of the Bosphorus.

The singer Sıla

January 14 – Baba Zula: the psychedelic rock band with influences of traditional Turkish music will be at Salon IKSV.

January 15 – Vassiliki Papageorgiou: installed on one of the Prince’s islands, the Greek singer living in Istanbul draws inspiration from the songs of ancient Greece, Hellenic poems and traditional Turkish songs. At the Nazım Hikmet kultur Merkezi.

January 20 – Luis Ernesto Gomez: the tomba Cuban musician welcomes you with his band at Nardis Jazz Club.

January 21 – Oscar & The Wolf: the Belgian electropop group well known in Turkey for their single “You’re mine” is on the stage of the Volswagen Arena.

January 23 – Balkan Ekspres: the collective of artists from different countries of the Balkans will be CRR Concert hall.

Oscar & The Wolf

January 23 – Ankara Türk Dünyası Müzik Topluluğu: the orchestra of the Turkish capital is at the Haliç Kongre Merkezi for a mixing of classical music and traditional Turkish music.

January 26 – What da Funk: the group of Turkish funk with the enthusiastic rhythms is at the Kadiköy Sahne on the Asian shore of the city.

January 27 & 28 – Kış Sahnesi: many Turkish rock and pop artists such as Mor ve Ötesi, Gece, The Away Days and many others are meeting at the second edition of the Winter Festival of the Küçülçiftlik Park.

January 27 – Peyk: the Turkish singer with rhythms mixing soul, rock, rap and reggae is at the Beyoğlu Hayal Kahvesi.

January 28 – Christian Smith: the respected Swedish DJ, known for its innovative sounds in the field of eclectro will mix at the Warehouse@garajistanbul.

January 28 – MFÖ: the deans of Turkish rock with millions of albums sold during the time of their career will be in concert at the Zorlu Center PSM.

The MFÖ band

January 28 – Kabus Kerim: the psychedelic musician of rap and Turkish funk is at the Zorlu Center PSM.

January 28 – Duman: the Turkish rock band Duman, highly appreciated in Turkey for their outspokenness and their lively rhythms will fill the Volswagen Arena.

January 29 – Turkish Brass Filarmoni: the orchestra of the Turkish Brass was created in 2015 by musicians from various prestigious Turkish orchestras. They will be in representation at the CRR Concert hall.

January 30 – Yavuz Bingöl and the Bin Yılın Ozanları: the actor and singer of Turkish folk Yavuz Bingöl is accompanied by the chamber orchestra “Bin Yılın Ozanları” directed by the very talented Orhan Şalliel. At the CRR Concert hall.

/February

February 2&3 – Hindi Zahra: the singer singing in English, Berber, French and Darija and having received numerous awards in France for her songs is in concert at Babylon.

February 3 – Bugge Wesseltoft’s New Conception: the musician, pianist, composer and Norwegian producer, son of the guitarist Erik Wesseltoft, will be at the Salon IKSV to play the New Conception, his latest album.

February 3 – İDSO: Istanbul’s Symphony Orchestra will be on the stage of the Grand Pera Emek Sahnesi.

February 4 – Kış Sahnesi: many Turkish rock and pop artists such as Pentagram, Kurban, Ogün Sanlısoy are meeting at the third edition of the Winter Festival of the Küçülçiftlik Park.

February 4 – The Wanton Bishops: the Lebanese rock band from Beirut is performing at the Salon IKSV.

February 4 – Bob Marley’s birthday: like every year, the mythical concert hall in Istanbul, Babylon, organizes a concert with many musicians to pay tribute to Bob Marley and wish him a happy birthday. Do not miss!

IDSO (Istanbul Devlet Senfoni Orkestrası)

February 7 – Teoman: the star of Turkish rock, the tenebrous Teoman, will be in concert at Zorlu Center PSM.

February 9 – Nil Karaibrahimgil: the star of the Turkish pop with rather cheerful music and lyrics is at Babylon.

February 10 – Omar Souleymane: the Syrian singer, star in his country and exiled in Turkey since the war in Syria in 2011, has also made himself known abroad. At Babylon.

February 10 – Kalben: the Turkish rock singer is at Mall Of Istanbul, the largest mall in the city. Her music is very popular in Turkey.

