Composer (B. 14th December 1906, Edirne –D. 2nd February 1985, Istanbul) He went to Ravza-i Terakki School and completed his
secondary and high school education at Edirne Sultanisi (T.N. High School).
After then, he moved to
His music life began with his
brother Nedim Ongan’s violin, which he secretly played covertly. His family
didn’t approve of him embarking
a musical career at first, but when they saw how
interested Emin Ongan was in music, they supported him. At Anadolu Sports Club,
he enrolled in musical community conducted by Tamburi Süreyya Bey, who was a
student of Mildanzade Niyazi Bey, in 1925. He took his first music lessons from
Mızıkalı Celal Bey when he entered the Darülfeyz-i Musiki Cemiyeti (Üsküdar
Musical Community) in 1927, after having settled in
Ongan gave practice lessons and he helped the
Üsküdar Musical Community to turn into a small conservatory. He supported traditional meşk (T.N. practice lesson) with insistence. On 19th
October 1987; the name of Üsküdar Music Community was changed as Emin Ongan
Üsküdar Musical Community. Songs and fantasias constituted the majority of the
works of Emin Ongan, who has a special place among Turkish composers. He
composed saz semais as well.
Sen benim gönlümde açan son gülsün (Nihavend), Bugün yine
gönlümün bahçesinde gezindim (Nihavent song), Bahar meltemidir başımda esen (Nihavent fantasia), Gittin bıraktın beni gurbet ellerde
(Kürdîlihicazkâr), Bunca çevrinle gönül
ülkesi virane olur (Kürdîlihicazkâr song), Nihal-i gülşen-i hüsn-i ezelsin (Suzinak song), Hasretle yanan kalbime yetmez gibi derdim
(Suzinak şarkı), Ömrümün güzel çağı,
içimdeki bin heves (Buselik song), Gittin
bırakıp sevgimi soldurmadı yıllar (Rast song), Gönlümün bir hali var ki gam değil kasvet değil (Uşşak song), Gonca açmaz gül olmaz baharı yok gönlümün
(Hicazkâr song).
REFERENCE: Avni Anıl / Anılar ve Belgelerle Musikimiz (1981), Mehmet Nazmi Özalp / Türk
Musikisi Tarihi (1986), Büyük Larousse (c. 14, s. 8848,
1986), Ana Britannica (c. 17, s. 118-119, 1987), Yılmaz
Öztuna / Büyük Türk Musikisi Ansiklopedisi (1990), Fehamet Ünsal / Ömrünü Musıkiye Adamış İnsan: Emin Ongan (2000),
Emin Ongan / Bugün Yine Gönlümün Bahçesinde Gezindin (tsz), Ahmet Şahin Ak / Türk Musikisi Tarihi (2002), Vural Sözer /
Müzik Ansiklopedik Sözlük (2005), İhsan Işık /
Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi
(2006, 2007) - Ünlü Sanatçılar (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 5, 2013) -
Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).