Idil Biret Education Initiative

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Music

Why Join?

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Protect Musical Archives

Over 2,000 hours of music. Thousands of documents. Your contribution supports the professional digitization and preservation of priceless cultural content—like Idil’s performance with the Boston Symphony the day President Kennedy was assassinated, now in the Library of Congress. 

Protect Musical Archives

Your support helps fund the creation of the Idil Biret Museum, a living space for music appreciation, piano recitals, and cultural events designed to inspire musicians and visitors worldwide.

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Support Young Talent

Your Membership helps to fund mentorships, educational programs, and masterclasses for aspiring pianists. Providing the inspiration and instruction that Idil Biret once received from greats like Nadia Boulanger and Wilhelm Kempff.

Preserve Cultural History

Help us support Istanbul’s Idil Biret Foundation and its vast archive, which includes original  manuscripts, personal correspondence with global leaders, and historical recordings that tell the story of Turkey’s cultural renaissance.

Build Bridges Through Music

Music has the power to unite people across borders. Your Membership supports IBEI’s mission to foster global understanding through cross-cultural artistic dialogue, which is especially vital in today’s divided world.
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Fuel Publishing & Thought Leadership

Help IBEI publish essays, books, and interviews about music, literature, and art. Members support the continued publication of educational resources and exclusive content from Idil Biret’s life and work.
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Listen to Idil perform

Here is a small sample of Idil Biret’s more than one hundred recordings. Let us know your favorites so we can expand this list.

Listen on Spotify

Videos

Documentary

Portrait of a Child Prodigy

Beethoven

Piano Sonatas

Brahms

Hungarian Dances N.1, 2 & 3. I

Chopin

Etude op. 25, Nos. 11 & 12–played on Chopin’s Pleyel piano (1848)

Chopin

Piano Concerto No. 2 (1/3) (Yale Symphony Orchestra)

Chopin

Piano Concerto No. 2 (2/3) (Yale Symphony Orchestra)

Chopin

Piano Concerto No. 2 (3/3) (Yale Symphony Orchestra)

Chopin

Nocturnes

Rachmaninoff

Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, op. 30 (1963, live)

Ravel

Gaspard de la nuit: III. Scarbo

Ravel

La valse (version for piano solo)

Shumann

Concerto

Wagner/Liszt

Istanbul Music Festival, Tannhäuser Ouverture: Paraphrase de concert (I)

Wagner/Liszt

Istanbul Music Festival, Tannhäuser Ouverture: Paraphrase de concert (II)

Find Idil’s recordings of COMPOSERS You love

Composer

Work

Label

Format

Alkan

Le chemin de fer

IBA

CD

Bach J. S.

WTC Bk. I Prelude and Fugue No. 3 (1949)

Chromatique Fantasie et Fugue (1953)

Concertos in D Minor, F Minor

Concertos for 2, 3, 4 pianos

Partita No. 1, French Suite No. 5, English Suite No. 3

Well Tempered Clavier Bks. I, II 48 Preludes & Fugues

Italian Concerto, Chromatique Fantasie et Fugue

IBA

CD

Bach Ph. E

Solfegietto

IBA

CD/LP

Bach / Kempff

Chorale transcriptions

Marco Polo / IBA

CD

Bach/ Liszt

Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor

IBA

CD

Bach/ Brahms

Presto in G Minor, Chaconne (for left hand)

IBA

CD

Bach / Rachmaninov

Prelude, Gavotte, Gigue

IBA

CD

Balakirev

Islamey

IBA

CD

Bartok

Roumanian Dances, Allegro Barbaro,

IBA

CD

See All List

Top 10 Classical Composers by Popularity

Based on factors like recording frequency, streaming popularity, and concert performances, here are the top 10 classical composers from your list:

Mozart

Close second with extensive catalog and universal appeal

Tchaikovsky

Enormous popular appeal through works like The Nutcracker, 1812 Overture

Debussy

Distinctive impressionist style maintains strong modern popularity

Handel

Enduring popularity through Messiah and other major works

Handel

Symphonic works and chamber music remain core repertoire

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Beethoven

Consistently ranks as the most performed and recorded classical composer with enormous global recognition

Bach

Foundational composer with massive influence and recording catalog

Chopin

Piano works remain among the most recorded and performed globally

Rachmaninov

Romantic works, especially piano concertos, enjoy consistent popularity 

Schubert

Prolific output across multiple genres maintains steady appreciation

Notable omissions from the top 10 include Wagner (influential but more specialized appeal), Ravel (slightly less mainstream popularity than Debussy), and Schumann (while respected, has somewhat less broad appeal than those above).

Learn about the MUSICIANS Cited in Idil Biret’s memoir, Life and Music

Abdülmecit I (1823-1869)

A reformer Ottoman sultan. He initiated the Gülhane Hatt-ı Hümayun and Tanzimat-ı Hayriye period.

Turkish composer, administrator of artistic institutions, and educator.

French pianist and composer.

Turkish composer, conductor and educator.

Violinist and educator of Hungarian origin. Worked at the Ankara State Conservatory between the years 1938-1957.

Hungarian violinist. Worked as a soloist and educator in St. Petersburg. Settled in the USA in 1918.

German composer. A great master, one of the greatest creative minds in the musical arts.

Pianist of German origin, later passed to Swiss citizenship. Known for his interpretations of Beethoven.

Russian pianist. Lived in Berlin and Stockholm. He died of a heart attack in New York, while performing a concerto of Grieg at Carnegie Hall.

German pianist and educator. Student of Carl Tausig, who was taught by Hans von Bülow and Liszt. Worked for many years as an educator at the conservatory in Berlin. His students include Arthur Rubinstein and Wilhelm Kempff.

Hungarian composer, pianist and folklorist. Having come to Turkey, he conducted ethnomusicological research around Adana-Osmaniye region. Passed his final years living in difficulty in the USA.

English conductor. Founded the London Philharmonic (1932) and the Royal Philharmonic (1946) orchestras.

View All
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IBEI is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) non-profit collaborating with the Idil Biret Foundation in Istanbul.

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