Yurdal Tokcan is universally recognized as the foremost oud player in the world today. His command of the instrument on a technical level puts him in a class entirely of his own, but more importantly, his fluid and highly emotive improvisations (taksims), as well as his profoundly sensitive renderings of the complex and intricate compositions of the Turkish classical tradition reveal him to be a musician of great depth and subtlety.

He is also an excellent composer in his own right as well as a highly innovative arranger. His music reflects the rare and extremely delicate and difficult balance between remaining true to a very rich and strict tradition, and allowing his personal creativity and imagination a free reign without dogmatic constrictions.

Il Seminario