Music soothes violent feelings, says veteran conductor 

Veteran musician and conductor Professor Rengim Gökmen says that music is an art that soothes harsh and violent feelings of human beings and penetrates into their souls. 

Gökmen, 66, served as the general manager and artistic director of the State Opera and Ballet and also served as the music director and conductor at the Presidential Symphony Orchestra (CSO) for 40 years until the pandemic process. He is the founder and permanent conductor of the Doğuş Children's Symphony Orchestra and the supervisor of the İzmir Karşıyaka Municipality Chamber Orchestra. Gökmen is currently training young conductors at Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory.

Speaking to daily Hürriyet, Gökmen explained the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on arts and said: "It was terrible that what we read as a dystopia in the novels turned out to be real. Our concerts were halted as if they were cut with a knife.

Along with education, culture and art are the sectors that have been hit the hardest. Particularly, the art of ballet suffered a lot in Turkey. One year is very important in a ballet dancer's life. It is a branch of art that can be done until the age of 40.

Young musicians also experienced this trauma. This period will leave negative effects even 20 years later. Those, without a fixed income, had a particularly hard time. There are also very painful things that we have heard. Those who committed suicide or those who sold their instruments."

Gökmen said that during this process, he was not that pessimistic. He said that it was the time when he left the Presidential Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and spent his time writing, reading and listening. "It was the most peaceful and saturated period of my life. I have developed many projects. I can say that...