Mohammed Fairouz (born November 1, 1985) is an American composer. He is one of the most frequently performed composers of his generation and has been described by Daniel J. Wakin of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as an "important new artistic voice". Fairouz began composing at an early age and studied at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

and the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

. His teachers included

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...

Halim El-Dabh Halim Abdul Messieh El-Dabh ( ar, حليم عبد المسيح الضبع, ''Ḥalīm ʻAbd al-Masīḥ al-Ḍab''ʻ; March 4, 1921 – September 2, 2017) was an Egyptian-American composer, musician, ethnomusicologist, and educator, who ha ...

, and John Heiss. Fairouz lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Vocal music

Fairouz says that he first set the poem "The True Knowledge" by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

to music at the age of 7 and has gone on to write hundreds of art songs and over a dozen song cycles.Rase, Sherri (April 8, 2011)
Conversations—with Mohammed Fairouz
, '' nStage'', retrieved 2011-04-19Fischer, Shell (March 1, 2011)
Poets, Composers Find Sanctuary
''Poets & Writers'', retrieved 2011-04-19 In

Poets & Writers Magazine Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Poets & Writers Magazine'' ...

, he described himself as being obsessed with text. ''Three Fragments of Ibn Khafājah'' was commissioned by the Cygnus Ensemble and sets poetry by Arab Andalucian poet

Ibn Khafaja Abu Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Abu al-Fath (1058–1138/9), called Ibn Khafajah (إبن خفاجة), a native of Alzira, was one of the most famous poets of al-Andalus during the reign of the Almoravids.Samuel G. Armistead, E. Michael Gerli (ed.), ''Me ...

. Musicians for Harmony commissioned the song cycle ''Furia'' for baritone Randall Scarlata together with the

Imani Winds Imani Winds is an American wind quintet based in New York City, United States. The group was founded by flutist Valerie Coleman in 1997 and is known for its adventurous and diverse programming, which includes both established and newly composed wo ...

and the

Borromeo String Quartet The Borromeo String Quartet is an American string quartet, in residence at the New England Conservatory since 1992. They have performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, at numerous festivals and in many distinguished chamber mu ...

and sets Western texts about the Middle East. ''Jeder Mensch'', was written for

Kate Lindsey Kate Lindsey (born 1980) is a mezzo-soprano opera singer from the United States. She is married to the documentary filmmaker Olly Lambert. Lindsey was born in Richmond, Virginia, and holds a Bachelor of Music Degree with Distinction from India ...

with texts set from the diaries of

Alma Mahler Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel (born Alma Margaretha Maria Schindler; 31 August 1879 – 11 December 1964) was an Austrian composer, author, editor, and socialite. At 15, she was mentored by Max Burckhard. Musically active from her early year ...

. Lindsey is also the soloist in a 2014 recording of Fairouz's 2012 cycle, ''Audenesque (in memory of W. B. Yeats)'', with the LPR Ensemble conducted by Evan Rogister, released in 2015 on the

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

label (catalog no. B0022417). The disc also features Fairouz's 2013 instrumental work, ''Sadat''. Fairouz has also collaborated extensively with living poets. ''Bonsai Journal'', on texts by Judson Evans, was released on

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record la ...

. Fairouz's theatrical song cycle, written with

Wayne Koestenbaum Wayne Koestenbaum (born 1958) is an American artist, poet, and cultural critic. He received a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University and is a 1994 Whiting Award recipi ...

, titled ''Pierrot'' was commissioned by the

Da Capo Chamber Players The Da Capo Chamber Players are an American contemporary music "Pierrot ensemble," founded in 1970. Winners of the Naumburg Award in 1973, its founding members included composer/pianist Joan Tower, violinist Joel Lester (former dean of Mannes Colle ...

. The

Pierrot ensemble A Pierrot ensemble is a musical ensemble comprising flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. This ensemble is named after 20th-century composer Arnold Schoenberg’s seminal work ''Pierrot Lunaire'', which includes the quintet of instruments abo ...

, Lunatics at Large commissioned the cycle ''Unwritten'' on texts by David Shapiro. Fairouz has also written an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

entitled ''Zabur'', which was premiered by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and the

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is an American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown Indianapolis on Monument Circl ...

in April 2015. Staying true to his focus on text, the work sets a libretto by

Najla Said Najla Said (born 1974, Boston, Massachusetts, United States) is a Palestinian-American author, actress, playwright, and activist. Through her literary and academic work, Said has confronted racism, stereotyping, social and economic inequality, and ...

and features text in both Arabic and English. Zabur is scored for a full orchestra, mixed choir, children's mixed choir, tenor soloist, and baritone soloist.

