Ali (Alexander) Rahbari ( fa, علی رهبری; also
Romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as "Alī Rahbarī", ; born 1948) is an
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
and
conductor, who has worked with more than 120 European
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
s, including the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
History
The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
and the
Mariinsky Opera
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
.
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Life
Born in Tehran on 26 May 1948, Rahbari studied violin and musical composition, composition with Rahmatollah Badiee and Hossein Dehlavi at the Persian National Music Conservatory. From the age of 17 he was a violinist at the Fine Arts Administration Orchestra No. 1 (conducted by Hossein Dehlavi).
After receiving his violin diploma from the National Conservatory, he won a scholarship from the Iran Ministry of Culture and Art and moved to Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Rahabari continued his studies in composition and conducting at the Vienna Academy
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria.
History
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...
with Gottfried von Einem
Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ.
Biog ...
, Hans Swarovsky
Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975,) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth.
Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiří Vysloužil, ...
and Karl Österreicher
Karl Österreicher (3 January 1923 – 11 March 1995) was an Austrian conductor and music teacher.
Life
Born in Rohrbach an der Gölsen, Lower Austria, Austrian studied clarinet as well as conducting with Hans Swarowsky, later also with Alfr ...
.
Some months after his return to Iran, in 1973 he became director of the Persian National Music Conservatory and was director of the Tehran Conservatory of Music from 1974–1977.
During this time Rahbari, in co-operation with young Iranian musicians, established Iran's Jeunesse Musicale Orchestra where he was its music director and permanent conductor. He also conducted the Tehran Symphony Orchestra
The Tehran Symphony Orchestra (TSO, fa, ارکستر سمفونیک تهران), founded in 1933, is Iran's oldest and largest symphony orchestra. It was founded as the ''Municipality Symphony Orchestra'' by Gholamhossein Minbashian, before enteri ...
, the National Iranian Radio and Television
National Iranian Radio and Television, or NIRT for short, ( fa, رادیو تلویزیون ملی ایران, ''Radio-ye Telâvisiun-e Mili-ye 'Iran'') was the first Iranian state broadcaster, which was established on June 19, 1971, following the ...
(NIRT) Chamber Orchestra and the Tehran Opera Orchestra as a guest conductor in Roudaki Hall
The Vahdat Hall ( fa, تالار وحدت – ''Tālār e Vahdat'' means "Unity Hall"), formerly the Roudaki Hall ( fa, تالار رودکی – ''Tālār-e Rudaki''), is a performing arts complex in Tehran, Iran.
History
Around the 1950s and ...
.
In 1977 he emigrated to Europe. In the same year he won the first prize of the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors The International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors, is a music competition for young conducting, conductors in the city of Besançon, France.
History
The competition was organized for the first time in 1951 by the music and film critic an ...
(France) and in 1978 received the silver medal at the Geneva International Conducting Competition. In this year he recorded three LPs entitled "Symphonische Dichtungen aus Persien
''Symphonische Dichtungen aus Persien'' (Symphonic Poems from Persia) is the name of 3 gramophone records recorded with Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in 1980 conducted by Ali Rahbari. Including works of the Persian (Iranian) contemporary compose ...
" ymphonic Poems from Persiawith Nürnberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany, including 6 works by some of the greatest 20th century Iranian composers: "Bijan & Manijeh" by Hossein Dehlavi, "Dance", "Ballet-Immpressionen" and "Rhapsodie" by Ahmad Pejman
Ahmad Pejman ( fa, احمد پژمان ; born 1935), also spelled as Ahmad Pezhman, is an Iranian classical composer who resides in the United States. Pejman is notable for his operatic and symphonic works.
Biography
Born in 1935 in Lar, Ira ...
, "Sheherazade" by Aminollah (Andre) Hossein, "Iranian Suite" by Houshang Ostovar
Amir Houshang Ostovar (Persian: هوشنگ استوار) (also transcribed as ''Hoochang Ostovar'', January 30, 1927 – January 7, 2016) was a Persian symphonic music composer and Instructor.
