CİHAT AŞKIN

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Born in Istanbul, CIHAT AŞKIN started his violin lessons at the age of 11 with Prof. Ayhan Turan, at the Turkish Music State Conservatory of Istanbul Technical University, graduating in 1989. He completed his studies in London, working with Rodney Friend at the Royal College of Music (where he took all the major solo and chamber music awards), and Yfrah Neaman at City University (1992-96, doctorate programme). He became an Associate Professor in 1998 at İTÜ.
He gave his first recital at the age of 12 and played all Paganini Caprices before he was 15. After his recital in 1983 he was invited by the İstanbul State Symphony Orchestra to play Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Since then Cihat Askin became a prominent figure in the music life and he has been a regular soloist for all the major orchestras of Turkey including Presidential Symphony Orchestra. He has been invited to give recitals all through Turkey, from Edirne to Van.

Apart from Turkey, he has been giving concerts at Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, Germany, Israel, Italy, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgizistan, Romania, Spain and Tunisia. Askin has worked with conductors such as Jesus Lopez Cobos, Yoel Levi and Alexander Dimitriev and was a soloist for Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Hannover NDR Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra and Dusseldorf Philharmony Orchestra. He was also invited to International Istanbul and Izmir Festivals, Semena Music Festival (Spain), Brussells Summer Music Festival (Belgium), Sofia Music Festival (Bulgaria), Leicester Festival (England) and Budapeste Spring Festival.

He has appeared with Shlomo Mintz at the International Istanbul Festival in 2003 and he will be giving recitals in Bulgaria, Germany, Kenya, Etiopya and South Africa in the concert season of 2003-04. Among his many prizes may be mentioned, the Istanbul Philharmonic Society Award, The Best Bartók interpreter at the 1987 Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, Outstanding Merit Prize at the 1990 London Carl Flesch International Violin Competition and Foyer des Artistes (Italy, 2002).
A noted champion and broadcaster of modern Turkish music, Cihat Askin has recorded extensively for Hungaroton, Kalan Müzik, Discovery, Meridian, CPO and UPR Classics, releases including Mozart's Fifth Violin Concerto with the Hungarian Virtuosi under Hikmet Simsek, the Bach Double with Suna Kan, "Octachord" with Tania Lisboa, Akses Concerto with Rengim Gökmen and the NDR Hanover Philharmonic.
Cihat Askın has been invited as a violin teacher to Keshet Eilon Violin Masterclasses in Israel since 1999.

Askın is the music director of the Istanbul Chamber Orchestra and a founder of the Istanbul Modern Music Ensemble (IMME). Cihat Askin is currently Professor of Violin and Head of Strings at the Turkish State Music Conservatory, in addition to being Co-Director of the Dr Erol Uçer Center for Advanced Musical Research, Istanbul Technical University. He plays on a violin by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume (1846) given by Istanbul Technical University Rectorate.