Keyhan Kalhor by Todd Rosenberg
Musicians: Kayhan Kalhor – kamancheh & Behrouz Jamali on tombak (hand drum)
Date: Saturday, October 03, 2009 8:00PM
Where: Peter Norton Symphony Space, Broadway at 95th St, New York
Kayhan Kalhor (composer/kamancheh, b. 1963, Iran) is an internationally-acclaimed virtuoso on the kamancheh, Persian spiked fiddle. Born in Tehran, Iran, he began his musical studies at the age of seven. He has traveled throughout Iran, studying the music of its many regions and studied Western classical music in Rome and in Ottawa. He has composed works for Iran’s most renowned vocalists and has performed with Iran’s greatest masters. He tours the world as a soloist and with various ensembles.
He founded the internationally acclaimed ensemble Ghazal: Persian/Indian improvisations, with which he has made four recordings and the renowned Masters of Persian Music, with whom he has three recordings. He has composed for the Kronos Quartet and for television and film. Kayhan Kalhor is a founding member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble with whom he continues to tour the world. He appears on all three of the Ensemble’s albums. For the Silk Road Project he has composed “Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur” which debuted at Carnegie Hall and The Silent City. Three of his recordings have been nominated for Grammy’s.
His powerful and soulful songs, which are inspired by the current situation in Iran, are dedicated to the people of Iran.
He was arrested Sep.11th at the Tehran Airport and was taken in for questioning, but he was freed the next afternoon. Why that happenened is still unknown. He has now joined Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project on their European tour.
Persian Arts Festival (PAF) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to showcasing the magnificence and diversity of Persian art and culture through its voices, artists and visionaries. PAF brings local and global communities together to support these artists and explore one of the world’s most ancient and rich civilizations. Persian Arts Festival is a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).
persianartsfestival.org.