Operas

Sumeida's Song is Fairouz's first opera and is based on the play ''Song of Death'' by the Egyptian playwright

Tawfiq al-Hakim Tawfiq al-Hakim or Tawfik el-Hakim ( arz, توفيق الحكيم, ; October 9, 1898 – July 26, 1987) was a prominent Egyptian writer and visionary. He is one of the pioneers of the Arabic novel and drama. The triumphs and failures that are ...

(April 5, 2011
Mohammed Fairouz's Opera ''Sumeida's Song''
, retrieved 2011-04-09 The opera follows the return of the protagonist Alwan to his Upper Egyptian peasant village, and his attempts to bring modernity to darkness in an effort to break a never ending cycle of violence. The opera also clearly depicts the grave consequences of this pioneering energy. The opera is recorded on

Bridge Records Bridge Records is an independent record label that specializes in classical music located in New Rochelle, New York. History A classical guitarist, David Starobin recorded the Boccherini Guitar Quintet in E minor in the 1970s. This was his first ...

. In May 2015,

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

Morning Joe ''Morning Joe'' is an American morning news and liberal talk show, airing weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, Eastern Time on the cable news channel MSNBC. It features former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough r ...

announced that Mohammed Fairouz would be teaming up with best-selling American author

David Ignatius David Reynolds Ignatius (born May 26, 1950) is an American journalist and novelist. He is an associate editor and columnist for ''The Washington Post''. He has written eleven novels, including '' Body of Lies'', which director Ridley Scott adapt ...

to create a political opera called 'The New Prince' based on the teachings of

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...

. The opera was commissioned by the

Dutch National Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

Speaking with ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', Ignatius described the broad themes of the opera in terms of three chapters: "The first chapter is about revolution and disorder. Revolutions, like children, are lovable when young, and they become much less lovable as they age. The second lesson Machiavelli tells us is about sexual obsession, among leaders. And then the final chapter is basically is the story of

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...

bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated a ...

, the way in which those two ideas of what we’re obliged to do as leaders converged in such a destructive way." Fairouz is also currently at work on a new opera about the lives and deaths of

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...

and

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

. The opera features

Nathan Gunn Nathan T. Gunn (born November 26, 1970, in South Bend, Indiana) is an American operatic baritone who performs regularly around the world. He is an alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he is currently a professor of vo ...

and

in the lead roles and the libretto is being written in collaboration with the prominent Pakistani author

Mohammed Hanif Mohammed Hanif (born November 1964) is a British Pakistani writer and journalist who writes a monthly opinion piece in ''The New York Times.'' Hanif is the author of the critically acclaimed book ''A Case of Exploding Mangoes'', which was long ...

Orchestral music

Symphonies

Fairouz has written four symphonies. His Third Symphony, '' Poems and Prayers'' was commissioned by Northeastern University's Middle East Center for Peace, Culture, and Development and is cast for solo voices, mixed chorus and orchestra. The Symphony sets the texts of Arab poets such as

Fadwa Tuqan Fadwa Tuqan ( ar, فدوى طوقان, also transliterated as ''Fadwa Tuqan'', es, Fadwa Tuqan, french: Fadwa Touquan and Fadwa Tuqan; 1917 – 12 December 2003), was a Palestinian poet known for her representations of resistance to Israeli occu ...

and

Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish ( ar, محمود درويش, Maḥmūd Darwīsh, 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as the Palestinian national poet. He won numerous awards for his works. Darwish used Palestine ...

, the Israeli poet

Yehuda Amichai Yehuda Amichai ( he, יהודה עמיחי; born Ludwig Pfeuffer 3 May 1924 – 22 September 2000) was an Israeli poet and author, one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew in modern times. Amichai was awarded the 1957 Shlonsky Prize, the ...

, as well as prayers such as the Aramaic

Kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

.Moore, Thomas (September 12, 2010)
Mohammed Fairouz: An Interview
''Opera Today'', retrieved 2011-04-19 The Third Symphony was premiered on February 16, 2012 by conductor Yoon Jae Lee, mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway, Baritone David Kravitz, Ensemble 212 and The Young New Yorkers Chorus at the Miller Theater at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Fairouz's Fourth Symphony ''In the Shadow of No Towers'' is scored for

wind ensemble A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

and is inspired by

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade (comics maga ...

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

of the same title. The symphony explores

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

life in the aftermath of

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

. It was described by

as "technically impressive, consistently imaginative and in its finest stretches deeply moving". The symphony has been recorded on

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

by the University of Kansas Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Paul Popiel. The final movement of Fairouz's First Symphony ''Homage to a Belly Dancer'' is based on an essay by

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''White ...

about the Egyptian belly dancer Tahia Carioca.

