The Deadlock of Nation-state: The Problem of Nationalisation of Music During the Early Republican Era in Turkey

Özet

From the early 1930s onwards, there has been an evolution of policies concerningmusic in Turkey based on the ends, which were targeted through cultural planning andnational cultural building. The new republican regime that stood distant to tradition, tried toestablish a national music, carrying the legacy of Tanzimat reform era; a music that isnationalist in character but based on major western influences. This period also reflects atime, which a major debate started within the intelligentsia regarding the place of music instate policies, radio broadcasting and education. In fact, this debate had surfaced the bitterdiscussion upon the cultural evolution, which started during the mid-19th century. Directintervention by Mustafa Kemal in the search of a national music revealed this art form, infact, was a major symbol in the process of building the new national character. The so called“Music revolution” as appeared in the written texts of the time, left deep influences on bothpublic life and musical culture of the new nation. This paper aims to present the building ofthe nationalist character of the music during the early republican era of Turkey in relevancewith the usage of political instruments and their reflections on public life. The article willalso assess the Turkish experience in terms of 20th century nationalist culture buildingprocesses.