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A Century of Iranian Music on Shiraz Stage

A Century  of Iranian Music on  Shiraz Stage
A Century  of Iranian Music on  Shiraz Stage

Iranian-origin pianist Layla Ramezan will stage a piano recital on Thursday (Dec. 17), with a repertoire of masterpieces by celebrated past and contemporary composers at Hafez Hall in Shiraz.

The audience will be presented pieces by 22 well-known musicians, including the late Andre Hossein (1905-1983) and Iranian-Armenian Emanuel Melik-Aslanyan (1915-2003).

Compositions of Loris Tjeknavorian, Iranian Armenian composer and conductor, who is one of the most celebrated cultural figures in Armenia and Iran, and Mostafa Pourtorab, Hormoz Farhat, Ahmad Pejman, Fozie Majd, Alireza Mashayekhi, Iraj Sahbai, Mehran Rouhani and Reza Vali will also be performed at the musical event, titled ‘100 Years of Iranian Music’.

Ramezan has always sought to create a connection between her Persian origins and contemporary music. An element of Oriental culture is always present in her musical performances, Honaronline reported.

Sound, phrasing, a particular sense of rhythm and a refined understanding of the period of musical development are the foremost qualities of her interpretations. The differences between the cultures, which she has experienced, but also their similarities, are particularly important to her: she never ceases trying to express them, drawing inspiration from one or the other and distancing herself from stereotypes.

Ramezan’s performance in Pittsburgh in the US is slated for January 14, 2016. She will also perform in Tehran on May 23 and 24, and Toronto, Canada on October 22, next year.

In August 2014, she was invited to give a conference on piano notation and extended techniques in contemporary music in Tehran, as a prelude to two exceptional recitals which she rendered in December 2014, entitled ‘100 Years of Iranian Piano Music’. For this event, she brought together nearly 20 Iranian composers from all over the world, mixing styles and generations, and including many young creators from Iran. The performance at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall was enthusiastically received.

  Professional Resume

Ramezan’s musical and piano education began in Tehran at a young age of 8. She moved to Paris in 2000 and received a scholarship from the Albert Roussel foundation. There she integrated the classes of Jean Micault and Devi Erlih at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot and received a ‘diplome d’enseignement’ in piano and chamber music. She was later awarded a Diplome d’Etudes Musicales with distinction, at the Conservatoire National de Saint-Maur des Fosses et de Creteil, in the classes of Jacqueline Bourges-Manoury and Christophe Bukudjian. She went on to gain two masters, in musical interpretation and accompaniment, at the Haute Ecole de Musique of Lausanne, Switzerland, having studied under Christian Favre and Marc Pantillon.

In Lausanne, Ramezan met several inspiring musical personalities, such as William Blank and Philippe Albera (her teachers), who noticed her talent for contemporary music and encouraged her to pursue a career in this field. She then worked with composers such as Tristan Murail, Luis Naon and Nicolas Bolens, and met many young composers, of whom several had studied with Michael Jarrell in Geneva.

She is married to French composer and clarinetist Blaise Ubaldini.

In the last few years, she has been in touch with Iranian composers all over the world, including Hormoz Farhat, Behzad Ranjbaran, Ahmad Pejman, Alireza Mashaekhi, Nader Mashayekhi, Iradj Sahbai, Fuzie Majd and Reza Vali. As pianist of the Matka contemporary ensemble, based in Geneva, she has inspired several projects of inter-cultural musical contact with Iran.

In 2013, Ramezan organized a four-month residency at the Maison Baron in Geneva for Karen Keyhani, following the Matka ensemble’s commission of a work by this young Iranian composer. A concert was organized, entitled ‘A Contemporary Reading of Persian Music’ which brought together Iranian and French composers.

 

Financialtribune.com