GRANDMASTER NEYZEN SULEYMAN ERGUNER “Kutb-i Nayi”

He is the father and the teacher of Ulvi Erguner, who is one of the greatest ney players (neyzen) of the last period. Suleyman Erguner is the origin of the ney style which is known as the Erguner Style.

Suleyman Erguner was born in Istanbul-Sultan Selim in 2 August 1902. His father is Hafiz Hasan Effendi and his mother is Durriye Hanim.

He had his first knowledge on music and being a hafiz from Hafiz Hasan Effendi, who is his father and the muezzin of the Sultan Selim Mosque. Suleyman Erguner had lessons from Hafiz Sadettin Kaynak at tha same mosque and soon after he became the muezzin of the mosque. Suleyman Erguner lost his mother at the age of four, and than his father at the age of eleven. In his early youth, Suleyman Erguner was famous with his beautiful voice as a hafiz.

Suleyman Erguner practiced with very important musicians such as Bestenigâr Ziya Bey, Hafiz Cemal Effendi  and Sadeddin Kaynak. He started playing ney in the age of sixteen with the encouragement of Neyzen Emin Effendi. With great effort, he succeeded to have his own style.

He worked in Anatolia for years as a civil servant and in 1942 he returned to Istanbul as a great ney player and a music master. He is best known with his playing Shah Ney and with the sound of his smooth breath an his spiritual atmosphere. He educated his son Ulvi Erguner. Just like his son, Neyzen Niyazi Sayin, Neyzen Ahmet Yakuboglu, Neyzen Selami Bertug, Prof. Dr. Nevzad Atlig, Prof. Dr. Alâeddin Yavasca and Prof. Dr. Ercumend Berker profited from him.

Suleyman Erguner also has compositions in various forms. 

NEYZEN ULVI ERGUNER “Kutb-ı Nayi”

He was born in Istanbul- Sultan Selim, in 3 August 1924. His mother is Muazzez Hanim, and his father is Suleyman Erguner (1902-1953), who is a composer and the ney master of the last century. 

His brother Asaf Erguner (brn. 1927) was an economist and a tanbour player. Also his sister Serap Erguner dealed with music and played zither.

Ulvi Erguner had to visit various places in Anatolia with his father Suleyman Erguner because of his fathers duty in bureaucracy and for this reason he was graduated from various schools (with high degrees). He wanted to be registered in the Army Military Academy but he missed the beginning of the semester and because of this he was graduated from the Quartermaster Corps. in 1943.

He had his first knowledge about ney and music from his father. In Konya Military Middle School, he profited from Ahmet Ezgimen and played in the military band.

During his duty as an officer in Ankara and Istanbul, beside his father, he practiced music with Halil Can, Nuri Halil Poyraz, İlyas Tonguc, Fahri Kopuz, Hulusi Gokmenli and Sadeddin Heper. He also participated in the radio broadcasts of the TRT [Turkish Radio and Television] in Ankara and Istanbul. There, he made good use of his conversations with Mesud Cemil.

Ulvi Erguner was in charge with various ranks in Gelibolu, Kars, Erzurum, Ankara and Istanbul. Between 7 June 1958 and 9 June 1959 he was in Korea, and after this, until his retirement as a lieutenant colonel, he was charged in Hayrabolu and Kesan. Soon after his retirement, he was appointed as the manager of the department of the Turkish Classical and Folk Music in TRT- Istanbul. There he also was also located as a neyzen and the chief of the chorus.

In this duty, he founded the Ulvi Erguner Ensemble. Ulvi Erguner also separated the department of folk music and his assistant Nida Tüfekci became the head of this department. Ulvi Erguner established the performance of the Turkish Sufi Music at the radio and worked on the Turkish composers such as Meragalı Abdülkadir and Katip Celebi.

Beside ney, Ulvi Erguner could play ud and violin too. He performed ney in his fathers style which is called as the “Erguner Style”. Ulvi Erguner was famous with his spiritual performing. His improvisations are recorded in the archives of TRT. Ulvi Erguner performed ney as the head neyzen in the Commemorative Ceremony for Mevlana in Konya.