Music > Music Review > BEHZAD RANJBARAN'S PERSIAN TRILOGY BY ARIANA BARKESHLI
Seven Passages
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A note from Ariana Barkeshli, pianist, music educator, researcher and Artistic Director of the International Society of Iranian Studies (ISIS), 2008.
Everyone who has an interest in music and Persian literature should take note of a pivotal cultural event that took place at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia in three concerts on March 29 and 31, 2008.
In a concert entitled Legends and Music, The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the finest in the world, performed Seven Passages for orchestra by the renowned Persian composer Behzad Ranjbaran.
Acclaimed conductor Alastair Willis began the program with works by Dvorak and Rimsky-Korsakov, ending with Behzad Ranjbaran’s Seven Passages (Haftkhan e Rostam). This performance was followed by a powerfully animated Shahnameh narration in English by the celebrated storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston.
As a professional Persian musician, and as an attendee of this monumental event in Persian music history, I was moved and extremely proud to witness the warmth and enthusiasm with which an audience of 6,000 people received Ranjbaran's work.
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Seven Passages is part of Behzad Ranjbaran’s masterpiece, Persian Trilogy written for symphony orchestra. Persian Trilogy is comprised of three dramatic musical tone poems inspired by Persia’s epic poem Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) by Ferdowsi.
Even after thirty years in the United States, Behzad Ranjbaran’s music remains infused with Persian modes, folk rhythms and ornamental melodic figures. Ranjbaran is recognized as one of the most imaginative and interesting composers of our time. Critics have described his music as filled with “radiant luminescence. He plays the colors of the orchestra with an unconscious mastery, and with grace and ease.”
In recent seasons, Ranjbaran’s music has been performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Fleming and Joshua Bell among others. In June 2008, Jean-Yves Thibaudet will be the soloist in the premiere of Ranjbaran’s Piano Concerto with the Atlanta Symphony, Robert Spano conductor.
To learn more about Behzad Ranjbaran and to hear his Persian Trilogy, log on to: www.behzadranjbaran.com.
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