Can Okan had piano education since his private lessons from six years old to the end of doctorate degree in year 2019. During his doctorate education, he aimed to develop his technical skills by means of studying with Alessandra Torchiani at Santa Cecilia Conservatory, Rome between 2016 – 2017. Okan is continuing his piano studies himself and he gives recitals and plays with several chamber music groups. His repertoire ranges from Bach to the contemporary music. Okan prepares programs specifically determined by literary or philosophical themes. His repertoire includes the transcriptions of Beethoven’s symphonies and Wagner by Liszt. He performs works of great composers from 20th century including Schoenberg, Stravinsky and Bartok. He played chamber music with famous Turkish musicians including Idil Biret, Ayla Erduran and Cihat Askin.
Curriculum Vitae
He was born on 25 March 1986 in Istanbul. He began his piano studies with Meliha Doğuduyal in 1994. In 1997, he studied piano as a student of Prof. Metin Ülkü. From 2005 to 2009, he studied conducting from Prof. Güner Aykal in 2005. In 2007, he conducted the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra and performed his first concert as conductor.
He was an active participant in master classes organised by famous pianists such as Idil Biret, Dmitri Alexeev, Emanuel Axe, Arnulf von Arnim, Nikolai Demidenko, Aydin Esen, Claudius Tanski. Okan completed his master's studies in piano major art with Prof. Metin Country in 2009 and his master's degree in Conducting at Stockholm Royal College of Music in 2011. During this training, he worked with conductors such as Daniel Harding, Jan Risberg, B. Tommy Andersson, and performed in Sweden with many symphony orchestras, conducting works from opera, symphonic and contemporary music. In 2011, he joined Jorma Panula's conducting masterclass in Finland. He studied piano from Alessandra Torchiani at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome to pursue his PhD studies from 2016 to 2017.
Since 2013, Bursa District has conducted Cemal Reşit Rey Symphony, Presidential Symphony, Çukurova, Istanbul and İzmir State Symphony Orchestras. In his first studio recording, he recorded all of Franz Schubert's Impromptus. Igor Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress," performed by Istanbul State Opera and Ballet in 2017, made its Turkish debut in June of that year in Benjamin Britten's "The Turn of the Screw" (Cycle of Evil) he directed his opera and Verdi's "Falstaff" in April 2018, "Die Zauberflöte" (Magic Flute) and "Rigoletto" as part of the "Oper im Berg" festival in Salzburg. He performed as a soloist with the Antalya and Çukurova State Symphony Orchestras. He performed with world-renowned soloists such as Idil Biret, Augustin Dumay, Ayla Erduran, Alexander Rudin, Fazıl Say.
In 2019, Can Okan completed his doctorate in piano major art with Prof. Metin Ülü. In October of that year, he directed "Aida," a new production of the Ankara State Opera and Ballet. He served as deputy conductor of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra from 2020 to 2021. Okan began studying philosophy at the Department of Philosophy at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University for the third time in 2020. Okan is eligible for the title of Associate Professor in 2021. In 2023, the founding of the Republic of Turkey is 100. Fazıl Say composed the 100th anniversary. The anthem of the year; As part of the IKSV Music Festival, he directed the premier of Michael Ellison's ‘Bozlak’ opera "The Legend of the Binboga.”
Currently, he continues his career as both a pianist and conductor in Turkiye and in abroad, and also attends conferences and interviews on music and philosophy as well.
THE LIST OF PIANO REPERTOIRE
J. S. Bach: The Well Tempered Clavier (complete), English and French Suites, Partitas
Mozart: Piano Sonatas, Piano Concerto 12
Beethoven: Piano Concerto 5 „Emperor“, Piano Sonatas (complete)
Schubert: Impromptus, Last Three Piano Sonatas
Schumann: Piano Concerto, Piano Sonata 1, Kreisleriana, Fantasie
Chopin: Fantasie, Barcarolle, Ballade 4, Etudes (selection), Polonaise-fantasie
Brahms: Piano Concerto 1, Paganini Variations, Haydn Variations, Piano Pieces Op. 76, 118, 119, Intermezzi, Op. 117, Rhapsodies, Op. 79
Franck: Prelude, Chorale et Fugue & Prelude, Aria et Finale
Liszt: Années de pelerinage: Suisse & Italie, Transcriptions of Beethoven Symphonies 5, 6, Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Wagner: Tannhäuser Overture & Isoldens Liebestod
Debussy: Preludes, Book 1, Etudes (selection), Images Vol. 1
Scriabin: Etudes, Op. 12 & 65, Piano Sonatas 5, 9, Vers la flamme, Preludes Op. 74
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto 3, Paganini Rhapsody, Etudes-tableaux (complete), Piano Sonatas, Transcriptions
Bartok: Out of Doors
Schoenberg: Piano Suite, Op. 25
Webern: Variations, Op. 27