Anjelika Akbar, born Anjelika Rosenbaum Akbar in Kazakhstan in 1969, is a Turkish pianist, composer, and author of Kazakhstani origin. Recognized for her absolute pitch, the ability to identify musical notes without an external reference, she began studying music in early childhood and later received conservatory training in the Soviet Union and Turkey. Her repertoire includes symphonic compositions, chamber music, piano works, film scores, and adaptations of classical compositions. She has released albums including Su, Bach à l'Orientale, and Raindrops by Anjelika, and has performed in Europe and Asia.

Early Life and Musical Background

Anjelika Akbar was born into a family closely involved with music. Her father was a musician and philosopher, while her mother was also a musician. She received her first piano lessons from her parents. By the age of two and a half, she could read musical notation and play the piano, and at three she began receiving private piano instruction.

Her first principal teacher was V. Lipovetsky, a professor associated with the Moscow Conservatory and one of the founders of the Harbin Conservatory in China. At four, her absolute pitch was identified. This ability, also called perfect pitch, allows a person to recognize or reproduce a musical note without comparing it with another note or relying on a reference tone.

When she was four and a half, her musical abilities attracted the attention of faculty members at the Moscow State Conservatory. She was subsequently accepted into a specialized music school for gifted children associated with the conservatory. The school's curriculum included instruction from conservatory professors and advanced training for students demonstrating exceptional musical aptitude.

Among the musicians associated with this educational environment were pianists Alexei Sultanov and Stanislav Yudenitch. Anjelika Akbar was regarded as one of the school's promising pupils.

An incident from her childhood involved Russian composer Andrei Eshpai. After hearing compositions written by the five-year-old Anjelika, Eshpai reportedly assumed that her father had composed them. He congratulated the father on his compositional talent, unaware that the pieces were actually his daughter's work.

Conservatory Education in Tashkent

Anjelika Akbar continued her formal musical education at the Uspensky State Music School in Tashkent, where she completed an eleven-year program in piano and composition. Her teachers included Associate Professor V. Fadeyeva and B. Zeydman, a professor associated with the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.

Following her studies at the Uspensky Music School, she entered the Tashkent State Conservatory for a further five years of advanced training. She studied composition and orchestration with Professor Berlin and Professor Yanovsky, piano with L. Plushenko, and organ with T. Levina. This period provided training in instrumental performance, composition, orchestral writing, and musical analysis.

During her education in the Soviet Union, Anjelika Akbar received recognition for her compositions. She was selected as Best Young Composer by a composers' organization in Russia. She was also offered an individual scholarship intended to support undergraduate and postgraduate study at a European conservatory of her choice. She did not accept the scholarship because she was preparing to marry.

Her early distinctions included the Moscow Sobesednik Award, the USSR Ethnic Music Award, the USSR Composers Award, and the Tashkent State Conservatory's Gold Lenin Award, which she received over three consecutive years.

Moving to Turkey and Advanced Musical Studies

Anjelika Akbar came to Turkey through her involvement with UNESCO and subsequently settled in the country. She became a Turkish citizen in 1993 and continued her academic musical education at the Hacettepe University State Conservatory in Ankara.

At Hacettepe, she studied composition with Turgay Erdener and twentieth-century harmony with İlhan Baran and Ertuğ Korkmaz. She also undertook composition studies with İstemihan Taviloğlu. Her advanced academic work concentrated on compositional technique, harmonic structures, and the theoretical foundations of twentieth-century music.

For her proficiency in art studies, she prepared an analysis of selected piano works by Russian composer Alexander Scriabin, examining their harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, formal, and philosophical characteristics. She also composed her Symphony No. 1 as part of the program. These studies led to her qualification in proficiency in art, a doctoral-level artistic degree in the Turkish higher education system.

During her academic career in Ankara, Anjelika Akbar became one of the founding teaching staff members of the Ankara University State Conservatory. Her work there accompanied her continued activities as a composer and performer.

She also studied vocal technique with Turkish soprano Selma Berk and soprano Djoke Winkler Prins, and undertook further vocal consultations with Turkish opera singer Melek Çeliktaş.

Composition, Orchestral Music, and International Performances

Anjelika Akbar has composed more than 400 works for various musical formations, including symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, choirs, solo piano, and other instruments. Her compositional training in the Russian and Soviet conservatory traditions is reflected in her use of classical musical forms, while some of her recorded projects incorporate instruments and musical elements from Eastern traditions.

Her performances have taken place in Russia, France, Germany, the Baltic states, Central Asia, India, Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and Qatar. She has appeared as a pianist and composer in concert programs featuring both her original music and interpretations of established classical repertoire.

She has also served as a member of the National Commission for UNESCO in Uzbekistan. In 2006, she joined the Ukrainian branch of a composers' organization associated with her earlier professional activities.

From 2003 onward, Anjelika Akbar pursued further compositional studies and professional collaboration with Turkish composer Ali Darmar.

