Zeki Muren (1931-1996) grew up in the provincial capital city of Bursa in western Turkey. From 1950 to 1953 he studied Decorative Arts in Istanbul at the Fine Arts Academy, while launching his musical career. Zeki’s first album was issued in 1951 when he was a regular singer on Istanbul Radio. Later he moved on to Turkish cinema starring in eighteen films and writing many of the musical scores. Zeki Muren was also a gifted poet, publishing Bildircin Yagmuru (The Quail Rain) in 1951. In 1955 he produced his first Gold Record, and for many subsequent years he reigned as "Artist of the Year." In his forty-five-year professional career he composed more than one hundred songs and made more than two hundred recordings. He was celebrated as the "Sun" of classical Turkish music, and affectionately called "Pasha" by all. He died on stage in the city of Izmir on 24 September 1996. Zeki Muren’s contribution to modernizing Turkey, his impact upon popular culture there, and his legacy to Turkey’s arts are the subjects of the discussion which follows. The participants—Sean Killeen, Terken Hacaloglu and Aykut Kansu—were all serving as international volunteer election observers in September 1998 when this talk took place in Sarajevo.
By: Sean Killeen
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