Necdet Yaşar

Necdet Yaşar — Biography

Necdet Yaşar was born in 1930 in the Nizip district of Gaziantep and became one of the leading tanbur performers in classical Turkish music. He worked at Istanbul Radio from 1953 to 1980, was among the founders of the Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble, and was awarded the title of State Artist in 1991.

Yaşar developed a new playing technique that allowed the tanbur to be used to its full capacity, and is regarded as one of the strongest post-1950 successors to the tradition established by Tamburi Cemil Bey and his son Mesut Cemil. In the 1960s he formed a celebrated duo with ney player Niyazi Sayın, and their joint improvisations helped popularize the practice of collective taksim, influencing later generations of musicians.

He performed concerts in many countries over the course of his career and twice taught at the University of Washington. Yaşar died in Istanbul on 24 October 2017; following his death, the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality named a street after him and several institutions have held commemorative events in his memory.