Palace of the Shirvanshahs | Out Now #worldmusictraditions

This piece was born in Baku — premiered at Timeless Presence, in partnership with UNESCO — and carried something of that city’s ancient soul into every performance since. Istanbul, 2025, marked only its second time performed live. Before 25,000 people, sold out, in one of the most musically alive cities in the world. Rooted in Shur mugham and reaching across the classical traditions of a shared civilisational heritage, it is among the most technically demanding works we perform. On this night, it was brought to life by musicians of rare sensitivity and skill: Yakup Selim Şenel — Tanbur Elvin Novruzov — Kamancha Mehmet Ömer Aşçıoğlu — Classical Kemenche Yunus Emre — Ney Magsad Azizov — Balaban & Mijwiz Zaki Valiyev — Tar Together with the rest of the Fons Sophiae Collective, they gave everything. To the audience that night — and to the Turkish audience more broadly — I want to say something I mean with complete sincerity: you are among the most discerning, most musically sophisticated audiences in the world. To be heard by you, truly heard, is an honour I do not take lightly. September. Together again 💛🙏 SY Listen/Watch: https://sy.lnk.to/PalaceoftheShirvanshahs #samiyusuf #palaceoftheshirvanshahs