When the celebrated Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt came to Istanbul, a city he had dreamed of visiting, he gave a concert at the palace for the sultan and another at a venue on the shores of the Bosphorus. These concerts were the start of what was to become a growing interest in western music in Ottoman Turkey. He arrived in 1847 and although he remained just forty days this splendid city more than fulfilled his expectations. Following his recital for the sultan, Liszt was presented with an order of merit, a jewelled tobacco case and a silver water pipe.
Two other Hungarian musicians who listened to Liszt as children and followed in his footsteps in their musical careers were drawn by Liszt's reminiscences of Istanbul to settle in Turkey and remained there for the rest of their lives. Both made major contributions to Turkish music culture and trained musicians in western musical tradition

The first of these was Liszt's student, the pianist and composer Alexandro Voltan of Venice (1846-1941). It is said that Voltan was the nephew of Mehmed Ali Pasa, who was of Hungarian extraction and rose to the rank of field marshal in the Ottoman army, and that his father was Turkish. In Turkey Voltan took the name Tevfik and settled in Izmir, where he related the following biographical details to a local journalist: 'My mother, Countess Allegri, was a pianist. I took my first lessons from her at the age of six. She endeavoured to give me a good training as a composer. Since she was an outstanding musician, famous musicians visited our house every evening. Liszt, Wagner and Holbert were the most regular visitors. I began to give concerts at a young age. I studied at the Austrian Naval College, graduating as an artillery officer.'

Gez de Hegyei (1863-1926), another of Liszt's students, decided to see Istanbul for himself after listening to Liszt's account of his visit, and liked it so much that he too settled in Turkey. He was a Hungarian Catholic, and made a living giving music lessons to Catholic pupils and at the imperial palace, where his favourite pupil was Þehzade Abdülmecid Efendi, who was an accomplished artist as well as musician. Hegyei became close friends with Abdülmecid Efendi and also gave music lessons to his wife Sadiye Sultan and Princess Iffet of Egypt.
When Hegyei first began giving music lessons in Istanbul, one of his pupils was a young Greek girl who displayed great talent. Hegyei determined that she should be his wife, but had to wait until she reached marriageable age in 1906. When he died in 1926 a memorial concert was held by the State Conservatory of Music, then known as Darülelhan

Concerts which he gave at the Union Française in Galatasaray enchanted Istanbul audiences, and he was also invited to give concerts in Iran by the Shah.
Berger can be said to have pioneered violin teaching in Turkey, and his greatest gift to our country were a brother and sister who both became celebrated virtuosos: Necdet Azak, who later became a professor at the conservatory, and Ferhunde Erkin. Another of his pupils was Ayla Erduran, a musician of worldwide repute. In 1946 Berger married the Turkish painter Aliye Berger, and before his death became a Muslim and took the name Ömer Baki. He is buried in the Muslim cemetery on Büyükada, next to his father-in-law Sakir Pasa.

* Taha Toros is a historian.