As international Turkish music events go, they don’t get more spectacular than this November concert featuring iconic singer-songwriter Zülfü Livaneli, who will be performing live with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall.

Livaneli has composed some three hundred songs, a rhapsody, performed and recorded by London Symphony Orchestra in 1999 (available on Spotify), and a ballet.

His compositions have reached cult status nationwide and have been performed by an array of notable international stars such as Joan Baez, Maria Farantouri, María del Mar Bonet, Udo Lindenberg, Haris Alexiou, Jocelyn B. Smith, and Kate Westbrook.

A respected author and poet too, Livaneli has written five plays and 30 film soundtracks. Among his best known musical scores are for “Yol” (The Path), directed by and starring Yilmaz Güney. The film won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. Livaneli also did the soundtrack for “The Herd”, directed by Yılmaz Güney and Zeki Öktem, and “Shirin’s Wedding” by German director Helma Sanders-Brahms.

He has produced albums and performed with his Greek peers, the celebrated late Mikis Theodorakis and Maria Farantouri, and he has also collaborated with Manos Hatzidakis, Giora Feidman, Inti-Illimani and Ángel Parra.

In 2010, Livaneli sang ‘Mothers of The Disappeared’ with Bono at U2’s concert at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. It was the band’s first-ever concert in the country.

After sharing the stage with the Turkish music star, Bono said: “It was an honour for us to share the stage with Livaneli. He carried the voice of the masses to a special place, and the distinctions between generations melted away. The whole arena sang his song line by line… I thought to myself that U2 had a long way to go before they could form such a strong bond.’”

Indeed, Livaneli is no stranger to large concerts, playing one of Turkiye’s largest ever in Ankara in 1997, which was attended by no less than 500,000 people.

During his long career, Livaneli has been recognised for his musical talents and presented with numerous international awards, including Best Album of the Year (Greece), the Edison Award (Holland), and Best Album of the Year (Music Critics Guild of Germany), and the “Premio Luigi Tenco” Best Songwriter Award, San Remo, Italy, in 1999.

The popular and highly respected music star has also been vocal about political issues, which forced him into exile for a time in the 1970s.

His London concert is likely to be a sell-out and one that will be talked about for years, so get your tickets before they sell out!

Concert Details

Date: Thursday 24 November 2022

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP

Tickets: £45 – £199 (includes fees and levy). Available from the venue – click here.

Admission: This event is not recommended for children under 5. All customers aged 14 years or below must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 years or over