Turkish composer and pianist Fazıl Say's father, musicologist, publisher, short story and novelist Ahmet Say passed away at the age of 86.

Announcing his father's death, "We lost my father. My sadness is endless. Ahmet Say was one of Turkey's most valuable intellectuals. Condolences to all music and literature circles. Lot of works he left behind in his 86-year life. It was a very special, beautiful father-son relationship, right up to the last moment," shared the artist on his social media.

Fazıl Say also noted that his father has been struggling with health problems for about four years.

Ahmet Say was born in Istanbul in 1935. In 1951, Say graduated from Istanbul Municipality Conservatory while completing his studies in Istanbul High School in 1954.

In Germany, where he went after graduation, he studied in a school of media and broadcasting. When he returned to Turkey, he worked as a public education center director in addition to teaching in districts such as Bingöl and Erzincan.

Say began to manage the journals of Türk Solu (The Turkish Left), which he published with his friends in 1964, and Türkiye Yazıları (Turkish Writings) in 1977. The stories and articles of Say, who spent most of his life in Turkey's capital Ankara, were published in many magazines and newspapers.

Ahmet Say, known for his short stories, the four-volume "Music Encyclopedia," and the music criticism he made for a period in the newspaper Cumhuriyet (Republic), received the success award in the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) 1970 Art Awards Competition with his story "Komil's Horse" and the first prize in the 1974 Sabahattin Ali Story Competition with another story.