I first went to Piano House over New Year’s Weekend. I had seen pages for their concert events on Facebook, but had been unable to come to any of their previous concerts. Before going there, I pictured it as a New York-style piano bar with a classy dressed bartender serving fine wine with a jazz pianist playing in the corner while patrons commiserated in between wine sips. It sounded relaxing and finally, I had a free Saturday night to see one of their concerts. But it wasn’t what I expected. Not realizing I had to reserve in advance, I clicked “going” on the Facebook invite, programmed the address into Google Maps, and began looking for the place. I was confused, since the navigation didn’t take me to a bar, but to another apartment building across the street from my own. I wondered if Google Maps made a mistake, but when I looked closer at the invite, I saw that the address said “Uzunal Apartments,” which was the name of the building. I wondered what kind of piano bar was in an apartment building? Still both doors were open, so I just walked in. A Piano House sign on the wall indicated I was in the right place.
The apartment was packed and there was nowhere to sit. But someone took out a foldout chair from the corner and I sat near a man videotaping the concert. The musician, Ulaş Biçer, stood in front of a large classic piano but played flute and guitar. His covers ranged from Coldplay to Tracy Chapman to Tarkan and he ended with an acoustic interpretation of “My Heart Will Go On” that breathed new life into an old song I thought the world was sick of hearing. The guests sipped wine and beer and I wondered where I could obtain a glass of wine. But then I saw that people were pouring the wine themselves from their own bottles. I realized that they had brought it from outside. Later, someone was kind enough to offer me a glass of their wine, and I sat listening to the entrancing music in a warm, intimate atmosphere that could never be achieved in the loud public bars I was accustomed to seeing concerts in. Aside from a few whispers here and there, no one was talking. All the guests wanted was to revel in the glow of the singer’s melodic voice and unadulterated guitar and flute sounds. I was so captivated by the space, I thought, I have to find the person who owns this place.
The apartment is owned by Mehmet Erhan Tanman, a composer, piano teacher, and pianist educated at the Mimar Sinan Conservatory of Music. When I came to conduct the interview at Yer, an elegant bar in Moda a few blocks from Piano House, I also met his longtime musician colleague from the same conservatory, Ece Şermet. She teaches piano and cello and also sings in both classical and jazz concerts. Both teach music during their day jobs and Erhan runs Piano House in the salon of his home. Ece has been performing at Piano House since its inception and also lives in the Moda area. Their intrinsic passion for music has created a truly unique space for sharing music that continues to attract people throughout Istanbul. They have structured a musical oasis where people can find repose from their hectic lives without entering the cacophony of clubs and crowds. It’s inspiring to know that people take time out of their lives to offer such spaces in a world that will always need them.
How did Piano House start and how long have you been holding concerts?
Erhan: We have been doing concerts for one and a half years, since June of 2016. I got the idea from my own piano students. I wanted to give them the chance to have a stage. We can both play, my students can play, and her students can play and who knows who will come and listen? At the first concert we had a student ensemble and we followed. Around 27 people were in the house.
How can people make reservations?
Erhan: Usually we announce the concerts on Monday or Tuesday. In the winter period we only have concerts on Saturday and Sunday but in the spring and summer period Wednesday is also a concert day. You just have to send your name, the number of people who are coming, and your phone number. That’s enough. We charge an attendance fee of 20 lira. You can give it when you come. So it’s very easy.
How do you find musicians to play for you?
Erhan: At the first concerts, it was only us and our friends. I was playing. Ece was playing. My students were also playing. Some of our other friends from the conservatory and some of our guests who played profession or amateur piano or cello or any other instrument were playing on our stage. Now we have more than twenty musicians and are still growing. Now, with the new year, we decided to call for musicians to play on our stage. They just have to send us an email telling us what they play, when they want to play, who they want to play with, and they also get paid, so the list will be growing. The first step will be with the pianists because we are Piano House. We will provide the piano, but the musicians will bring the other instruments.
Who else is involved in Piano House?
Erhan: We don’t have a staff. There is only me.
Ece: And our neighbors and friends sometimes come by to help make coffee to serve during the concert. Sometimes some neighbors bring cakes and some börek to eat.
Erhan: Our coffee sponsor is Walter’s Coffee Roastery here in Moda. So at every concert we serve coffee for free. And people can bring their own alcohol. We have glasses and a fridge for people. They can bring anything they want. We can’t serve alcohol because it’s forbidden.
What genres of music do you look for?
Erhan: In the beginning, it was only classical music. Then, at one of Ece’s concerts here in Kadıköy, we came up with the idea of also having jazz concerts at Piano House. Then we organized one concert and it was great. People loved it. Then one of our guests, Ulaş Biçer, often has concerts here. He’s an engineer, and he has an incredible male voice. He sings and plays the guitar and flute at the same time. So he started to play with us, maybe one or two songs. Then I wanted to give him a solo concert and see if people liked it. Then people liked him. Now he gives regular concerts. So we have classical, jazz, and pop concerts now. I don’t know if we can have other types of music. We can’t have rock concerts because it’s an apartment building.
What are some future goals for Piano House?
Erhan: I have a lot of goals, but these things need time. I love to organize these concerts and I love to teach music. My first goal is to have a bigger place, but I want to secure the warm atmosphere we have now. And I want to start a music school, but not a regular school, because we already have tons of music schools, big or small. I want it to be something different. I’m still thinking about it. The first thing I want to do is expand our concerts to about 50 people per concert as our guests. But more than that, we can have more concerts. Because a lot of people can’t have a stage. Nobody is caring about them and I think it’s ridiculous. And people love listening to concerts in a house atmosphere next to each other drinking coffee, beer, or wine. I think it’s comfortable. Because you can do anything you want. If you don’t like the concert, you can go. Or if you’re late, you can still come. You can drink. Usually you can’t do these things in concerts, or it’s too expensive to go to a night concert and drink and eat something, a cheese plate, for example. This is an alternative.
Is there anything else you want people to know about Piano House?
Ece: We are friends from the conservatory since high school. Now we are neighbors, so that’s why we are close friends. First, we started with the classical concerts. After school, I wasn’t playing too much classical music, so this was a great opportunity for me to practice cello because I was singing jazz. The first jazz concert we gave in Piano House was a great experience because we were never so close to the audience in any jazz bar before.
Erhan: This is the musician’s perspective of our concerts.
Ece: There was a totally different energy in the house, because it was a house! And the people were very friendly. After the concert they usually stay to talk about music. It was a great experience.
Erhan: They can actually talk to the musician directly. They can hear your comments about their performance. So it’s a different experience. And for musicians, both professional and amateur, the important thing is energy. And if you love to do what you do, sing or play, we are open for everything. They can write to us or call us. They can offer concerts. I personally would like to help them by giving them a stage in our house. They can feel free. Actually for this year, my goal is to expand our breadth of musicians and our stage at Piano House. I don’t want to always have concerts with the same musicians. I would like to give the stage for the first time for that person.
Piano House Moda is located at Moda Caddesi Fırıldak Sokak 24/3 on the first floor of the Uzunal Apartment building. Concerts are currently held on Saturday and Sunday nights during the winter, and also includes Wednesdays in the spring and summer, usually beginning at 7:30pm. To keep track of their events, subscribe to their Facebook page. Reservations can be made by calling 05355675533 and providing your name, the size of your party, and phone number. Admission is 20 lira per person. To get there, take the bus, ferry, or M4 Metro line to Kadıköy. Bring your own alcohol. Musicians interested in performing at Piano House Moda can email their information to pianohousemoda@gmail.com. Updates are also posted on their website.
