An interview with Walter Feldman on Ottoman-Turkish Music: Historiography, theory, and future perspectives

Abstract

In this interview, Walter Feldman, one of the leading figures in Ottoman music studies, shares his academic journey, his evaluations of the historiography of Ottoman music, and his methodological suggestions for the future of the field in response to questions posed by Cevahir Karaca. Feldman discusses the people, sources, and academic experiences that shaped his interest in Ottoman music, while emphasizing the decisive role of key written sources such as Ali Ufkî and Cantemir in the reassessment of Ottoman/Turkish music history. The interview addresses in detail the historical transformation of Ottoman music in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; the interaction among Persian, Byzantine, and Turkish musical traditions; and the historical development of makam, intonation, and especially the concept of usûl. Feldman also criticizes ideological approaches in the historiography of Ottoman music and underlines the necessity of an interdisciplinary research perspective that integrates musicology, ethnomusicology, and historical ethnomusicology. He further highlights the importance of comparative studies involving Ottoman history, poetry studies, Mevlevi music, the Persianate musical tradition, Byzantine music, and the makam traditions of the Turkic world. The interview constitutes an important source in that it presents contemporary approaches to reassessing the historical development of Ottoman/Turkish music through scientific methods and offers a theoretical and methodological framework for future research.