Mansoor Hosseini ( fa, منصور حسینی; born 1967) is an Iranian-Swedish

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

ist and composer of classical music, born in Iran, who studied in Paris and Brussels. His works comprise chamber music and orchestral pieces. He founded the Ensemble Themus in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, focussed on theatrical music.

Career

Hosseini studied composition with Philippe Capdenat and

Yoshihisa Taïra was a Japanese-born French composer. Biography Yoshihisa Taïra was born in Tokyo in 1937. Initially, he studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts. He arrived in France in 1966 where he then studied at the Conservatoire de Paris. Among his ...

in Paris. He studied music theory and computer music with Peter Swinnen at the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...

and composition with Carl-Axel Hall in the ''Musikhögskolan'' ( sv) of

Gothenborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. He later studied

film scoring A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

, and

scriptwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...

at the film school, now the . He studied with George Aperghis who encouraged him to compose theatrical music in the style of

Mauricio Kagel Mauricio Raúl Kagel (; 24 December 1931 – 18 September 2008) was an Argentine-German composer. Biography Kagel was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into an Ashkenazi Jewish family that had fled from Russia in the 1920s . He studied music, his ...

. In 2003, Hosseini founded the Gothenburg Music & Dance Company (GMDC), which in 2007 transformed into the ''Ensemble Themus'' in Gothenburg with a mission to popularize the concept of theatrical music by allowing actors and musicians to swap and intermingle their roles. His work in the field is inspired by

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

, theatre and martial arts. Hosseini has a great interest in

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

both as a composer and performer. He sometimes adds sections to his compositions which are marked to let the musicians know that they can improvise in a controlled and measured way. He has been a lecturer in

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

, composition, communication between musicians and composers, and the comprehension of musical notation for musicians. He was awarded prizes, including the culture prizes of Gothenborg and of the Västra Götaland.

Works

Hosseini's duo ''Bones (second piece)'' for piano and cello was composed in 1998, described as a race of the two instruments, with "buddhistic cluster sounds" in the piano and "roaring three-notes" in the cello that "float and combine like dream sequence". His string quartet ''Esfand II'' was premiered at the Sibelius Museum ( fi) in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

in 2011, when the town was a European Capital of Culture. His composition ''Bright Blue Bird, In A Grey Red Sky'' for violin and orchestra was premiered on 22 June 2014 at the

Allerheiligen-Hofkirche The Allerheiligen-Hofkirche (Court Church of All Saints) is a church in the Munich Residenz (the royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs) designed by Leo von Klenze and built between 1826 and 1837. The church was badly damaged from bombing during Wor ...

in Munich by the Nymphenburger Kammerorchester with Henja Semmler as the violinist and Manuel Nawri conducting. The work is based on a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

legend about the mythical bird

Simurgh Simurgh (; fa, سیمرغ, also spelled ''simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and literature. It is sometimes equated with other mythological birds such as the ...

. A thousand birds travel to find his feather (and enlightenment), but after a hard journey only 30 of them reach the destination, which turns out to be a lake reflecting their image.

List of selected works

Orchestra * 2017 ''Wings & Chains'', double bass concerto, wind orchestra, percussion * 2016 ''Waves Above'', recorder concerto * 2014 ''Bright Blue Bird, In A Grey Red Sky'' for violin and orchestra * 2014 ''Non Se Que Que Quen Za Za'' for string orchestra * 1999 ''Into the Earth'',

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

concerto Choir * 2023 ''Biome II'' SSAA female choir & percussion * 2022 ''Biome'' SSAA female choir Chamber music * 2023 ''Psychological Song'' for mezzo-soprano & cello * 2023 ''Three Words'' for mezzo-soprano & guitar (text by John Cage, Sohrab Sepehri, Edgard Allan Poe, M. Hosseini) * 2021 ''Voices Today'' for soprano, mezzo soprano, saxophone, percussionist (drums, guitar, frame drum) & live electronics * 2019 ''Run, Run'' for violin, clarinets, piano & percussions * 2018 ''Pharmacy Suite'' for flute, clarinet, string trio & conductor * 2018 ''Inferno'' for flute, clarinet, string trio & conductor (& optional video) * 2018 ''Recycle'' for cello & percu * 2015 ''Trance Dance Ritual'' for oboe & ensemble * 2013 ''Taïraphone'' for saxophone & percussion * 2013 ''Cold, Dry Wind'' for piano * 2012 ''Zapp Music'' for guitar * 2012 ''Rubaiyat''for mezzo-soprano and piano * 2011 ''3 tangos'' for string quartet * 2011 ''Mr & Mrs Saxophone'' for tenor saxophone * 2011 ''Labyrinth of Moods'' for recorder, mezzo-sopran and percussion * 2010 ''Coffee Time'' for three percussionists * 2008 ''Four For Four'' for four cellos * 2008 ''Working Time''for three percussionists * 2007 ''Le Sonnet'' for organ * 2006 ''Sonata for a Prisoner'' for violin * 2006 ''Swedish Raga'' for bass clarinet, cello and drums * 2006 ''Barock ’n’ Roll'' for eight instruments * 2002 ''Taïraga'' for 13 instruments * 2001 ''Esfand I'' for string quartet,

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

and percussion * 2000 ''Bones (fourth piece)'' for viola, piano, mezzo-soprano and synthesizer * 1999 ''Âvâz'' for flute, bass clarinet and trumpet * 1998 ''Bones (second piece)'' for cello and piano Theatrical Music shows / Music Theater * 2022 ''Dream of an Evil Child'' for animated photographies, live accordion, trumpet & electronics (50 min.) * 2020 ''Labyrinths'' solo for dancer/musician, wheels & electronics (ca 50 min.) * 2020 ''Opera In The Dark'' for film, live viola & electronics (ca 45 min.)

References

External links

*
Themus Ensemble
members {{DEFAULTSORT:Hosseini, Mansoor Swedish composers Swedish male composers Living people 1967 births Iranian emigrants to Sweden