Music is one of the clearest threads of Sephardi Izmir. It runs through the liturgy of the synagogues, through Ladino song at home and at festive gatherings, and through the wider world of Ottoman and Turkish music that the city’s Jewish musicians helped to shape.
- Central figure: Isaac Algazi (1889–1950)
- Repertoire: synagogue liturgy, Maftirim, Ladino song
- Documentary: Sephardic Music (2022)
Isaac Algazi
Izmir produced Isaac Algazi (1889-1950), a cantor of the Algazi Synagogue and one of the major composers of religious, secular and classical Turkish music of his time. He came from a family of cantors, learned Ottoman-Turkish music alongside the Jewish repertoire, and became a respected figure among the musicians of the early Republic, performing for Atatürk at Dolmabahçe Palace before leaving Turkey in 1933.
Song and continuity
Sephardi song in Ladino, along with the synagogue tradition of the Maftirim choral repertoire, continues to be recorded and performed. The documentary Sephardic Music, by the Istanbul filmmaker and musicologist Ömür Şenol, premiered in 2022 and features musicians and researchers from Istanbul and Izmir. The city also remembers Dario Moreno, the singer born in the old Jewish quarter who became famous in France and Latin America.