The Morgenland Festival Osnabrück is a German music festival that has taken place since 2005 at various venues in

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

, Germany. The 10-day event interchanges with a 4-day intermezzo in years with an odd number. Apart from musical performances of traditional and

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...

from the wider Middle Eastern region, other art genres, such as the visual arts, dance and theatre or

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

projects, have also been part of the festival programme.

History

The festival first took place in 2005. Michael Dreyer, initiator and founder of the festival, is the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

. It is committed to challenging traditional perceptions of the “

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

” and provides the participating artists with time and space, in which they can realize their projects. The musical programme is not imported as a finished product, but mostly developed during the festival. Apart from renowned artists such as

Alim Qasimov Alim Hamza oghlu Qasimov ( az, Alim Həmzə oğlu Qasımov; born August 14, 1957) is an Azerbaijani musician and one of the foremost mugham singers in Azerbaijan. He was awarded the International Music Council-UNESCO Music Prize in 1999, one of ...

(

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Kayhan Kalhor Kayhan Kalhor ( fa, کیهان کلهر, ku, کەیھان کەڵھوڕ, translit=Keyhan Kelhur, born 24 November 1964) is an Iranian-Kurdish kamancheh and setar player and vocalist composer and master of classical Iranian traditional music. Ea ...

(

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Jivan Gasparyan Djivan Gasparyan (var. Jivan Gasparyan; hy, Ջիվան Գասպարյան, ; October 12, 1928 – July 6, 2021) was an Armenian musician and composer. He played the duduk, a double reed woodwind instrument related to the orchestral oboe. Gaspa ...

(

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

), the

NDR Bigband NDR may refer to: Computing * Non delivery report, a return email message to a sender indicating failed message delivery * Network Data Representation, an implementation of the OSI model presentation layer Science and technology * Negative diffe ...

or Salman Gambarov (

), many artists who were unknown in the West from countries such as

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

have performed at the festival. Highlights of the festival have included guest performances by 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 ...

- with works by

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

n composers, but also by

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 ...

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

– and by the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, as well as a performance of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as direc ...

in Tehran by the Osnabrück Youth Choir. The Morgenland Chamber Orchestra has been an integral part of the festival since 2009: German musicians, together with musicians from the guest countries and diverse soloists, rehearse works which are then performed at the opening of the festival. Past conductors of the orchestra were

Nader Mashayekhi Nader Mashayekhi ( fa, نادر مشایخی; born November 26, 1958 in Tehran) is an Iranian composer. From 2006 to July 2007 he was conductor of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. He is the son of Jamshid Mashayekhi. Mashayekhi studied under Roma ...

(Iran) and

Kinan Azmeh Kinan Azmeh ( ar, كنان العظمة, Kinān Azme, born June 10, 1976, in Damascus), is a Syrian clarinet player and composer of contemporary music. Performing with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the Bavari ...

(Syria). A further integral part of the festival is the annual exchange of students from the Music and Art School in Osnabrück and the Barenboim-Said Conservatory in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

. The participating students each spend a week in the host country and rehearse a programme, which is then performed at the end of the festival.

Organisers and Patrons

The Morgenland Festival Osnabrück is a cooperation between the City of

and the Culture Centre Lagerhalle Osnabrück. Various institutions and companies support the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück financially. Long-term patrons of the event are the Stiftung Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony Foundation), the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung (Foundation of the Lower Saxony Savings Banks), the Sparkasse Osnabrück, Musikland Niedersachsen, the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture, NDR Musikförderung (NDR Music Patronage), the Landschaftsverband Osnabrücker Land (Regional Authority for the Rural District of Osnabrück), Sievert AG and Hinrichs Licht und Druck.

Venues

The venues vary from year to year, and have included: * Lagerhalle Osnabrück * St. Marien Church Osnabrück * St. Peter's Cathedral Osnabrück * OsnabrückHalle * Kunsthalle Dominikanerkirche * Schlossaula of Osnabrück University

Awards

In 2009 Michael Dreyer received the Lower Saxony

Praetorius Praetorius, Prätorius, Prætorius was the name of several musicians and scholars in Germany. In 16th and 17th century Germany it became a fashion for educated people named "Schulze," "Schultheiß," or " Richter" (which means "judge"), to Latinise ...

Music Award in the category “International Award for Music for Peace”.

Society of Friends of the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück

Since 2009, the

charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

''Society of Friends of the Morgenland Festival'' has focused its activities towards collecting funds to finance projects relating to the Festival. They have so far produced a documentary book of photographs (2005–2009) as well as a documentary film, “Eastern Voices”, which is available as

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

from EuroArts. Furthermore, the Society organizes trips to exhibitions, tours and concerts for its members.

Publications

* 2009 Yulduz Turdieva - The rising star of the East (CD) * 2009 Ibrahim Keivo - The voice of ancient Syria (CD) * 2009 Alim Qasimov & Fargana Qasimova - Intimate Dialogue (CD) * 2009 Salman Gambarov & Bakustic Jazz - Live at Morgenland Festival Osnabrück (CD) * 2010 Shourouk. Soloists of the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück with the NDR Bigband and the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra (CD) * 2010 Ayshemgul Memet - The female voice of Uyghur muqams and folk songs (CD) * Eastern Voices – Morgenland Festival 2006 - 2010 (CD), published by Dreyer.Gaido * 2010 Eastern Voices (DVD), a documentary by Frank Scheffer and Günter Wallbrecht, published by EuroArts

Commissioned works

* Franghiz Alizadeh: ''Deyishme'' for Double Bass, Tabla and Orchestra P 2005, Nabil Shehata (Double Bass), Sankha Chatterjee (Tabla), Kammerakademie Potsdam, Conductor David Geringas * Nader Mashayekhi: ''fié ma fié III'' for Voice and Orchestra P 2006, Salar Aghili, Tehran Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Nader Mashayekhi * Saed Haddad: ''Alternative world-versions'' for Piano and Orchestra P 2007, Saleem Abboud Ashkar (Piano), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Conductor Frank Cramer * Cymin Samawatie: ''Vocal Diary''. Inspired by works of the Iranian painter Golnar Tabibzadeh P 2007, Cymin Samawatie Trio * Nader Mashayekhi: ''moulana'' for Voice and Orchestra P 2008, Salar Aghili, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Conductor Frank Cramer * Nouri Iskandar: ''Alkhareef (Autumn)'' - Am Rande der Kälte (At the edge of coldness) P 2009, Ibrahim Keivo (Voice), Morgenland Chamber Orchestra, Conductor Nader Mashayekhi * Kinan Azmeh: ''Fantasy in three characters'' P 2010, Kinan Azmeh (Clarinet), Ibrahim Keivo (Voice), Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Hermann Bäumer

Filmography

* 2007 ''A Passage to Iran'', documentary film by Amir Hossein Ahooie * 2007 ''Unisono'', documentary film by Frank Scheffer & Lucas van Woerkum * 2008 ''From Tehran Underground to Osnabrück.'' One night with the Iranian rock band DA-SH, documentary film by Shahriyar Ahadi * 2010 ''Eastern Voices'', documentary film by Frank Scheffer and Günter Wallbrecht * 2010 ''Road to Osnabrück'', documentary film by Mukaddas Mijit

External links

Official Website
* Morgenland Festival Osnabrück o
Kulturmarken.de

Lagerhalle e.V.Dreyer-Gaido record labelMorgenland Festival on YouTube

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgenland Festival Osnabruck Music festivals in Germany Tourist attractions in Osnabrück 2005 establishments in Germany Music festivals established in 2005 Culture of Lower Saxony