Martin Greve is a German ethnomusicologist based in Beirut. His doctoral thesis deals with the history of Turkish Art Music in the 20th century. His habilitation thesis is a study of Turkish music in Germany. Dr. Greve has taught various courses on ethnomusicology and Turkish music as well as offered cross-cultural training at several universities and music academies in Germany and Switzerland, including TU Berlin, FU Berlin, Universität Basel, Musikhochschule Köln, and Universität Heidelberg. He has written several booklets on Turkish and Korean life in Berlin on behalf of the Berlin municipal Integration Office (Berliner Integrationsbeauftragter). From 2005 – 2011 he was the coordinator of the Study Program of Turkish Music at the Rotterdam World Music Academy. From 2007 – 2011 he served as advisor to the Berlin Philharmonic concert hall for the concert program “Alla Turca.” From May 2011 – September 2018, Martin Greve was a research associate at the Orient-Institut Istanbul responsible for the research field Music in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. Since December 2020, he is directing the DFG-funded research project entitled Music, Migration and Musical Expression at the Orient-Institut Istanbul.
Research Project
The DFG-funded research project “Migration, Memory and Musical Expression” focuses on music traditions in central eastern Anatolia and their changes during the past decades. Beyond this concrete aim, however, it is intended as a pioneering study on music in Anatolia in general: On the one hand, it aims to question the relevance of ethnic categories for music. On the other hand, the project applies methods of Historical Ethnomusicology on folk music in Anatolia. By dealing with the history of central eastern Anatolia over the past 100 years, it will further investigate the impact of experiences of violence on music traditions. Five main focus regions of this research include: 1) Sivas-Koçgiri; 2) Malatya-Arguvan; 3) Tunceli; 4) northern Bingöl; 5) Muş-Varto, Erzurum-Hınıs. Identity discourses with their historical development over the past decades will be investigated and, as part of them, consequences of historical experiences of violence during local rebellions (Koçgiri 1921, Şey Said 1925, Dersim 1937, Dersim-Bingöl 1994). Can any effect of these experiences on music life be proved, e.g., a growing importance of laments or changes of religious music? Eventually, effects of urbanization in the region, abandonment of villages and migration to Turkish or European cities, on musical traditions will be investigated, with a focus on migrants in Istanbul, Berlin, and Paris. Throughout the project, a focus will be laid on the changing social roles of women and their effects on female musicians.