February 12 – Athena: the Turkish rock and punk band is performing at Bostancı Gösteri Merkezi.

February 13 – Genç Yeteneklerden Dev Konser!: The Zorlu Center PSM is organizing a giant concert bringing together the new talents of Turkish music of all genres. To know more: Zorlu Center PSM

February 14 – Peter Jablonski: the Swedish pianist, recognized in his profession is at The Seed, the concert hall of the Sakip Sabancı Museum on the banks of the Bosphorus

Kalben

February 15 – Baba Zula: the psychedelic rock band with influences of traditional Turkish music will be at the Zorlu Center PSM.

February 17 – Freiburg Baroque Orchestra: the baroque orchestra of Freiburg will play accompanied by Chief Ethem Emre Tamer at the Grand Pera Emek Sahnesi. The program covers the greatest: Vivaldi, Boyce, Bach…

February 17 – Acid Arab: the duo of Parisian DJs mixes some North African or near-oriental sounds and other melodies and mixes them with electronic music. Find this interesting duo at the Midnight Sessions of Babylon!

February 18 – Danny Brillant: the French cabaret singer, also known internationally, will be on the stage of the Zorlu Center PSM.

February 20 – Fazıl Say: the best-known pianist in Turkey, having often been attacked by the Turkish government for taking positions on Twitter, will fill the Maslak Show Center, do not miss it!

February 20 – Ivo Pogorelic: the 58-year-old Croatian musician is one of the living legends of the piano. At the Zorlu Center PSM.

February 25 – Şebnem Ferah: the Turkish rockstar, whose style varies from pop rock to hard rock will be at the Bostancı Gösteri Merkezi.

February 25 – Goran Bregovic & Bijelo Dugme: the famous Goran Bregovic, accustomed to the Istanbulite scene and composer of the music of the Kusturica films will be at the Volkswagen Arena, accompanied by his former rock band, “Bijelo Dugme”, for a “Balkan” performance.

SHOWS

January 19 – Royal Opera House Screening; The Nutcracker:

The Zorlu Center PSM presents one of the most emblematic ballets of all time: Nutcracker. The ballet in two acts was choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, with the composition of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, adapted from the story of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman, The Nutcracker and Mouse King. Nutcracker premiered at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on December 18, 1892, winning its world fame with the continuation of Tchaikovsky which featured an exceptional use of celesta. It has been performed in countless venues throughout the world with various interpretations, this one is that of the Royal Opera House of London. At the Zorlu Center PSM.

From January 16 to January 30 – Waiting for Godot:

Waiting for Godot is a play by Samuel Beckett in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, are waiting for the arrival of someone named Godot who never arrives.In the meantime they engage in a variety of discussions and meet three other characters. Waiting for Godot is the translation of Beckett from its original French version. The original French text was written between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949. The first show took place on January 5 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone in Paris. The English version was created in London in 1955. In the survey conducted by the British Royal National Theater in 1990, it was voted the most significant English-language play of the 20th century. At the Zorlu Center PSM.

February 3 & 16 – Notre Dame – Quasimodo Musical: Trump Tower

The French comedy inspired by the eponymous novel of Victor Hugo is in representation at the Trump Tower. Since its inception, the show has been performed in Belgium, Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States and translated into seven languages (English, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Korean, Flemish and Polish). At the Trump Tower.

February 22 – Royal Opera House Screening; Il Trovatore

The four-act opera composed by Verdi and based on the acclaimed play “El Trovador” by Antonio García Gutiérrez was premiered on January 19, 1853, quickly gaining its rightful place among the world opera and honoring the three years work of Verdi. Over the years, it has become the 20th opera of all time most represented in the world, with more than 600 performances by the company Metropolitan Opera. At the Zorlu Center PSM by the Londoner Royal Opera House.

February 24 & 25 – Movies in Concert: Amadeus Live:

Amadeus, the classic of Miloš Forman which tells the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart seen by the eyes of Antonio Salieri, is a film that won 8 Oscars in 1985 as well as 4 BAFTA Awards and 4 Golden Globes. Movies In Concert: Amadeus, is a unique performance which consists in the projection of the film accompanied by an orchestra who plays live the music of the Masterpiece of Milos Forman. At the Zorlu Center PSM.

