Broader than Classical with Karsu

Amsterdam Sinfonietta

Daniël Bard, conductor & violin

Karsu

Singer and pianist Karsu (Amsterdam, 1990) has performed her unique blend of pop, jazz, and Turkish music in over twenty countries around the world, graced the stage of the renowned Carnegie Hall in New York three times, and played at the North Sea Jazz Festival twice. Her debut album Confession was released in 2012, followed by Colors (2015), for which she received an Edison award in June 2016. In 2017, she performed the theater show Play My Strings. The 2018 tour, Karsu Plays Atlantic Records, was a success, followed by extensive tours in many countries. Her star has continued to rise in Turkey, where her concerts are consistently sold out. At the end of 2019, she released the self-titled album Karsu, featuring new self-written English and Turkish lyrics. This marked her first real club tour through the Netherlands (review by Volkskrant). An extensive tour in Turkey followed. A world tour scheduled for 2020, including stops in the USA and Russia, was canceled due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Despite this, Karsu remained active; she performed numerous online concerts from home, live-streamed from De Doelen (review by Trouw), participated in an Empty Concertgebouw Session, produced multiple music videos, and played for COVID-19 patients at VUmc. She also pursued her passion for cooking, with her YouTube series Karsu’s Kitchen garnering thousands of views.

Starting in early 2021, Karsu has written a monthly food column for Chantal Janzen’s magazine &C. Her new single Sonunda (released July 2021) topped the Turkish charts. On August 9, she launched her cooking show Karsu’s Turkse Keuken on 24Kitchen.

Her participation in Beste Zangers kept millions of viewers glued to their screens in September and October. Her performances of Hijo de la Luna and Je Suis Malade (a duet with Belle Perez) reached number one on various charts. During this period, she also hosted her own musical talk show Karsu’nun Odası for Turkish Netflix BluTv, where she welcomes well-known Turkish artists, exchanging experiences and performing duets on her piano. She continues as a food columnist for &C magazine.

In February 2022, Karsu resumed her postponed club tour through the Netherlands, highlighted by a sold-out performance at Paradiso on April 2, 2022. She also performed at a sold-out O2 in London and toured the USA for two weeks. Karsu’s passion for cooking continued with the second season of her cooking show Karsu's Turkse Keuken on 24Kitchen, starting May 2, 2022, where she showcases how to easily recreate her recipes at home.

In the fall of 2022, Karsu once again toured the Dutch club circuit and on October 25, 2022, fulfilled a long-held dream with a sold-out performance in the main hall of Het Koninklijk Concertgebouw.