With his extraordinary pianistic ability, Fazıl Say has been touching audiences and critics alike for more than 25 years in a way that has become unique in the increasingly materialistic and elaborately organised world of classical music. Concerts with this artist are something else. They are more direct, more open, more exciting. In short: they go straight to the heart.

Since the beginning of his career, he has performed with many renowned American and European orchestras and numerous leading conductors, building up a diverse repertoire ranging from Bach to Viennese Classical (Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven), Romantic and contemporary music, including his own compositions for piano.
Guest performances have taken Fazıl Say to countless countries on all five continents, alongside numerous appearances as a chamber musician. With violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, he performs in a fantastic duo, and other notable collaborators include Maxim Vengerov, the Minetti Quartett, Nicolas Altstaedt and Marianne Crebassa.
As a composer, Fazıl Say has been commissioned by Boston Symphony Orchestra, the BBC, Salzburger Festspiele, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Wiener Konzerthaus, among others. His Oeuvre includes six symphonies, two oratorios, various solo concertos and numerous piano and chamber music works.

In his dual role of composer and pianist, Fazıl Say is the 2023/24 Spotlight Artist at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. His residency includes seven concerts; from recital to chamber music and orchestral concerts, featuring both classical repertoire and his own works. The hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt is dedicating a portrait week to him. The GAIDA Festival in Vilnius also presents a focus on his compositions. Recitals this season will take Fazıl Say to Oslo, Budapest, Vienna, Milan, Paris, Japan and to various festivals such as the Enescu Festival and the Gstaad Festival.

Fazıl Say has an extensive discography including over 50 recordings. His recordings on Teldec Classics, naïve and Warner have received numerous awards, including four ECHO KLASSIK and a Gramophone Classical Music Award. Warner Classics most recently released Fazıl Say’s recording of all Beethoven piano sonatas in January 2020, and his recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations in November 2022. Say’s latest CD was published in January 2023, a recording of violin sonatas by Brahms, Janáček and Bartók with Patricia Kopatchinskaja for Alpha.