EN
TR
ZİYA GÖKALP AND THE MUSIC POLITICS IN THE EARLY REPUBLIC ERA
Abstract
Ziya Gökalp, being influential in shaping the cultural and artistic policies of the early Republican era, is one of the intellectuals who contributed to the the ideology of the new Turkish Republic of especially its first fifty years in the process of Westernization and modernization. In the “National Music” section of his book The Principles of Turkism, Gökalp described the state of our current music, defined the music of the Republic and proposed that a new national music formula should be given and immediately implemented, which he made. Gökalp expressed that the music known today as Classical Turkish Music was not the authentic music of the Turks, this music is of Byzantine, Arabic, and Iranian origins and their combination and that this music was not national and must be abandoned. He stated that the music belonging to the Turks, which he referred to as the product of Turkish culture, was Folk Music, but that this music was not contemporary. According to him, it was essential to arrange Folk Music with Western Music techniques and polyphony. Gökalp's ideas had a significant impact on the elite and music producers. Although Gökalp was not a musician, he put forward the idea that the movement for the rapid establishment of many organizations and revolutions of a new state rising from the ashes should also be implemented for music. This study attempts to address the whether a nation’s sensibility of art can be constructed through a program in a short time was questioned. Additionally, Gökalp’s works were examined using historical analysis methods.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
Turkish
Subjects
Music Cognition , Music (Other)
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Pınar Koçak
*
0009-0001-0136-3255
Türkiye
Early Pub Date
October 20, 2025
Publication Date
December 31, 2025
Submission Date
August 9, 2025
Acceptance Date
October 20, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 1970 Volume: 8 Number: 4