Asia Society is pleased to announce a series of three concerts, presented in conjunction with Iran Modern, a groundbreaking exhibition of Iranian modern art from the 1950s thru the 70s (the three decades preceding the 1979 Revolution), on view September 6, 2013 – January 5, 2014. New Sounds from Iran will emphasize innovation within tradition, featuring artists who, drawing from recent or long-past legacies, East and West, demonstrate how one can enrich and expand the expressive power of musical forms and find global relevance in the present moment.
Artists include Mohsen Namjoo considered by some as the Bob Dylan of Iran, a visionary musician who seamlessly blends Persian classical poetry and original lyrics with Iranian folk music and American rock and blues (September 7); Kayhan Kalhor, a master of Kurdish and Persian music and member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, performing his own compositions on kamancheh (spiked fiddle), with Ali Bahrami Fard on santour (hammered dulcimer) (November 16); and a Middle-Eastern ensemble fusing sounds from Iran and Syria with jazz improvisation and putting a contemporary spin to the musical legacy of the ancient caravans, with Saeid Shanbehzadeh (Iranian bagpipe), Basel Rajoub (saxophone), Naguib Shanbehzadeh (percussion), Kin
This program is part of Asia Society’s ongoing initiative “Creative Voices of Muslim Asia,” a multidisciplinary series launched in 2008 and celebrating the vivid and diverse ways in which Muslims in Asia express their creative voices at the beginning of the 21st century.
Related Programs
PERFORMANCE
Mohsen Namjoo
Saturday, September 7 • 8:00 PM
Join celebrated Iranian musician Mohsen Namjoo for a performance of his unique musical style — a mosaic of Persian classical poetry of Hafez, Rumi, and Saadi with Western rock, blues, and jazz influences.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
DooBeeDoo recent concert review:
ART TALK
Members-Only Lecture
Tuesday, September 10 • 6:30 PM
On the evening of the opening reception, join cocurator Fereshteh Daftari for an insider’s view of this groundbreaking exhibition.
Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 6:00 PM.
LECTURE
Underground Music in Iran with Mohsen Namjoo
Thursday, September 12 • 6:30 PM
Visionary musician Mohsen Namjoo lectures on the vibrant underground music scene in contemporary Iran.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
SYMPOSIUM
The Shiraz Arts Festival: A Global Vision Revisited
Saturday, October 5 • 10:00 AM
From 1967 to 1977, the Shiraz Arts Festival in Iran presented theater, music and dance. Western avant-garde artists such as Peter Brook, Robert Wilson, John Cage were joined by artists, both contemporary and traditional, from Iran and other parts of the world. This symposium offers a much-needed reconsideration of the legacy of the festival.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
ART TALK
Iran’s Art World: 1960s–1970s
Tuesday, October 22 • 6:30 PM
Join gallerists and artists for an evening of conversation as they revisit the contemporary art world of Tehran in the 1960s-1970s.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
SYMPOSIUM
Iran: Art and Discourse
Saturday, October 26 • 10:00 AM
A one-day symposium on the production and distribution of visual art in Iran with panels on curating, critics and arts organizations.
Copresented by Asia Society and the Center for Global Communication Studies, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
Free: Tickets will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis. Click here for more information.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Goli Taraghi — The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons
Monday, October 28 • 6:30 PM
Join the author on the publication of her new collection of short stories. Followed by a book sale and signing.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
FILM SERIES
Iran 1960s-1970s
November 2013
Film series dedicated to Iranian New Wave films of 60s and 70s and contemporary additions that highlight cultural and social life of that period.
Keyhan Kalhor (photo by Todd Rosenberg)
PERFORMANCE
Kayhan Kalhor with Ali Bahrami Fard
Saturday, November 16 • 8:00 PM
Master musicians Kayhan Kalhor and Ali Bahrami Fard perform music from their recent album, I Will Not Stand Alone.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
PERFORMANCE
Sound: The Encounter, New Music from Iran and Syria
Co-presented with the Aga Khan Music Initiative
Saturday, December 7 • 8:00 PM
Acclaimed Iranian musician and dancer Saeid Shanbezadeh will be joined by Syrian saxophone player Basel Rajoub, virtuoso percussionist Naguib Shanbehzadeh, and guest artists to perform a collection of newly-developed and arranged musical pieces inspired by the millennium-old musical legacy of the ancient Silk Route.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
All programs are subject to change. Visit AsiaSociety.org/NYC for the most up-to-date schedule and ticket information.
Ongoing support is provided by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, as part of Asia Society’s ongoing initiative Creative Voices of Muslim Asia. Additional support for Iran Modern programming is provided by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and the American Institute of Iranian Studies.
