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Guitarist Celil Refik Kaya is an established Naxos recording artist whose new album of his own works now joins his acclaimed releases of music by other composers. Refik Kaya’s compositional style is both technically exciting and deeply relatable in its expressive range, from his eclectic use of multicultural influences to the tenderest of personal statements. These are pieces that are certain to find their place in the guitar repertoire, and that will speak warmly to the widest of audiences.
Celil Refik KAYA (b. 1991)
Guitar Works
Sketches, Vol. 1 • Sonata No. 1 • Sonatina
Celil Refik Kaya, GuitarCelil Refik Kaya is a contemporary guitarist and composer in the great tradition of artists who have created their own unique contribution to the repertoire. Sonata No. 1 is characterised by various stylistic resemblances which include South and North American composers, jazz chord progressions, French impressionism and Spanish folk music, whereas the Sonatina expresses more personal emotions. Kaya’s Turkish background can be heard in his variations on the folk song Yavuz Geliyor Yavuz, which, like the Sketches, has its origins in art and music close to the composer’s heart.
I. Andante
Since his concert debut at the age of six, Turkish American guitarist and composer Dr Celil Refik Kaya went on to become the youngest First Prize winner in the 2012 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition and a prizewinner of international guitar competitions across Europe and the US. In 2017 he was named Rising Young Musician of the Year by the Donizetti Classical Music Awards in Istanbul, and awarded a prestigious fellowship from Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks. He is currently the coordinator of guitar studies and teaching at the New Jersey City University and Kean University.
– The WholeNote
– American Record Guide
– American Record Guide
– MusicWeb International