Gülru Ensari

Biography

Turkish pianist Gülru Ensari has established herself as one of the leading musicians of her generation. She is in demand for a wide variety of chamber music ensembles and plays with many world famous musicians including Gautier Capuçon, Herbert Schuch, Ilya Gringolts, Mirijam Contzen, Sebastian Manz, and Ramon Ortega Quero. During 2016-17 season she has performed at the Mito Festival in Italy, Cologne Philharmonie and in Salzburg with her duo partner Herbert Schuch. Their first CD recording „Go East!“ featuring music by the composers Stravinsky, Brahms, Hindemith and Manav was released in February 2017. In 2018 the duo will appear on stage with the Hessisches Staatsorchester Wiesbaden and the WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne.

Born in Istanbul, she started to play at age 6 and studied at the State Conservatory of Istanbul University where she was a student of Prof. Meral Yapalı. She won a scholarship from the German High School in Istanbul to study at the Conservatory for Music in Cologne with Prof. Vassily Lobanov, where she later on completed a master‘s degree in chamber music with Prof. Anthony Spiri.

She further polished her musical and technical skills by regularly participating in masterclasses given by Leontina Margulis, Andrei Diev, Sergei Dorensky and Hüseyin Sermet amongst others.

Gülru was awarded first prizes at the Bundeswettbewerb Jugend Musiziert in the categories “Solo Piano” and “Piano with Voice”, and the International Piano Competition at the Edirne Mimar Sinan University. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Yamaha Prize given to the most successful students of the Conservatory of Istanbul University. She has appeared on major international concert platforms in solo recitals and chamber performances in Turkey, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Macedonia, United States of America, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Portugal, and Switzerland, and has performed at international music festivals and stages such as the Istanbul Classical Music Festival, Bitola Music Festival, the Bebersee Festival, the D-Marin Turgutreis Classical Music Festival, Bozar in Brussels, the Antalya Piano Festival, in Beethovenhaus Bonn, Schloss Elmau, Tonhalle Zurich and at the Sociedad Filarmonica in Bilbao.

She regularly performs as a soloist with Turkey‘s leading national orchestras, such as Orchestra Istanbul, Çukurova State Symphony Orchestra , Kadikoy Chamber Ochestra, Bakirkoy Chamber Orchestra and the Istanbul and Bursa State Symphony Orchestras.