EXHIBITIONS

Until May 7 – Cold Front from the Balkans at the Pera Muzesi

The exhibition “Cold in the Balkans” organized by Ali Akay and Alenka Gregorič brings together contemporary artists from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Of Slovenia.

The exhibition focuses on different generations of artists and artistic groups in the Balkan region. The exhibition avoids the usual inevitably unflattering political connotations of the region and focuses on a natural phenomenon – the wind. The title of the exhibition refers to a well-known expression in Turkish: “the cold wind blowing from the Balkans” which transmits the arrival of winter and is commonly used in television weather reports.

The works presented range from video to photography, from drawing to installation, and aim to create a new dialogue between Balkan artists of different generations and to provide a new point of view for the viewer.

Artists in their time – until June 4 at the Istanbul Modern

The exhibition “Artists in their time” deals with the way artists put their work and themselves in a spacetime frame. The starting point of the exhibition is the quote from Turkish artist Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, “I am neither in time nor completely outside of it”. His views on time highlight the relationship that artists have on the past, the present and the future. The exhibition brings together works of different regions, periods and disciplines. The themes of the exhibition are abstract art, feminist approaches, urban culture, stories of Istanbul lives, non-violence, the search for identity, the concept of metropolis and an understanding of Anatolian peoples. At the Istanbul Modern.

SPORTS

Football

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Watch a football match in Istanbul is an experience not to be missed, the atmosphere of the stadiums is often explosive while remaining friendly. Here are the matches we advise you in January and February 2017:

Turkish League:

As we write these lines, the surprise is total because Istanbul Başakşehir, a small club on the outskirts of Istanbul is first in the championship followed by Beşiktaş and Galatasaray.We will see in the coming weeks whether the Başaksehir will be able to resist for a long time to the pressure of the big teams stambouliote and create the feat. There are many interesting matches, such as Fenerbahçe against Başakşehir and the derby Galatasaray against Beşiktaş. Here is the list of matches not to be missed:

January 23 – Fenerbahçe VS Istanbul BB at the Şürkrü Saraçoğlu Stadium
January 29 – Beşiktaş VS Konyaspor at the Vodafone Arena
February 10 – Galatasaray VS Kayserispor at the Türk Telekom Arena
February 20 – Fenerbahçe VS Kasımpaşa at the Şürkrü Saraçoglu Stadium
February 26 – Galatasaray VS Beşiktaş at the Türk Telekom Arena

Europacup:

Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş will play their second leg matches of the final 16 of the UEFA Cup on February 22 with the hope of reaching the final eight, mission rather easy on paper:

February 22 – Fenerbahçe VS Krasnodar at the Şürkrü Saraçoğlu Stadium
February 22 – Beşiktaş VS H. Beer Sheva at the Vodafone Arena

In order to buy your tickets get on Passolig, and if you want more information contact us!

Basketball Euroleague:

Watching a Basketball game in Istanbul is also an unforgettable experience, especially since Turkish clubs have been competitive in Europe for a number of years. Last year Fenerbahçe lost at the last minute in the final of Euroleague (the equivalent of the European NBA or the Champions League of basketball) and Galatasaray won the Eurocup against Strasbourg (the equivalent of the Europa League of basketball). But this is not all, Istanbul has currently 4 teams in Euroleague (Efes, Darüşşafaka, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe), and all want this year to grab the grail. The atmosphere in the basketball stadiums is as crazy as in the football stadiums, so do not miss it! Here are the matches to follow in the next two months:

January 19 – Fenerbahçe VS Panathinaikos
January 19 – Galatasaray VS Emporio Armani Milan
January 24 – Galatasaray VS Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv
January 25 – Anadolu Efes VS Darussafaka Dogus
January 26 – Galatasaray VS Fenerbahçe
February 2 – Fenerbahçe VS CSKA Moskow
February 2 – Galatasaray VS Panathinaikos

More games on the Euroleague’s website: www.euroleague.net, If you want to see a basketball game, contact us, we may be able to help you find tickets!

For other activities we offer this winter 2017 click here!