Concertos

Fairouz's Cello Concerto was written for Israel-born cellist

Maya Beiser Maya Beiser (born 31 December 1963) is an American musician, cellist, performing artist and producer who lives in New York City. Beiser was raised on a kibbutz in Israel by her French mother and Argentine father, and graduated from Yale Universi ...

for the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

. It was premiered by the Orchestra under the direction of

Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...

. Fairouz has written a violin concerto called ''Al-Andalus'' for

Rachel Barton Pine Rachel Barton Pine (born Rachel Elizabeth Barton, October 11, 1974) is an American violinist. She debuted with the Chicago Symphony at age 10, and was the first American and youngest ever gold medal winner of the International Johann Sebastian B ...

and the

Alabama Symphony Orchestra The Alabama Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra based in Birmingham, Alabama. The orchestra's resident and principal conductor is Christopher Confessore. The Orchestra was first formed in April 1921 but had to close because of financial issu ...

. The concerto was praised at its premiere for containing "some of the most melancholy and nostalgic writing heard yet among ASO's new music projects". Fairouz's Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and orchestra ''States of Fantasy'' was commissioned by New York-based orchestra Ensemble 212. It is inspired by

Jacqueline Rose Jacqueline Rose, FBA (born 1949 in London) is a British academic who is Professor of Humanities at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities. Life and work Jacqueline Rose is known for her work on the relationship between psychoanalysis, fe ...

's book of the same title and was written for violinist Nicholas Kitchen and cellist Yeesun Kim of the

. Fairouz has also written a clarinet concerto, ''Tahrir'', for David Krakauer. The work takes its title from

Tahrir Square Tahrir Square ( ar, ميدان التحرير ', , English language, English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political dem ...

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. This piece was commissioned by a group of alumni of NYC's Wagner Junior High School in memory of teacher Herb Greenhut. Krakauer is also a Wagner alum. ''Akhnaten, Dweller in Truth'', a dance scene for cello and orchestra, takes its name from

Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha ( arz, نجيب محفوظ عبد العزيز ابراهيم احمد الباشا, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...

's book of the same title.

Chamber and solo music

Fairouz's Wind Quintet, ''Jebel Lebnan'', written for the

, musically chronicles events from the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

. The Imani Winds recorded the work for

.Naxos Records Page for ''Native Informant''
/ref> His ''Lamentation and Satire'' for string quartet was recorded by the

for release on GM/Living Archive Recordings. His string quartet, ''The Named Angels'', was also written for the Borromeo String Quartet. The work, about the mythology of angels in Middle Eastern Folklore, has been recorded by the

Del Sol Quartet The Del Sol Quartet is a string quartet based in San Francisco, California that was founded in 1992 by violist Charlton Lee. Del Sol has commissioned and premiered thousands of works from a diverse range of international composers, including Terr ...

on the Sono Luminus record label. Fairouz has written a sonata for unaccompanied violin (2011) called ''Native Informant'' for

. ''Native Informant'' is the title work of a

album of Fairouz's chamber music.

Recordings

* 2008 – ''Boston Diary'' (Albany Records TROY1176) * 2010 – ''As It Was, Is, and Will Be'' (GM Recordings GM 2080) by

* 2011 – ''Critical Models'' ( Dorian Sono Luminus DSL 92146) * 2012 – ''Sumeida's Song'' (

Bridge 9385) * 2013 – ''Native Informant'' (

Naxos 8.559744) * 2013 – ''In the Shadow of No Towers'' (

Naxos 8.573205) * 2014 – ''Poems and Prayers'' ( Dorian Sono Luminus DSL 92177) * 2015 – ''Follow, Poet'' (

B0022417) * 2015 – ''Scrapyard Exotica'' ( Sono Luminus DSL-92193) by Del Sol String Quartet

References

External links

Official Website

Mohammed Fairouz at Peermusic Classical

Media

Mohammed Fairouz in ''Strings Magazine''
May, 2012
Mohammed Fairouz on ''New Music Box''
February 22, 2012
Mohammed Fairouz on ''NPR's All Things Considered''
February 18, 2012
Mohammed Fairouz on ''PRI's The World''
January 25, 2012
Mohammed Fairouz on ''WQXR/Q2''
January 13, 2012
Mohammed Fairouz's "Critical Models" is ''WQXR/Q2 Album of the Week''
December 6, 2011
Mohammed Fairouz's contribution to The New York Times' ''The Score''
July 6, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairouz, Mohammed 1985 births 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century classical composers African-American male classical composers American male classical composers African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American opera composers American people of Arab descent American people of Egyptian descent Curtis Institute of Music alumni LGBT classical composers Living people Male opera composers New England Conservatory alumni String quartet composers 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people