Recording Career and the Album Su

Anjelika Akbar released her debut album, Su, in 1999. The album marked the beginning of her commercial recording career and introduced her piano compositions and interpretations to a wider audience in Turkey.

She subsequently composed music for Village Institutes, a documentary project by Turkish journalist and filmmaker Can Dündar about the Köy Enstitüleri, the rural teacher-training institutions established in Turkey during the twentieth century. The documentary was also released in video-CD format.

Another project involved a solo piano adaptation of The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi. Anjelika Akbar arranged and performed the work for solo piano, presenting the orchestral concerto cycle through a single instrument. The adaptation was described in her career materials as the first complete solo piano interpretation of the work.

The recording was selected for the Sony Classical catalogue and released internationally through Sony International in 2002. It was identified in her professional biography as the first Turkish classical music album included in the international Sony Classical catalogue. A recording titled Vivaldi Four Seasons also appears in her discography with a 2014 release date.

Musical Collaborations and Bach à l'Orientale

In 2002, Anjelika Akbar collaborated with Rana Pirinçcioğlu and Turkish singer Zara on the album Bir'den Bir'e. The project explored musical approaches outside the conventional presentation of Western classical repertoire, incorporating vocals and other artistic elements.

Her 2003 album Bach à l'Orientale explored the combination of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach with Eastern instruments and musical arrangements. Rather than presenting Bach's works exclusively through conventional Baroque instrumentation, the album introduced different instrumental colors and interpretations.

Discussing the album, Anjelika Akbar explained her intention to bring musical traditions into contact before the people associated with those traditions encountered one another. She described the project as a response to a contemporary cultural need rather than merely a musical experiment.

Her musical presentations have also incorporated visual effects and her own poetic texts. These approaches formed part of concert and recording projects in which she combined instrumental music with other artistic forms.

Later Albums and Film Music

Following Bach à l'Orientale, Anjelika Akbar continued releasing instrumental and collaborative recordings. Bir Yudum Su appeared in 2005, followed by Raindrops by Anjelika in 2009. Her later discography includes İçimdeki Türkiyem and Likafoni.

She also worked in cinema, composing music for Beni Unutma (2011), released in English as Don't Forget Me, and Yol Ayrımı (2017), known in English as The Parting of the Ways. Her film music extended her composition work into dramatic storytelling and soundtrack production.

In 2016, she collaborated with Turkish opera singer Hakan Aysev on the album Mutlu Aşk Şarkıları, bringing together her musical arrangements and Aysev's vocal performance.

Bach Alla Turca Ballet Project

In 2013, material from Anjelika Akbar's album Bach à l'Orientale became the basis of the ballet production Bach Alla Turca, staged by the Turkish State Opera and Ballet.

The production adapted musical arrangements from the album for a theatrical dance performance. Its concept incorporated Bach's compositions as interpreted through Akbar's arrangements, bringing her recorded work into a staged ballet format.

Awards and Professional Recognition

Anjelika Akbar has received awards associated with her studies, compositions, and performances in the Soviet Union and Turkey. Her reported distinctions include the Moscow Sobesednik Award, the USSR Ethnic Music Award, the USSR Composers Award, and the Tashkent State Conservatory's Gold Lenin Award, received during three consecutive years.

She was also awarded third place in the Fourth International Nejat Eczacıbaşı Composition Competition, named after Turkish industrialist and cultural patron Nejat Eczacıbaşı. Her career has included radio and television appearances, interviews in newspapers and magazines, and coverage in cultural publications.

Literary Works

Alongside her musical career, Anjelika Akbar has written books in Turkish. Her autobiographical work İçimdeki Türkiyem, listed in her bibliography with a 2010 publication date and also described in accounts of her career as appearing in 2011, examines her experiences during approximately twenty years of living in Turkey.

The book explores her personal understanding of Turkey, her experiences after settling in the country, and the relationship between her own cultural background and her adopted home.

Her second listed book, Uçan Köpek Baaşa, was published in 2011.

Personal Life

Anjelika Akbar married engineer Batu Tarman in 2007. This was her second marriage.

She has two sons, Yürek, born in 1991, and Timur, born in 2008. Her family life has accompanied a career involving music education, recording, writing, and international concert performances.

Discography

1999 – Su 2002 – Bir'den Bir'e (with Rana Pirinçcioğlu and Zara) 2003 – Bach à l'Orientale 2005 – Bir Yudum Su 2009 – Raindrops by Anjelika 2010 – İçimdeki Türkiyem 2011 – Likafoni 2011 – Beni Unutma (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 2014 – Vivaldi Four Seasons 2016 – Mutlu Aşk Şarkıları (with Hakan Aysev) 2017 – Yol Ayrımı (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Books

2010 – İçimdeki Türkiyem 2011 – Uçan Köpek Baaşa

Source: Biyografiler.com