Romanian-Turkish Friendship Concert: Violinist Florin Iliescu to perform alongside Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Ion Marin conducting

The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) in Istanbul and the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra will host the Romanian-Turkish Friendship Concert this week, ICR said.

The concert, scheduled to take place on October 16 at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), will see Romanian violinist Florin Iliescu performing as guest soloist alongside the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Romanian conductor Ion Marin.

The program will open with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, and will continue with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36. The concert is part of the Turkish orchestra’s official season.

Ion Marin's career spans more than four decades on the world’s major stages, from the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra to Teatro alla Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, and Opéra Bastille.

Florin Iliescu built an international career both as a soloist and as concertmaster. Since 2018, he has held the position of concertmaster of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. He trained under leading figures in the violin tradition, including Zakhar Bron, Leonidas Kavakos, and Ștefan Gheorghiu.

The Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra (IDSO) was founded in 1945 by composer and conductor Cemal Reșit Rey under the name Istanbul City Orchestra. In 1972, it came under the authority of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and adopted its current name. The orchestra has collaborated over the decades with internationally renowned conductors and soloists, including Aaron Copland, Yehudi Menuhin, Luciano Pavarotti, and Fazıl Say, among many others. It has also given numerous premieres of works by Turkish composers. The orchestra has toured extensively across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and other regions.