Biography
Houshang Ostovar was born in Tehran
...
, "Persian Mysticism in G" (his own composition) and "Mouvement Symphonic" by Mohammad-Taghi Massoudieh.
1979 was the most important year in Rahbari's career. He was invited to conduct Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
History
The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
and in 1980 Salzburg Easter Festival The Salzburg Easter Festival (German: ''Osterfestspiele Salzburg'') is an annual festival of opera and classical music held in Salzburg, Austria during Easter week.
For most of the festival's history, the resident orchestra of the Easter Festival ...
became Karajan's assistant.
From 1988 to 1996 Rahbari was the principal conductor of the Flemish Radio Orchestra (now Brussels Philharmonic
The Brussels Philharmonic is a Belgian radio orchestra located in Brussels. Formerly known as the Groot Symfonie-Orkest, BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, and later as the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the orchestra has been linked to the Flemish public ...
) and after that became music director of Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra
The Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra ( Croatian: ''Zagrebačka filharmonija'') is an orchestra based in Zagreb, Croatia. It was officially founded on the 30 November 1919.
History
The origins of the orchestra can be found in the opera ensemble of ...
.
In 2005 he came back to Iran, and conducted Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
's Ninth Symphony in Tehran. Many conservatives and newspapers accused Rahbari of promoting Western values. He resigned from Tehran Symphony Orchestra and left Iran as a protest against its music industry .
In 2009 he introduced new musical ideas based on rhythms in Persian traditional music
Persian traditional music or Iranian traditional music, also known as Persian classical music or Iranian classical music, refers to the classical music of Iran (also known as ''Persia''). It consists of characteristics developed through the coun ...
.
In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Rahbari has spoken out against the Western sanctions against Russian musicians..Rahbari believe that The worst thing an artist can do is sanction another artist."If the sanction is correct, then we should have sanctioned many British, American and basically NATO who have attacked villages in Afghanistan and attacked Baghdad for no reason since the last 45 years. They had no border and no problem with them. So, in this way, we should have banned all Hollywood films", he said.
Selected compositions
* Violin Concerto / Symphonie Persane ''Nohe Khan'' (1967/72)
* ''Persian Mysticism'' -around G-, for orchestra (1969)
* ''Beirut'', for flutes ensemble (1985)
* ''Music For Human Rights'', for orchestra (1980s)
* ''Puccini: Tosca'' - Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) and Slovak Philharmonic Chorus pril 1990* ''EXTA$Y'' The Musical (dedicated to Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...
) (1995/96)
** Part 1 : Sister Angelica
** Part 2 : Mister Gianni
* ''La Fuerza Flamenca'', for Choir and Orchestra (2000)
* ''My Mother Persia'', 7 Symphonic Poems (2017/18)
See also
* Music of Iran
The music of Iran encompasses music that is produced by Iranian artists. In addition to the traditional folk and classical genres, it also includes pop and internationally celebrated styles such as jazz, rock, and hip hop.
Iranian music infl ...
* List of Iranian composers
This is a list of Iranian composers. ''See also full list of Iranian musicians and singers''.
Classical/Traditional Persian composers
* Abolhasan Saba
*Ali-Naqi Vaziri
* Ali Tajvidi
*Ardavan Kamkar
* Ardeshir Kamkar
*Faramarz Payvar
*Hamid Moteba ...
* Persian Symphonic Music
Symphonic music in Iran encompasses Iranian musical pieces composed in the symphonic style. In addition to instrumental compositions, some of Iran's symphonic pieces are based on the country's folk songs, and some are based on poetry of both cla ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahbari, Ali
1948 births
Iranian classical composers
Iranian conductors (music)
Living people
People from Tehran
Prize-winners of the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni
21st-century conductors (music)
20th-century conductors (music)
Male conductors (music)
20th-century male musicians
21st-century male musicians