Gezi’s guerrilla pianist Martello returns to Turkey for concerts in memory of Soma victims

German pianist and composer Davide Martello, who became known for his guerrilla concert in Istanbul’s Taksim Square at the height of last year’s Gezi protests, has taken his piano back to the streets of Turkey, this time in memory of the 301 workers who were killed in the mining disaster in Soma last month.

Martello returned to Turkey as part of a tour, holding his first street show on June 16 in yet another iconic location: Gündoğdu Square in İzmir, which faces onto the Aegean Sea.

“I came for solidarity, whatever political opinion people may have. What has happened in Soma is very sad. I don’t feel as strong as I did in Taksim, but I’m here to contribute with my art,” he said.

Martello will also play in the resort town of Bodrum on June 17, before heading to Ankara on June 18 and Eskişehir on June 19. He will then give two separate concerts in Istanbul, in the Asian side’s Kadıköy district on June 20 and in the Beşiktaş district across the Bosphorus on June 21.

All income from the tour will be donated to a fund set up for the education of the Soma victims’s children.