{{Short description|Turkish pianist (1944–2014)}} {{one source|date=March 2020}} thumbnail|right|Verda Erman '''Verda Erman''' (19 December 1944 – 21 July 2014) was a Turkish pianist.

Born in Istanbul in 1944, she began her career at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory.<ref name=sabah>{{cite news|title=Beloved Pianist Verda Erman Passes Away |url=http://www.dailysabah.com/music/2014/07/22/beloved-pianist-verda-erman-passes-away |work=Sabah |date=2014-07-22 |access-date=2014-08-20}}</ref> In 1957, she was sent to study at the Conservatoire de Paris under Turkish law no. 6660 for students with "extraordinary talents."<ref name=sabah/> She studied under French pianist Lucette Descaves and graduated from the conservatory with the highest honors.<ref name=sabah/> Erman then worked with pianist Lazare Lévy to improve her skills on the piano.<ref name=sabah/> She also enrolled in lessons on counterpoint and harmony from French composer, Noël Gallon.<ref name=sabah/> She gave a series of concerts in Paris before returning to Turkey.

Erman performed with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey. She won first prize in the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition (now called the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition) in Paris in October 1963.<ref name=sabah/> In 1965, Erman placed second in the Canada International Piano Competition.<ref name=sabah/>

Verda Erman was honored as a State Artist in 1971, the year the honorary title was created.<ref name=sabah/> She toured extensively around the world as a guest musician after 1971. She enjoyed successful tenures in Belgrade, Paris, Montreal and Bucharest. Pianist Rudolf Serkin invited her to the Marlboro Music School and Festival in the U.S. state of Vermont.<ref name=sabah/> She continued to perform with the Turkish Presidential Symphony Orchestra as a vocal artist on the orchestra's European tours.<ref name=sabah/>

Erman died in Paris on 21 July 2014, possibly of leukemia, at the age of 70.<ref name=sabah/>

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Erman, Verda}} Category:1944 births Category:2014 deaths Category:Turkish classical pianists Category:Turkish women pianists Category:Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition prize-winners Category:State Artists (Turkey) Category:Conservatoire de Paris alumni Category:Musicians from Istanbul Category:20th-century classical pianists Category:Deaths from leukemia in France Category:Women classical pianists Category:20th-century women pianists