Serhan Bali: A classical music journalist's mission in the modern world

Serhan Bali, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Turkish classical music magazine Andante, visited Timisoara on the occasion of the Akordaj – Spotlight on Music conference, dedicated to training the new generation of classical music journalists. With over 25 years of experience in music journalism and a deep passion for promoting the genre, Bali was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm and energy of the young participants. In the interview below, he shares his impressions of young journalists, the current challenges of the music industry and the outlook for the music scene in Timisoara. He also emphasized the importance of the mission classical music journalists have in attracting new audiences and keeping the genre relevant in a world dominated by popular culture.

A: What were your impressions in a room full of young people eager to learn about classical music journalism?

Serhan Bali: Before coming to Timisoara I never expected to meet such enthusiastic and energetic young people, excellent English speakers. This was a pleasant surprise for me. Of course, I am aware of the potential of Romania and Romanians, because I love Romania. I do a kind of music tourism, cultural tourism and that’s why I am very interested in Romanian culture and Romanian music, Romanians in general. But now I’m in Timișoara for the first time and I feel very comfortable here. I have been to Bucharest a couple of times before and those were very pleasant experiences. But here I had a different kind of experience.

To meet young people, musicologists, music journalists, young people who study music was very enlightening for me. I think it opened new horizons for me. I’ve been a professional in this field for over 25 years, I’ve been writing about music, I’ve been interviewing maybe 30 years. I think the first review I wrote was in 1994. But then, in 2002, I founded my magazine – Andante – and I’ve been doing this job ever since. I’m mainly a classical music man.

I also consider myself a classical music missionary. So I wanted to transform that sense of mission, but I know it’s a personal choice. Not everyone has to have a mission in classical music. These are my realities and the realities of my country. Turkey is not a country known for its classical music, as you know, it is at a crossroads between continents, between western and eastern cultures. But we have a rich classical music culture in our neighboring countries, if we compare with other more eastern countries.

But I told the young people that they too must be missionaries in today’s world. Because in today’s world, classical music is perhaps not under serious threat, but things are different from 50 or 100 years ago. Classical music is under enormous pressure from popular culture, popular music, anything popular. We have to work a lot. We have a lot of challenges that we have to overcome. So many difficulties in cultural life in our lifetime. And even in your own country, I said. In my country we have other difficulties because of the characteristics of Turkey, and in Romania you have other kind of difficulties in promoting classical music.

But I think you are luckier in Romania, because you are part of the Western world, and Western classical music institutions have a rich history, a rich tradition. I am envious of these things. And I love this side of Romania, too. So you are luckier than me.

But as young journalists, as young music writers, of course they will face some difficulties, but I think they have the potential to overcome these challenges. Because I saw in their eyes, in their energy, in their potential that they have the will, the courage and the determination to overcome these difficulties. So I am very satisfied overall with the performance of my students. 0- 5.10

A: I’d like to shift the focus of the discussion a little bit to audiences. Because I think there is a connection between the ways in which philharmonics and operas reach new audiences and classical music magazines. What are those tricks you can teach the new generation of classical music journalists to reach new audiences?

Serhan Bali: We have this problem, which is very serious and which is serious in any country. It is serious in Germany, US, UK, Romania… Maybe not for China. But concerts and operas, as a business, stand on their own feet. They always go their own way and, although they may not have the advantages they had 50 or 100 years ago, they thrive. They can live their ‘lives’. But to write about classical music, to publish, to share with people who go to classical music concerts, who go to the opera, is always a hard thing. Our job is not easy. Already this is a missionary matter.

Because organizing concerts, organizing operas are big events.

But they have viewers, they have audiences. Sure, audiences get old. When we look at the audience, we see a sea of gray hair. That’s the reality. But in any case, we see that they are looking for new ways to attract young people’s attention. We see it in Germany, we see it in the UK, every country that feels the threat of an ageing audience wants to do something. And they do. They organize special concerts and try to attract young audiences. Which is not easy, I confess. Because young people have so many things going on in their lives, and classical music is not at the top of the list.

