24 september 1945

On a Zoom call with Beste Kalender, we chatted about a wide range of subjects, musical and otherwise, and at some point wound up discussing the nuances of different languages, especially with regard to poetry in different languages to music. In that context, Beste mentioned she had a favorite poet – Nazim Hikmet. After our call, I looked him up – and ordered a book of his poetry. It arrived, via Amazon, a few days later, and immediately upon flipping open its pages, I found a poem that said “music, please.”
Written that same evening, the music, scored for soprano and string orchestra, is dedicated to my new friend, Beste.
MIDI file for NAZIM HIKMET POEMS