Fazıl Say Denies Bullying Claims by Berlin Concertmaster

Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say has publicly rejected accusations of humiliating conduct made by Berlin Philharmonic violinist Hande Küden, insisting that "every member of our orchestra is a witness to this." His statement, released after Küden's charge and her reported departure from his new venture, opens the latest round in a dispute now shadowing a freshly launched orchestra project.

"The allegations made about me by Hande Küden are untrue," Say said. "The statements made following our concert have deeply saddened and disappointed us."

Say worked on the project in two roles at once: Artistic Director and composer. That dual position sits at the center of his defense. He argues the friction came from legitimate musical demands, not personal mistreatment.

What exactly does Say admit to?

He doesn't deny making demands in rehearsal — he denies the manner was abusive. "The requests I made during rehearsals regarding the interpretation of my own composition were purely professional musical requirements," Say said. "In expressing these requests, my communication with her remained within the boundaries of professional respect and conduct."

He points to the room itself as his evidence. "All our orchestra members and colleagues who were present at the rehearsals directly witnessed both the requests I made and the manner in which I expressed them," he said.

Say also cites a public gesture: he says he praised Küden openly, "during our concert, in front of an audience of 1,500 people." His framing is that artistic expectation and personal respect can coexist. "Sharing my musical expectations as a composer does not change the respect I have for the artist with whom I work," he said.

What does this change for the new orchestra?

That's the practical question, and Say addressed it directly. The ensemble is newly established, and its inaugural concert is now wrapped in controversy. "I do not want the collective efforts of our newly established orchestra or the joy of our inaugural concert, to be overshadowed by this dispute," he said, calling the situation "particularly disheartening" given the "tremendous effort" behind the project.

One structural detail may soften the immediate fallout. According to Say, the season brochure already plans rotating leadership on the podium desk: "we will be working with a different concertmaster for each performance in this series." In other words, no single player's exit disrupts the calendar by design.

Say closed with a forward-looking note for the young ensemble. "We will continue to create meaningful work together, to be a voice of hope and to strive to achieve even greater things with each performance," he said.

Whether the orchestra's members back that account publicly — Say claims their support, Küden claims mistreatment, and both cite the same rehearsals — will likely decide how this dispute reads a season from now.