But building a repertoire, scheduling concerts is very important. For example, 2-3 days ago I attended a concert at the Banatul Philharmonic, with a Ukrainian orchestra I think, they played works by Hans Zimmer. And with cinematic effects. And the audience was entirely young. From 18-20, to 40-45, maybe 50. And I noticed that the audience loved it. These movie projects, movie music always works in attracting the attention of the younger generation. And we have to attract the attention of even the younger generation. And there are a lot of things that are being done in this regard as well.

But, in magazine publishing, as a columnist, as a writer, as a journalist I always fight a big battle in getting the attention of these people. Whether old or young. Because it is an intellectual struggle, we have to admit that. For many people it’s enough to listen to music. It’s an intellectual activity for them. They go to the opera, to Nabucco for example, like last night, but to read about the performance of the artists, would you read that? Very few do. That’s our main problem. And we always address that. We are aware that our potential is smaller than live concerts, compared to those who go to concerts or opera.

It’s an intellectual thing, reading about music. And I see this phenomenon in every country. In Germany, for example, it’s seen as an intellectual exercise of high caliber. To read reviews, to read interviews, to read everything about music. In Germany this is obligatory. In Britain, in France, in continental Europe. In the United States not so much. In Romania… I hope that with this new magazine – Akordaj – the level of music lovers will rise, I hope and I firmly believe. I know that there are people who write reviews in some newspapers and magazines.

So our mission is not easy, but there is no other way but to believe in it. It is because we believe in it that we started working in this field, I started 20 years ago and I haven’t given up.

To summarize, these young journalists have a long and not exactly easy road ahead of them, but if they believe in their mission to share with other people I think they will achieve something.

A: I was curious about your reader profile, what do they look like, what is their level of education, what are they interested in?

Serhan Bali: The readers of my magazine are mostly over 40, 40-50… up to 80. And I notice this because I’m in contact with them in various ways: I meet them at concerts or we exchange e-mails. But we also have young readers, conservatory students whose parents recommend Andante, my magazine. Or who have subscribed to it for their children. So, in fact, we have two types of readers: one who is over 45-50 years old and the other who is young, starting from as young as 6-7 years old. Do they understand what they read? Maybe few of them. But parents see this magazine as an intellectual activity and they want to make their children more aware of classical music, they want them to grow up in a classical music environment. And that’s why they want Andante to be read by their children. And some of our younger generation subscribers keep these subscriptions for 10 years. After graduation they decide whether they will continue to subscribe to Andante or continue to buy just a few issues. But I think years later, if Andante is still on the market, they will want to buy Andante again. Because 20-30 year olds have other interests and hobbies than classical music. Maybe they like movies or books, and classical music doesn’t go away, but the interest shifts on their agenda and goes further back. But after they become mature people in their 30-40s, classical music comes back into their lives.

I think that people who have a solid classical music education, whether they got it from the conservatory or from family, might move on to various other pursuits in life and turn their back on classical music for a few years, but then they’ll come back. Because they have strong roots in classical music. If they don’t, then the chances are lower. After they turn 40 to 50, the chances are slim that they will encounter classical music again in their lives. But I’m always hopeful and, as I said, we interestingly have two types of readers.

A: What do you think of the music scene in Timisoara?

Serhan Bali: I was very impressed. I didn’t think Timisoara had such a rich classical music scene. What I saw last night, a performance of Nabucco in the open air and hundreds of people gathered in the Rozelor Park, was impressive. And the fact that it was a free concert also helped. A partnership between the city and the Opera, I don’t know. But the people at the Opera gave their all for the spectators who gathered there. All countries, all cities can take last night as an example.

As far as I know, Timisoara was Cultural Capital last year, so from last year until now you have done a lot of things in the field of classical music, of culture in general. So it has formed a good habit to have these events. From what I see, the city is thriving and I find this, for the future, extremely positive.

The Banatul Philharmonic is also attracting new generations to concerts, which is an extremely beneficial thing. I would also like to visit the city during the season. Because before I came here, a friend, a soprano, gave me a hint about the local singers. “They’re very good,” she said. And now I understand why she told me that.

Note: Akordaj – Spotlight on Music is a conference organized by Classical ME, JM Hungary and Scena Muzicală, which brought together classical music journalism professionals from Hungary and Romania in Timisoara with the aim of training the next generation of classical music journalists. The conference was co-financed by the Erasmus+ program.