Kayvan Mirhadi and O.R.P Qaurtet

Establishing O.R.P. Quartet is Kayvan Mirhadi’s latest activity as a guitarist, composer and conductor of Kamerata Orchestra. Besides working with this Quartet, Mirhadi is busy these days recording and mixing some of his own works as well as some pieces by 20th century composers. O.R.P Quartet performed a concert in Rasht, Gilan Province in late May 2016 and offered a master class.
A description of the establishment and the performance of the orchestra along with its members brief biographies follows:
Ordinary Routine People Quartet (O.R.P Quartet)
Kayvan Mirhadi: Classical Guitar
Amin Nili: Double Bass
Farzam Hassani: Drums
Matin Ladani: Piano
O.R.P quartet was founded in 2013 to perform French Claude Bolling’s Guitar Concerto exclusively. Kayvan impressed by this work began to work on his first album in exactly the same ensemble of Bolling’s. So he released an experimental – Jazz “LIKOO” through the label “OIDO records” in 2013.
Matin (24) is the youngest among us and is originally a superb classical pianist and the winner of the first prize of “International Fadjr Music Festival”. Farzam (25) is a CEO of a Tour Agency and holds a degree in engineering. Amin (31) is an IT expert who has been focusing on playing double bass. He plays guitar as well as the double bass. Kayvan (56) holds an M.A. in arts research methodology and is the eldest member of the Orchestra. Kayvan is former professor at various Iranian universities and music colleges. He is considered as a member of the second generation of Iranian classical guitarists.
Claude Bolling’s Guitar concerto is one of the best examples amongst its peers. The trend was popular during 60s and 70s in Europe and although the neo classical approach is being merged with Jazz, Blues and Swing but the catchy hybrid ambient is unique. It is interesting to know that the other Bolling’s works which he wrote for the best performers of the time convey a “suite” title and not a “concerto”. Virtuosos like J.P.Rampal, M. Andre, YoYo Ma and P. Zukermasn collaborated for the recordings of the suites along with Bolling.
The guitar concerto is dedicated to the late “Alexandre Lagoya” then the Spaniard Guitarist Angel Romero instigated the “Finale” and finally the seven – part concerto was officially released in 1978.
Hoagland Carmichael (US/1899-1981) along with Duke Ellington and Scott Joplin is one of the three greatest American Jazz musicians of the 20th century. His career was divided into three main and influential periods. “Hoagy” a Jazz Maniac, first released his album with Louise Armstrong. He spent the second period of his life in Georgia, south east of the US where he was wandering with the great musicians.
The album “Under the Missouri Sky” is one of the memorable and extrovert of the kind of Pat Metheny and late Charlie Haden. It contains a series of amazing duos for double bass and guitar. It is worth mentioning that the prominent flamenco guitarist “Tomatito” also has an impressive and warm version of this track.
Born in the US Andrew York (60) is still performing world class and releases his videos and tracks. There was a time when “John Williams” performed his “sunburst” and after that Andy was popular around the world. He has been performing and composing in L.A quartet for a while and his compositions are standards in classical guitar repertoire and music festivals.

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Transition to Enlightenment: Six Lectures on Mozart’s String Quartets (5)

The late 18th century was marked by profound societal changes across Europe, characterized by the rise of the bourgeoisie and the reshaping of musical patronage. Composers like Mozart responded to these shifts by adapting their compositional styles to align with the tastes and sensibilities of the emerging middle class. This article seeks to explore this phenomenon through an analysis of Mozart’s K. 499 quartet, also known as the “Hoffmeister” quartet, and his Prussian quartets, alongside the works of his contemporaries. By examining the evolution of the string quartet genre within the context of changing social structures and aesthetic preferences, this study aims to shed light on the dynamic relationship between music and society.

