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Does Komitas Vartabed count? He who went mad from governmental atrocities in his own land?

In discussing 'Turkish' composers here, we tend to refer to composers connected to the Republic of Turkey. Which, as a state, is something very different from the Ottoman Empire. Of course Armenians like Komitas Vardapet or e.g. the Moldovian Dimitrie Cantemir held Ottoman positions. But we wouldn't call them 'Turkish' nowadays, would we, without causing too much misunderstanding. 

I own a recording of Saygun's Yunus Emre oratorio which was produced by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and marked NOT FOR RESALE.  (I...er...purchased it in a used CD store in Budapest some years ago).  I don't remember it very well, but it struck me as immensely appealing music at the time.

I also have a disc of orchestral works by Alnar (as I recall) - don't remember it too well, but that usually means it's due for a re-listen. 

You might find out, in the process, that these are not by Alnar - as I'm not aware of any cd with his orchestral output. Could it, ahem, be Akses, or perhaps Rey or Erkin?  As to the Yunus Emre oratoria by Saygun: I own that Hungaroton cd - since long deleted - too, but without the apt warning.  Pity. 

I would add of course Kamran Ince (1960) whose works Naxos is extensively releasing (and who appears to me not without merits). I would list Nevitt Kadalli (1924-1999).
Dates of the "Turkish Five"
Saygun 1907-1991
Akses 1908-99
Alnar 1906-78
Rey 1904-1985
Erkin 1906-72
CPO (and earlier Koch) have worthily promoted through several records the music of Ahmet Adnan Saygun, the so-called "Turkish Bartok". I own just two records; I would recommend to anyone the CPO comprising the two piano concertos (777 289-2, 2008 release) : both very appealing, certainly not on the level of Bartok, and much easier for the listener.
Fine also the deleted Koch 3-6746-2 coupling Symphony n. 1 and Concerto da Camera op.62.
There is also a CPO of Akses.

Totally agree with your recommendations. Saygun's two piano concertos are a good starter, both very appealing. His five symphonies on CPO, conducted by Ari Rasilainen who really does wonders with them, are very fine indeed IMO. Akses is less accessible, but you may find much more - for example a fine cd with the Second Symphony and a fine rhapsody by Erkin - on Hungaroton. Including more Saygun and also a couple of cd's by Rey, whose late symphonic poem Türkiye may also make a good starter. I found a handful of locally produced Turkish cd's in Istanbul, years ago. Hope to revisit the great city in May and find some more!

Sounds interesting. Do you know more about the details of the performance of the Violin Concerto in D minor on Youtube?

maybe the country itself could follow suit?

It did so, succesfully, in 1831, when it became a French speaking nation. Second thoughts came later. 

for a few ears.

Great to learn, many thanks! I'll order for the Ross Harris disc with this great story in mind. 

Which year? 

Another new - for me - name on the symphonic front comes from New Zealand: Ross Harris. Naxos is going to release his recent (2006/2008) second and third symphonies. I don't think the symphony is dead in places like Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand. 

Okay, I'm convinced.  I'll download the d-d piece and delve my little Joep Franssens cd collection - just two, if I recall correctly - from my shelves.

BTW I met him just once. During a Pēteris Vasks festival in Rotterdam somewhere around 2004, when Pēteris praised his recent work and the two composers actually met.

Couldn't it be that a comparison with other arts would show a relatively high age for the creative peak of many composers? That famous novels and famous paintings were, comparatively speaking, made by younger artists than tthe most famous musical compositions? Could it be that creativity is often a relatively 'young' phenomenon and that composers are no exception to that rule, and even more often of a mature age than there counterparts in other arts?

I'm just questioning, but i've always been of the impression that much remarkable music is written by "old" composers - and that it's harder to find examples of the same level of creativity among other arts. Does anyone know about comparative studies in this field?   

I met the chairman of the Dopper Foundation Jaap Stam in Stadskanaal a few years ago, when I (and another UC member) was present at the world premiere of Dopper's recently-discovered Requiem.

At Thursday, 19 November 2009, to be precise.  The disappoinment of that memorable evening - one doesn't hear a world premiere that often - being Pärt's Fourth Symphony that proved to be rather drab.

7286  Christ Wright Violin Conc; Vaughan Williams Sym 5 (world premiere rec of new edition by Peter Horton)

We all know Christ Wright, of course ('Mr. Wright' for us here). But who's ever heard of a "world premiere" of RVW's Fifth? 

It all shows that shoehorning composers into a certain modern nationality is usually a futile undertaking.

It is. For that reason - having myself categorized the composers in my cd collection by nationality and then in chronological order (year of birth, being trained a historian chronology is my natural perspective) and because I collect mainly modern music, the modern nationality category often fits - one may regard e.g. Hildegard von Bingen, a name from the high days of the Holy Roman Empire, either 'German', or 'Swiss', 'Italian', 'Czech', 'Belgian, 'Luxembourgian', 'Austrian'. 'Liechtensteinian' ASO.

I decided to allow her a rightful place on my Dutch composers shelf. 

Yep, that's the one.  It's amazing what you can find at this place. (Including a good chunk of cpo, I might add.  I've picked up more than a few cpo releases there over the years.)

'Here' (the Netherlands) CPO is better ordered online, as shipping from Germany (JPC, it's their home label) is often free. But I'm also lucky enough to 'still'have a couple of record shops around with quite a collection. Not so many of our colleagues here are that well-off.  BTW Wilms is hardly a name in the Netherlands, he remained largely forgotten until recently.