Bachfest to start in Ankara

Starting this year, the Turkish capital Ankara will host its own Bach Festival, part of a classical music festival held in locations throughout the world to celebrate the memory of the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

The event will feature the work of the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach in a series of events throughout the year. His pieces, among the finest examples of the Baroque style, will be performed by high-profile world musicians and performers. The first concert is scheduled tonight on the Middle East Technical University (METU) KKM stage, where one of the world’s best sopranos Emma Kirkby will perform the works of Bach and other baroque composers including Lully, Frescobaldi, Gervaise, Purcell and Greene. Kirkby will be accompanied on stage by Izmir Barok Ensemble, Turkey’s first ensemble performing baroque music with period instruments, and Austrian-born Ingrid Seifert, the first violinist of the London Baroque Ensemble.