Nasser Masoudi: The Voice of Gilan and a Legacy of Iranian Music

In Iranian music, certain singers have become emblematic of their homelands through their distinctive voices. Historical figures such as Eghbal Sultan, who epitomized the grandeur of Azerbaijani music, and Taj Isfahani, who conveyed the authentic essence of Isfahan, serve as notable examples from the Qajar era. Nasser Masoudi occupies a similar position; his voice emerged as a symbol of Gilan while also achieving national acclaim. Before him, Master Ahmad Ashurpur represented Gilan’s musical landscape, but his extended residence outside Iran limited his continuous engagement in the music scene. In contrast, Masoudi’s consistent presence allowed him to introduce the voice of Gilan to audiences across Iran.

From Past Days…

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Behzad Abdi’s opera Rumi was physically released by Naxos

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Iannis Xenakis’ Persephassa

Shiraz Arts Festival which was held in Shiraz from 1967 to 1977 featured many contemporary renowned artists who were commissioned by the Iranian royalty to compose or create works of art for performance in the arts festival. Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) participated in Shiraz Arts Festival three times in 1968, 1969 and 1971. The Greek-French composer,…
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HarmonyTalk Celebrates 11th Anniversary

April 6 marks the anniversary of launching HarmonyTalk.com. Back in 2004, HarmonyTalk was rather a blog dedicated to music. Gradually, however, it found its way to becoming a more sophisticated journal with an intensive but not exclusive concentration on classical music.

Harmony in the Iranian Music (I)

Translated by Mahboube Khalvati The article you are about to read was written by Rouhollah Khaleqi (1906-1965), composer, and conductor of Golha Orchestra (established in 1956). Khaleqi was one of the most prominent promoters of polyphony for the Iranian music and is one of the best representatives of the school of Ali Naghi Vaziri. In…
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From the Last Instrumentalist to the First Composer (II)

Rouhollah Khaleghi was the master of composing beautiful melodies. He was the premier of the course of history which was first established by Ali Naghi Vaziri and which improved the Iranian music from simply a gathering music to the classical music of the country. First efforts to compose independent and instrumental music can be also traced in Khaleghi’s works.

Avaye Naerika Percussion Orchestra

Avaye Naerika Percussion Orchestra is an Iranian percussion orchestra featuring 40 lady percussionists. The Orchestra was established as Iran’s largest all-female percussion orchestra in 2008 by Ms. Minoo Rezaei under the title Naerika Percussion Orchestra and changed its name to Avaye Naerika in 2017.

Davoud Pirnia (1900 - 1971)

About Davoud Pirnia, the founder of “Golha” radio program

Davoud Pirnia, writer and musicologist was the founder of “Golha” (Flowers of Persian Song and Music) programs on Tehran Radio (1956-1966). He received his early education from his father, Hassan Pirnia (Moshir al-Douleh), and several tutors of the time (Taraghi, interview, July 1989) and continued his studies at Saint Louis School in Tehran and then in Switzerland and graduated in law. While studying law, Pirnia got acquainted with European classical music. Upon returning to Iran, he was employed by the Ministry of Justice and founded the Lawyers’ Guild. Then he was transferred to the Ministry of Finance and established the Department of Statistics in this ministry. Later, he became the head of the state inspection office at the Prime Ministry; he was, then, promoted to the position of the Deputy Prime Minister (Navab Safa, interview, August 1999)

Banan: the Artist of the Age

Gholam Hossein Banan was born in 1911 in Tehran. He was born in an affluent art-loving family who were Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1848-1896)’s relative. The Qajar King was his mother’s uncle on her father’s side. He learnt his first lessons in music while his father sang Iranian avaz (improvised rhythmic-free singing), he then attended classes by the renowned Iranian composer, Morteza Neydavoud (1900-1990) along with his sisters; the composer is, therefore, considered as his first teacher. He then learnt Iranian avaz under the supervision of Mirza Taher Zia Resaee (Zia-o Zakerin) and Naser Seif in an oral manner.

The Role of Arts in Development of Societies

Mr. Mohsen Ghanebasiri, author and critic in the field of economy, culture and arts, as the next speaker, highlighted the role of arts, specially the music, in development of societies: “As far as the individual upbringing is concerned, a newborn baby is absolutely dependent. The relation between the baby and the parents is based on orders. There is lots of relativity in these orders; therefore, they are political orders. In the economy, however, the relations are mutual and based on common logic; hence, the formation of the concepts of democracy and individuality.