Esra Pehlivanli
Award-winning violist Esra Pehlivanli is internationally recognized for her virtuosity, artistic versatility, and dedication to expanding the viola repertoire. She has received numerous distinctions, including First Prize at the Premio Valentino Bucchi International Viola Competition (Italy), where she was also awarded the Medaglia del Presidente della Repubblica Italiana, the Jur Naessens Music Award (The Netherlands), the 5th Krzysztof Penderecki International Contemporary Music Competition (Poland), and the Torneo Internazionale di Musica (Italy). In 2013, she was named Best String Player of the Year at the Donizetti Classical Music Awards. She completed her studies with the distinguished violist Michael Kugel in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Pehlivanli has performed extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America, appearing in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Denmark, Turkey, Poland, Austria, Slovenia, Spain, Luxembourg, Ireland, China, Indonesia, and Venezuela. As a soloist, she has appeared with orchestras including the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Izmir State Symphony Orchestra, and Bursa State Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with conductors such as Emil Tabakov, Marek Pijarowski, Raoul Grüneis, Heiko Mathias Förster, Patrick Souillot, and Ibrahim Yazıcı.
A passionate chamber musician, Pehlivanli regularly performs with the ensembles Black Pencil and Duo MARES. She has been featured at leading international festivals, including Robeco Zomerconcerten, Grachtenfestival, International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht, Festival Classique Den Haag, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, November Music, Ljubljana Festival, Galway International Concert Season, Festival Latinoamericano de Música, Vendsyssel Festival, International Ankara Music Festival, and Wonderfeel, among others.
While her repertoire encompasses the major works of the viola literature from the Baroque era to the present day, Pehlivanli is particularly renowned for her commitment to contemporary music. Working closely with composers, she has inspired and premiered a remarkable body of new repertoire. More than 400 compositions have been written for her by composers including Ivo Petrić, Roderik de Man, Klaas de Vries, Guus Janssen, Martijn Padding, Klas Torstensson, Kate Moore, Florian Magnus Maier, Arnoud Noordegraaf, and Louis Aguirre. These works include Roderik de Man’s viola concerto Aus der Heimath and double concertos for viola, accordion, and orchestra by Selim Doğru and Frank Zabel.
Pehlivanli’s discography includes recordings such as Volume Nuevo, Richness of the Tones, Power of Women, Buffoni, Kaiseki, La Volta, Falsche Tango, Past & Present Tracks, Come Out, Caioni, Into Soacve, and Schokland. Her performances have also been broadcast by RTL and Deutschlandfunk in Germany; TRT, NTV, and ATV in Turkey; and Concertzender, NPO Radio 4, AVRO, and NTR in the Netherlands.
Through her performances, collaborations, and advocacy for new music, Esra Pehlivanli has developed a distinctive artistic profile in the contemporary viola world, combining a deep respect for the instrument’s classical heritage with a commitment to expanding its repertoire and artistic possibilities.