Verda Erman

Verda Erman — Biography

Verda Erman (December 19, 1944, Istanbul – July 21, 2014, Paris) was a Turkish pianist. She began her musical education at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory, and in 1957 she was sent to the Conservatoire de Paris under Turkish law no. 6660 for children of "extraordinary talent." There she studied with Lucette Descaves and graduated with the highest honors, afterwards working on piano with Lazare Lévy and on counterpoint and harmony with Noël Gallon.

Performing with the Turkish Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Erman won first prize at the Marguerite Long–Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris in October 1963 and placed second at the Canada International Piano Competition in 1965. In 1971, the year the title was created, she was named a State Artist; she then gave concerts in cities such as Belgrade, Paris, Montreal and Bucharest, and was invited by Rudolf Serkin to the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont.

Erman died in Paris on July 21, 2014, at the age of 70.