As the Ottoman Empire was crumbling and desperate for westernization, it founded the present Presidential Symphony Orchestra (CSO) – Cumhurbaşkanlığı Senfoni Orkestrası – in 1826.

Today, growing political pressures on cultural institutions have caused many state operas and theatres to close but the CSO remains a symbol of a secular and modern Turkey.

These images not only document the orchestra but also illustrate the development of a country’s cultural entity and the identity of its members.

Book and introduction text available here.

(2015)