Cemal Reşit Rey

Cemal Reşit Rey was born on October 25, 1904, in Jerusalem, where his father Ahmet Reşit Rey was serving as an Ottoman imperial governor. Growing up in Paris and Geneva, Rey displayed astonishing musical precocity, studying piano with Marguerite Long and composition under Gabriel Fauré. Returning to Istanbul in 1923 upon the declaration of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s cultural modernization reforms provided the perfect canvas for his talents.

Rey, alongside Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Hasan Ferid Alnar, Ahmed Adnan Saygun, and Necil Kazım Akses, formed 'The Turkish Five'—a pioneering group of composers who synthesized Anatolian rhythms and Turkish folk modes (makams) with European polyphony. In 1933, to celebrate the first decade of the Turkish Republic, he composed the immortal 'Tenth Year March' (Onuncu Yıl Marşı), which remains one of the most beloved patriotic anthems in the nation.

In 1934, Rey established the Istanbul City Orchestra (now the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra) and served as its principal conductor for nearly four decades. His theatrical operettas, particularly 'Lüküs Hayat' (Luxurious Life, 1933), written with his brother Ekrem Reşit Rey, became an enduring national treasure performed continuously for almost a century. In 1982, he was designated a State Artist of Turkey, and Istanbul's premier concert hall, the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall (CRR), was named in his honor.