Farhad Poupel’s piece, Road to Bach, performed at Suntory Hall

On June 19, 2021 , young Iranian composer and pianist, Farhad Poupel’s piece, Road to Bach, was performed at the prestigious Suntory Hall by the great Japanese pianist, Kotaro Fukuma. The piece was commissioned by Kotaro Fukuma to have its world premiere in Suntory Hall during a concert by the same name. The concert was before the release of Mr. Fukuma’s Bach transcriptions album, released by Naxos, and it tries to look at the influences that Bach music has had since.

The program included:

Farhad Poupel: “Road to Bach”
Brahms: 6 Piano Pieces, Op. 118
J. S. Bach (arr. Brahms): Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1004
J. S. Bach (arr. Liszt): Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543
List: Great Paganini Studies, S. 141

Road to Bach will be published in Japan mid-September, 2021. Composer Farhad Poupel in his interview with English pianist and author Frances Wilson said:
‘The Road to Bach’ was commissioned by great Japanese pianist Kotaro Fukuma for a concert of the same name in Suntory Hall, Tokyo on June 19. Approximately 3 to 4 months before being contacted by Kotaro Fukuma, I was studying Bach intensely and I was profoundly influenced by his dramatic use of harmonic and tonal language. So I’ve decided to write a piece which gains its movement primarily through its harmonies, but with modern harmonic language.

“…Working with Kotaro is one of the most delightful experiences of my life, even though writing this piece was quite challenging for me, especially since it was one of the most difficult times in my personal life. We had so many useful discussions regarding the work and I even changed the piece based on a good suggestion from him. The piece is quite challenging, but after he sent a video of himself performing it considerably musically, I was jubilant beyond measure since I saw all of our challenges led to this moment. And after he suggested my work be published in Japan, the sense of triumph was even greater, since this is my first publication by a publisher so far…”.

The work will also have three performances in France, Including the prestigious La Roque-d’Anthéron Festival on July 25. It will also have its Belgian-premier in Flagey, Brussels on October 31.
The pianist and commissioner of this work, Kotaro Fukuma, has a career in music, including performances at Wigmore Hall, Suntory Hall and Carnegie Hall, and performances with the world’s most important orchestras, including the NHK, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra.

***

Farhad Poupel is described as “knowledgeable, highly competent and a serious musical thinker.it will be rewarding to follow his progress” (Simon Mundy, International festival review) and his music is described as “.. Immediately captures the audience’s attention. Whether ethereal or intense, the harmonies and melodies are fused with love, passion, and colorful sonic landscape..”(Jeffrey Biegel, American Pianist)

Born in Isfahan, Iran, his music has been performed and will be performed in numerous prestigious concert halls and festivals throughout the world Such as Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan; La Roque-d’Anthéron Piano Festival, La Roque-d’Anthéron, France;Biarritz Festival, Biarritz, France; Stoller Hall, Manchester,UK; Janacek academy of music and performing art, Brno, Czech Republic; Karlskrona International Piano Festival, Karlskrona, Sweden; by distinguished artists such as Kotaro Fukuma, Peter Jablonski, Daniel Grimwood, Margaret Fingerhut, Catherine Carby, Kristýna Znamenáčková,Jeffrey Biegel, Jean-Francois Bouvery and orchestras such as Windsor Symphony Orchestra or broadcasted on the NPR Radio 4, Netherland

His music received critical acclaim worldwide which led to commissions such as Road to Bach for Piano by Kotaro Fukuma and The Legend of Bijan and Manijeh for Piano, Choir and Orchestra with Jeffrey Biegel, to be premiered by Windsor Symphony Orchestra.

At the age of nine, Mr. Poupel commenced his musical journey by studying the Persian Dulcimer (Santur). Soon thereafter, he began piano lessons under the tutelage of Amin Savabi and finally studied Harmony, Counterpoint, and composition with the great Iranian composer, Saeed Sharifian privately for 5.5 years. After a brief gap between his studies( about 6 months), he launched his international career by Zayande-Rud for string orchestra which has its first professional performance by Windsor Symphony orchestra in Canada, and his music has been demanded throughout the world ever since

Post a Comment

Required fields are marked *
*
*
Your email is never shared.

Leading the Charge in Censorship

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)

The Legacy of Khosrow Jafarzadeh

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Khosrow Jafarzadeh (Khosrow Djafar-Zadeh), a distinguished architect and pioneering researcher of Iranian music, whose contributions to the magazine “Harmony Talk” have left an indelible mark on the field. The absence of this remarkable individual has significantly impacted the expansion and advancement of his theories, which are heralded as some of the most progressive in the history of Iranian music

From Past Days…

Principles of Violin Playing (II)

Since for playing violin, it’s necessary that the player’s palms and fingers be inclined toward the fingerboard, therefore, the player, while bringing up his hand, should turn it toward the fingerboard.

Ruggero Chiesa’s Legacy

Written by Peyman Shirali Translated by Mahta Mottaghi Since many years ago, I had the intention of writing an article on the Italian maestro Ruggero Chiesa and his musical life; but his ingenuity and the immense legacy, which is impressive for not only me, but also almost everyone who knows him properly, made it hard for me…
Read More »

Polyphony in Iranian Music (V)

In addition to the above-mentioned, polyphony can be also formed when a melody is performed by several singers in different ambiances or different sound registers according to their physiologic abilities. An example of this has been performed in rituals of Khanqah of Ghaderi darawish of Mahabad[i].

The First Saba Student Music Festival Concluded in Tehran

Preparations for Saba Student Music Festival started in the summer of 2016; the Student Music Festival will be held annually by the students of music at Arts University. The first part of the closing ceremony of the Festival was dedicated to the celebration of the life, work and strives by Maestro Hossein Dehlavi to upgrade the level of music as an academic discipline. The name of the award-winning students and ensembles were announced at the second part of the ceremony.

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,…
Read More »

Last Year under the Light of Music

Almost three months into the new Iranian year (starting March 21), it is still not too late to have a look at the last year and the challenges that the musicians faced. The following article was published on the first day of the New Year in the Persian edition of the HarmonyTalk journal.

Inefficiency of some chords and harmonization systems in Iranian music

Discussions and research have been conducted on the harmonization of “dastgah” and melodies in Iranian music, and several books have been published on this topic, including “Armenian Music of Iran” by Ali Naghi Vaziri, “Harmony of Iranian Music” by Farhad Fakhreddini, and “Harmony of Iranian Music” by Ali Ghamssari. A master’s thesis titled “Presenting a Solution for Harmonizing Based on the Structure of Tritone Intervals” was written by Atefeh EinAli in 2014. Additionally, the invention and use of “Even Harmony” by Morteza Hannaneh should be mentioned.

Prominent Iranian Musicologist Passes Away in Vienna

Khosrow Djafarzadeh, musicologist and architect, who was also one of the main authors of HarmonyTalk journal passed away on 15 July 2019.

Whose dream?! Whose reality?!

(A review of the “So Faraway” album; Tar and Tonbak duet; Siavash Imani, Pedram Khavarzmini)

Polyphony in Iranian Music (III)

In heterophonic variant, two performers perform a single melody simultaneously and change it. Performing and changing a single melody simultaneously by two performers leads to the coincidence of different voices.