Udi Hrant Kenkülyan

Udi Hrant Kenkülyan — Biography

Udi Hrant Kenkulian was born in 1901 in Adapazarı, the son of carpenter Garabed Efendi, and died in Istanbul on August 29, 1978. An ethnic Armenian who spent most of his life as a citizen of the late Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic, he is widely regarded, under the nicknames "Udi Hrant" and "Hrant Emre," as a pivotal figure who helped carry Ottoman classical music into a modern popular style.

Struggling with impaired eyesight for much of his life, he nonetheless became one of the great innovators of the oud, introducing left-hand pizzicato, bidirectional picking, double stops and unconventional tunings that set his playing apart from his contemporaries. He was especially admired for his improvisational taksim, and while he composed the bulk of his repertoire with Turkish lyrics, he also wrote and performed a smaller body of work in Armenian.

Seeking treatment for his eyesight, he traveled to Europe, the United States and Armenia, performing wherever he went and recording numerous sides for labels such as Columbia during these trips. His brother-in-law, Bogos Kirecciyan, was likewise a noted oud player of the era. Udi Hrant's innovations continue to be cited as a lasting influence on both Turkish and Armenian musical traditions.