Articles

Long awaited return

Fields of Change is also a definite change in direction from the last couple of albums which according to Sepehr were largely dominantly produced by the labels they used to be with. This effort is their first independent effort and the result of what they think sounds good to them, rather than a result of corporate marketing listener surveys from American-advertising fed New Age stations. Don't get me wrong, you will enjoy owning very single album you buy, the signature S&S sound is always tight, multi-layered, and an elegantly thoughtful, construct of harmonic sounds and encouraging and exotic beats woven together to bring about a convergence that is, in a word, pleasing.>>>

Best kind of love

Maestro Loris Tjeknavorian was a guest of Berkeley Persian Center in the San Francisco Bay Area in March. A suite from his opera, Rostam and Sohrab, was to be performed by East Bay Symphony Orchestra on March 14th at the Paramount Theatre. The weekend before the performance I had the great fortune of meeting the Maestro at Darvag Group’s play in Berkeley, where I tagged along with him and some other good friends to a restaurant in Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto area. We had time for a brief chat, so I asked him what he would like to talk about, and he chose the subject of “love”! He also gave me the CD of his “Love Songs”, telling me stories about how he became inspired to write those melodies>>>

We, Who Have No Country…

"Istanbul" has always been associated in my mind with two themes: the city which was the destination of thousands of Persians fleeing the 8-year War, and the city which is the residence of Samin Baghcheban, the famous Persian immigrant composer. In the spring of 2006, when all of a sudden I had the chance to visit Istanbul, what preoccupied my mind more than anything else was: Is it possible that Samin Baghchehban will accept a visit from me? … I could not wait to arrive in Istanbul. I called him before my departure, and without any introduction, I said, "Mr. Baghcheban, I am coming to Istanbul. I would be very happy if I could see you!">>>

A call to love with Zarbang

Sorry for the short notice, but there are certain occasions that you just can NOT afford to miss. Yes, that applies to even us, spoiled residents of southern California, who are enticed with a new event each week. We are a privileged community to drink from this continuous stream of entertainment that temporarily satisfies our eagerness for all things Iranian, but tell me … If you woke up one morning to find that the ocean had come to you instead, running itself into your little stream, would you not run out to meet it and perhaps quench your ripened thirst? >>>

Iran's Rock Prodigies

WASHINGTON, DC - Emerging on the global music scene not long ago, Hypernova proves to be a legend in the making, already. Rocking out sold-out venues in major cities across the world, these Iranian rock-prodigies, Raam (Vox/Guitar), Kodi (Lead), Kami (Drums), Jam (Bass), are a part of all that’s prideful and consuming about being Iranian. Jamming away in unison passionately, Hypernova creates a magical sort of synergy between themselves and their fans>>>

شب همبستگی

عصر روز جمعه، مراسم شب همبستگی با زندانيان و دانشجويان سياسی، در پی فراخوان «ايرج جنتی عطايی»، ترانه‌سرای نامدار ايران، در مرکز آموزشی کارگران سوئد ABF در استکهلم برگزار شد. به همت کانون نويسندگان ايران در تبعيد، اين برنامه علاوه بر استکهلم، ديروز و امروز در دو شهر ديگر سوئد، گوتنبرگ و مالمو نيز برگزار شد. >>>

An evening to be proud of

On March 14, the Oakland East Bay Symphony across San Francisco held a very special classical performance dedicated to Iranian composers of the modern era. I don't know of any other symphony in the west that has done this, or at least in a long time. This program was called "Notes from Persia", and featured a wonderful Iranian piano soloist, Tara Kamangar; an extraordinary vocalist, Raeeka Shehabi-Yaghmai; and the work of two important Iranian composers: Aminollah Hossein and Loris Tjeknavorian. Michael Morgan, the extremely talented and innovative conductor of Oakland East Bay Symphony, got the idea for this concert from one of his staff members, who is Iranian>>>

دریغ و صد دریغ از پارسالت

نگاهی به هنرمندان وطنی بندازیم که با این همه چین و چروک و در حالی که نا و توانی هم براشون نمونده عینک های ته استکانی شون رو پشت صحنه در می آرن و با هفت قلم رنگ و روغن و مژهای مصنوعی پنج سانتی و دندان های عاریتی به رنگ برف مثل طاوس با هزار عشوه و کرشمه عین از اونجای فیل افتاده ها میرن روی صحنه تا خیل عظیم مردمی که بیش از سی ساله در این قحط الرجال هنری حیرون و سرگردون موندن رو سرگرم کنن. علیا مخدرات بدلیل اینکه در همون دقایق اولیه اجرای برنامه خمیازه ها رو یکی پس از دیگری در میون جمعیت مشاهده می کنن وسط کنسرت مجبورن چندین بار به پشت صحنه برگردن تا برای ایجاد تنوع هم که شده کلاه گیس ها و لباس هاشون را تند و تند عوض کنن.>>>

Reng

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Voice of Iran

Mohammad Reza Shajarian's voice streams out with such power and purity, embodying centuries of technique yet with such emotional texture as to leave the listener in absolute awe. It’s a voice hard yet clear like crystal, a crystal through which one can see three millennia of Iran’s history and culture, from Zarathustra at the dawn of spiritual man through to Baarbad in the Sassanid court, to Alexander’s sacking of Perspolise, to the invasion of the Arabs, to Rudaki and Avecina, to the Mongol plunder and Hafez’s great existential shrug, to Hasan Sabbah’s stubborn resistance at Alamut, the horse rides in the caucuses and the Shalimar gardens in Kashmir. It’s the voice of endurance in the face of pious repression and invaders’ brutality and regeneration through culture>>>

The Lost Legend

Three thousand people watched the New York City Ballet performance every night, a performance which invariably ended in standing ovations and a crowd that simply did not want to leave the packed New York State Theater. The promising young ballet dancer took his bows, with each bow intensifying the crowd’s applause and noises of approval and adoration, singling him out as “The Star” of the show. He was born to a family of artists, poets and writers in 1961. Afshin Mofid was one of two children born to the legendary Bijan Mofid and his wife, Farideh Fardjam, the first female Iranian playwright, prize-winning author, poet, and director>>>