“Guitar Memories” Released

 

The album “Guitar Memories” consists of the performance of baroque to recent era masterpieces, by Mehrdad Mahdavi, and is published by Tanin-e Honar Publication.

In this album there are pieces composed and arranged by artists such as: Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Johann Anton Logy, Fernando Sor, Yuquijiro Yocoh, Leo Brouwer.

Objective of performing these familiar masterpieces is particularly presenting sole capabilities of classical guitar for playing them.

These pieces resemble the pleasant memories of first music classes and the performer make an effort to share those fantastic and memorial feelings with audiences.

This album presents 12 pieces arranged for solo classical guitar, which was performed and recorded in Spring 2016.

For purchasing this unique album you can visit here.

Introducing Composers

Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1687 – 1750)

Composer and player of the German lute instrument in Baroque Era. Even today many consider him the greatest lute player of all times. By the year 1717 he became a member of the small orchestra of Dresden Kingdom of Germany. Later he went on many tours for performing in Dusseldorf, Munich, Vienna, Prague, and other cities. Weiss composed many pieces for solo lute.

Johann Anton Losy (1650 – 1721)

He was an aristocrat in Prague, playing and composing masterpieces for lute in the Baroque era. His works are a combination of Brisé (French) with Cantabile (Italian) styles. At the period when playing lute was most popular in Bohemia, he was probably among the best lute players and composers.

Fernando Sor (1778 – 1839)

Great Spanish guitar player and composer, born in Barcelona, celebrated by some as “the Beethoven of the guitar”. Besides compositions for guitar, he has written music for opera and ballet performances as well. With no doubt études provided by Sor are the best of their kind. Because Sor was a guitar instructor, he was supposed to prepare études for teaching his students. An abstract of 20 of Sor’s études could be found in the collection provided by Andrés Segovia.

Yuquijiro Yocoh

Born in 1925, Hita, Japan, because of great enthusiasm for playing guitar left studies in dentistry at Keijoh College, and became a self-instructed guitar player and composer. Theme and variation of his style is most characteristic in his piece for a Japanese folk song named “Sakura”, performed and recorded by numerous guitarists worldwide, which is also his most famous composition till date.

Leo Brouwer

Born 1939 in Havana, Cuba, conducted music lessons in Juilliard School in New York, US. Pieces composed by Brouwer are considered among the most favorites for guitar. He has also composed many pieces for other instruments as well. In his resume there are many orchestral compositions for music of movies. Many of his compositions for guitar are famous worldwide and have a fixed position in current guitar repertoire.

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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.

Farhad Poupel: The Voice of the Shahnameh in the Orchestras Around the World

In an era when almost no trace of contemporary Iranian music can be heard in international concert halls, except (so-called!) avant-garde works that owe their existence solely to the fashionable slogans of the “pseudo-intellectual” crowd who have seized the already meager resources for performing classical music from the true artists of the field, the numerous performances of Farhad Poupel’s works shine as a ray of hope for lovers of sincere musical art. Without resorting to trendy slogans, he has kept the flame of Iranian classical music alive purely through the power of his artistry.

From Past Days…

Women Musicians in Large Iranian Orchestras

It is more than a century now that the sociologists consider the presence of women in different social domains as a benchmark for a society’s progress. They analyze the presence of women in society by the means of available statistics. Unfortunately, as with regard to the Iranian society, statistics related to women’s engagement, has not been available to the researchers, if they existed at all.

Hossein Dehlavi: the Composer

With Dehlavi it is not all about fame but recognition. Hossein Dehlavi is not a popular musician (like pop singers) whom everybody might know when he is walking on streets of Tehran; however, he is recognized by both amateur and distinguished musicians of the country.

Illusion or Ingenuity?

Mohsen Renani in the preface of his book entitled “The Political Economy of nuclear conflict; an introduction to traversing the civilizations” writes:

The Mystery of Messiah

Antonio Stradivari (1644 – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and is considered the most significant and greatest artisan in this field.

A Note on the Occasion of Houshang Zarif’s Demise

No introduction is needed when talking about the position of the late Houshang Zarif (1938-2020) in the Iranian music. His character and personality are so well-known among musicians that his name per se is a symbol and role model for the Iranian youth. “Becoming Houshang Zarif” is the dream of many young people who enter the world of music in Iran and many of whom retire regretting the realisation of this dream.

Polyphony in Iranian Music (VI)

Torqeh or jal is the same bird (Bimaculated lark) and is the name of a muqam which is well-known in Torbate Jam and those areas. Jal muqam is called Torqeh in Esfarayen and Bojnourd. This muqam which was used to be played by Bakhshis/Bagşies (dutar-players) in the past is seldom performed today.

A Look at Ali Tajvidi’s Manifold Musical Activities (I)

Ali Tajvidi (1920 – 2004), one of the most prominent Iranian musicians, passed away sixteen years ago. He was one of the most distinguished Iranian artists. To specify one of the fields in which he was unique, one can refer to Tasnif composition. A brief review of his manifold musical activities is presented below.

Principles of Violin Playing (IX)

4.3.1. To practice playing of doubles of notes involving two different fingers, each note is played at separate bows with slow tempo, each note is played perfectly regarding its bass and tenor sounds and then the considered double is played at another bow while considering the resulted sound of the double.

Violin’s inner mold, an essential factor in developing the idea of violin

A part of the secrets of the masterpieces from the golden era lies in the special design of the instruments, as a result of a profound insight to and awareness of the significance of the precise calculation of the various components of the object of arts being created, such as making a violin or a bow.

Shaahin Mohajeri Wins UnTwelve Composition Competition

UnTwelve Non-profit Organization announced the results of its 2014/2015 composition competition on January 28, 2015. Shaahin Mohajeri, an Iranian Tonbak player, microtonalist, acoustician and composer, was awarded the second prize for his piece “Castle of Babak.”