Persian New Year Observed with Nationwide Radio Broadcast of Music by Iranian-American Composer Reza Vali sponsored by FARHANG FOUNDATION

 

http://www.farhang.org/events/persian-new-year-observed-with

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is pleased to announce that its performance of Toward that Endless Plain, a concerto for Persian ney by Iranian-born composer Reza Vali, will be broadcast across the US in conjunction with the Persian new year. A LACO co-commission, the work is inspired by mystic poet Sohrab Sepehri and features ney virtuoso Khosrow Soltani. The two-hour SymphonyCast program also offers performances of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, “Classical” and the “Reformation” Symphony of Mendelssohn, plus interviews with the artists, including composer Vali.
American Public Media will make the program available to its carrier stations beginning on March 16, 2009. Listeners in Southern California can tune in on Saturday, March 21 at 6:00 pm to Classical KUSC 91.5 FM in Los Angeles and its affiliates in Santa Barbara (KQSC 88.7 FM), Palm Springs (KPSC 88.5 FM) and Thousand Oaks (KDSC 91.1 FM). Click here for a complete SymphonyCast carriage list; listeners should consult their local stations for exact dates and times of broadcast.

Broadcast of this program is sponsored by the Farhang Foundation: The Iranian American Heritage Foundation of Southern California. Commenting on the Farhang Foundation’s sponsorship, the President, Dr. Touraj Daryaee, noted that “…partnering with LACO, one of the premiere cultural institutions of our city, in this milestone season fits perfectly with the mission of our organization. It is a special opportunity to promote and celebrate the wonderful art and culture of Iranian-Americans in Southern California, and it also allows us to bring LACO’s performance of Reza Vali’s marvelous composition to classical music listeners across America, thereby enriching the community at large.”

Click here to read press release.
 

 

 

Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra

 

Saturday, November 3, 2007

8:00 P.M.

Alex Theatre

216 North Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91203

 

Sunday, November 4, 2007

7:00 P.M.

Royce Hall

Royce Dr. & Sunset Blvd.

Westwood, CA 90024

 

For ticket information please contact Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra:

 

707 Wilshire Blvd #1850

Los Angeles, CA 90017

213 622 7001

tickets@laco.org

http://www.laco.org/performances

 

On November 3-4, 2007, the Persian Ney master Khosrow Soltani and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Kahane, will perform the west coast premiere of Toward that Endless Plain, Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra by the Persian composer and Carnegie Mellon University professor Reza Vali. 

Toward that Endless Plain, Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra was written for Khosrow Soltani and dedicated to the memory of Mr. Soltani’s wife, Farzaneh Navai who passed away in 2004.

The title and the content of the work are inspired by a poem by the 20th century Persian mystic poet Sohrab Sepehri:

 

I must depart tonight.

Taking a suitcase

the size of my loneliness,

I must go

where the mythical trees are in sight.

Toward that endless plain

that always

is calling me to itself.

 

The concerto consists of a prelude and three movements.  The second and the third movements are connected through an interlude.  Throughout the concerto, the solo Ney characterizes “the seeker” (Sâlek or Ráhro in Persian), while the orchestra embodies the environment of the seeker (Vâdi in Persian).

The musical material of the composition is entirely derived from Persian traditional music. The tuning, rhythm, form, as well as polyphonic constructions relate to the Persian modal system, the Dástgâh.

 
Photo: Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Khosrow Soltani is a master of Persian as well as western wind instruments.  He has studied bassoon at the Academy of Music in Vienna, Austria, and has performed with the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra.  Parallel to his career as a bassoonist, Mr. Soltani has excelled performing medieval and renaissance wind instruments as well as the Persian wind instruments such as the Ney, the Balaban, the Surna, and the Karna.  Since 1976, he has been a member of the Viennese early music ensemble Les Menestrels. He has also performed with other Austrian early music ensembles such as Clemencic Consort and Musica Antiqua Wien.