Hi to all of you guitar experts. I am an old (almost 80) semi-retired horn (French -- how we hornists hate that label) player (my true vocation) and retired U.S. Government (economic vocation) employee. In view of the facts and opinions expressed in this threat, I thought you might be interested in the following copy of a eulogy I was asked to write for reading at Turan's funeral:
begin eulogy
For Turan Mirza Kamal I consider myself as the luckiest man alive, having known two of the most remarkable men one can imagine.. Turan was one of these, the other, his father Ahmad Kamal.
I have known Turan literally all of his life. I was working in lace>Indonesialace> when he was born in 1951. His father and I had already become close friends, and I was able to share with him and Amina the joy of having a first-born son. (Ahmad and Amina already had a lovely daughter, Tura) Some of my most vivid early memories of Turan were watching him and his sister sitting at a small table in their house in lace>Bandunglace>, refusing to eat their meals. Ahmad kept shouting at them, “Asha!, Asha! (Eat!, Eat!)” This might have been the beginning of Turan’s stubbornness that persisted until the day of his untimely death, for Turan was a fighter who never gave up.
> >A few short years later (and a number of adventures which shall remain unnamed) Amina, Tura, and Turan (known as AT&T for short) lived across the street from me in lace>Madrid, Spainlace>. By this time I had a little boy of my own, and he liked to toddle across the street to play with T and T, fortunately under the watchful eyes of the Spanish secret police. By this time Ahmad and I had so antagonized French intelligence that the Spanish government, wishing to avoid a diplomatic incident, provided us covertly with this protection.
> >Turan grew up in this atmosphere of intrigue and danger. He also grew up with an abiding love for music. He studied classical guitar with the Spanish masters, including Andres Segovia, and later excelled in the Paris Conservatory. He spent a few short years as a concert artist. One of my most pleasant memories was taking my teen-age son, David, to a concert by Turan at the National Gallery of Art in lace>Washington, tate>DCtate>lace>. It was a freezing cold night amidst a blizzard. Few people were out, so we had no trouble parking almost by the door of the Gallery. Inside, however, there was a nice crowd, and Turan played magnificently, receiving a standing ovation.
Turan was gifted in far too many fields to enumerate here. Not the least of these, however, was his love of languages. He was equally fluent in English, Tatar, French, and Spanish. He was equally at home in Spanish of the street, or of the finest salons of tate>lace>Madridlace>tate>. > >I could not love Turan more were he my flesh-and-blood son. To say that I will miss him terribly is a gross understatement. Yet I would take nothing for the privilege of being called his friend.
> >I know Turan is in Heaven, reorganizing the place. I pray that he will prepare a place for me.
end of eulogy
Turan's older sister, Tura, also studied the classical guitar while living in Spain. She did not, however, pursue such study in a serious manner. Turan also studied in London with Julian Bream.
Turan was better known as a concert artist in Israel and several Eastern European countries. His Arabic-sounding name, however, made bookings in the U.S. harder to come by. For him, Israel was a more friendly venue.
A few final words:
Throughout the years I have noted that Turan unvaryingly looked to the day when he could use his privilege as an American, to help the land of his ancestors – thereby bringing the 2 together. This was not possible before, as Communism and Soviet Russian Colonialism made it impossible – especially in view of the fact that his family had for centuries been actively anti Russian Colonialism and, more recently, fervently anti Communist.>> > >
Now, in this era, we have seen the collapse of both of these powers and the time seemed ideal for Turan to put his aspirations into action. As a patriot, he wanted to help the lace>USAlace> and the land of his forefathers. Unfortunately, his life was cut suddenly and prematurely short by cancer. >>
> >
He is not a dreamer, nor a romantic. He is a pragmatist. He knows that under Soviet Communist domination, lace>Central Asialace> was strangled. He has commented to me also, that although the Republics of Central Asia are to most appearances, independent, they are not really free of the yoke and influence of lace>Moscowlace>. Yet the populace is ready for an infusion of lace>New Hopelace>. This is where, he feels, lace>Americalace> can be the saving grace.>>