With the support of Borusan Holding, you will come to Turkey for the first time as part of the Istanbul Music Festival. What awaits us as listeners?

First of all, I am very happy and proud that Borusan Holding supported the Istanbul Festival and brought us together to make this ‘Double Concerto’ possible. I am very excited to be in Istanbul for the first time. I wanted to come for a long time and finally my dream will come true by coming to Istanbul. Istanbul Is A Dream destination for East and West .The main theme of the festival this year is ‘Istanbul’. In this context, what are your thoughts on Istanbul and Turkish music?

I believe that Istanbul has long been the capital of the place where East meets West, and this fact has inspired generations and many artists. I am one of them. Istanbul is a place that I hope will be the new home of my music, but I also hope that it will host many geniuses and artists who will create works in the future. For me, Istanbul is very important for world culture. Turkish music is also a big part of it. It was something that was always on my research map. I wanted to learn deeply what Turkish music is. Because I felt that there was something of myself in the deep soul of Turkish music. I don’t know if it is from my previous life or from the hereafter, but I think I have a soul like Turkish music. This time I will spend a lot of time, research, record, learn everything about Turkish music.

We know you from the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning movie ‘The Tiger and the Dragon’. What inspires you when making movie soundtracks?

In fact , composing a Soundtrack is almost the same as composing opera music. To me, the soundtrack is the opera of the future, and the old opera tradition is the soundtrack of the future. I love composing operas and composing for cinema. These two are very similar and include all forms of art, literature, music, fine arts, staging, colours, lighting. This time our ‘Double Concerto’ was born and recreated from my soundtrack.

You experience both Eastern and Western cultures, how does this interaction reflect on your music?

I think artists flourish and artistic dreams fly when our souls meet in one world. Only in this way can East and West come together. Artistically, it is possible and obvious. But culturally, politically… I hope this will be possible in these respects as well. If our East and West do not come together as our home, the problems that arise will continue for generations. We are the generation of today who will create the future. We are the generation that will create the house that will be the best for us. That’s why it’s so important to bring the East and the West together. However, it also needs to be supported. We must come together to create our wisdom, our techniques, our emotions and our dreams.

The concert, which will be accompanied by violinist Daniel Hope and pianist Alexey Botvinov, by Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of conductor Tan Dun, will be at Atatürk Cultural Center Türk Telekom Opera Hall on June 22 at 20:00.