Doğan Hızlan, 28 December 2004
A Platinum CD was presented to Idil Biret, the world-famous Turkish pianist, as the sales of her CDs reached to two million copies.
Idil Biret performed the works of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms at her concert in Münster, Germany and the director of Naxos Company appeared on the scene after the concert and made a surprise to Idil Biret.
The sales of her CDs having reached two million, he celebrated this with a Platinum Disc.
The award was announced with some photos at BBC Music as such:
“It is a remarkable situation that sale of one million CDs in the classical music sector; and exceeding even this number can be considered as a phenomenon.
Sales of Idil Biret’s Naxos CDs had reached to one million, and this happened two times” (BBC Music, January, 2005, p.13)
Idil Biret has performed all piano works of Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Saint-Saens, Boulez and recorded them; a CD including the Lizst’s piano transcription of a work of Beethoven had been praised a lot.
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I saw the tour plan of Idil Biret for 2004; a musical trip from Ethiopia to Pennsylvania.
Concerts, jury memberships, interviews with world-famous radios and magazines…
Jean Michel Damian, who made a radio interview with her in France, praises her in his presentation in the following way:
“You are fabulous name in the musical world. You played all works of Chopin, you received Chopin the Great award in Poland and recorded some sonatas of Boulez, which are very difficult to play.
Last week, when I told my friends that I would have a radio interview with you, they envied me too much that as if I would have the Queen of England as a guest.”
An article published on Westfalische Zeitung on the following day of the Platinum CD award ceremony was very important:
“Hans von Bülow 130 years ago told that there are three great Bs in the music world, Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. After her concert, now I believe that there is definitely a fourth great B, which is Biret.”
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I congratulate her; wishing that she will record many new CDs and give many other concerts…