The results comprise on the one hand an exciting interweaving of cultures but, on the other, a raid on the store cupboard of musical clichés. Both extremes co-exist in these four works, which are in effect a throwback to and inverting of 19th-century orientalism. There’s no doubting the brilliance and commitment of the performers…[Eichhorn's] violin alternately dances, skitters, pleads and beguiles with astonishing ease.

I found the concerto continually compelling. Aykut Köselerli, a Turkish percussionist who also played in the premiere, produces an extraordinarily wide range of dynamics, rhythms, and shading. The dialogues between solo violin and percussion are very imaginatively conceived and engagingly played. Christoph Eschenbach and his German orchestra really dig into the music.

[Mount Ida] is fervently played by Friedemann Eichhorn, for whom it was written. His immersion in Say’s violin-writing pays strong expressive dividends...The First Sonata (1997) is probably Say’s most recorded work and Eichhorn has its measure, relishing its vibrant blend of influences from central Europe as much as Turkey.

Say has certainly availed himself of every sonic possibility which the instrument offers, particularly in the Second Sonata - an angry but often strikingly beautiful response to the destruction of Mount Ida, which incorporates an array of extended techniques such as striking the body of the instrument. Cleopatra (for solo violin) has all the infinite variety which the name suggests, while the concerto 1001 Nights in the Harem could easily be the soundtrack for a big-budget, old-school Hollywood epic.

Turkish pianist-turned-composer shows his talent in writing for the violin.