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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 Ahmad Pejman Passed Away!

Composer and music teacher Ahmad Pejman (1935–2025) passed away on August 29 in Los Angeles, USA, after several weeks of illness. His most recent symphonic work performed in Iran was Land of the Brave (“Sarzameen-e Delavaran”), which was staged in 2017 with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. According to the family’s decision, his body will be laid to rest in the United States.

Timeless or Timely: The Role of Historical Context in Defining Artistic Value

Imagine that, in the course of historical research, we discover a musical piece whose compositional techniques (including form, melody, texture, and orchestration) resemble those of a second-rate 19th-century composition. But further investigation reveals that this work predates that period by 200 years. Can we still deem it insignificant? Certainly not. Here, the first major role of historical judgment becomes evident.

From Past Days…

Iranian Fallacies – Global Performance

One of the most important criteria for measuring the quality of a piece of classical music is number of times the piece has been performance by different ensembles and orchestras in different eras. This belief has become so pervasive in some societies, such as Iranian society, that it is considered the only criterion for measuring the quality of a piece of classical music.

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.

Harmony in the Iranian Music (II)

One of his works was the translation of Harmony, which was carried out with the help of Mozayyan al-Dowleh, and included a pamphlet based on which he used to teach the subject to the students of the school of music; the pamphlet was never published. It was, in fact, a kind of simple harmony for the piano with no quadriads, it rather featured the engagement of both the right hand and the left hand which was being taught at the music school for the first time. Salar-Mo’azez also composed military marches and hymns for schools, which he harmonized to be performed and piano. Likewise, he used to compose for military orchestras.

The Structure of Kurdistan Daf (V)

ehrouz Mohammadi, “Daf and its feasts in Ghaderieh’s Tekyeh” mentions that the outer thickness of arch where studs are located, [is] between one to one and a half centimeters (Mohammadi, 2001: 12). The thickness of arch should be gradually reduced from the installation place of rings to skin (Avazeh of Daf) to create a high volume, clear sound from Daf; also, the connection of arch to skin should not be less than one millimeter, because in this case the skin will be torn due to the sharpness of the wood (Mogharab Samadi, 2009: 79-78). The thickness of wood on the skin side is about two to three millimeters (Tohidi, 2002: 79).

Interview with the Makers of the New Qeychak (I)

On occasion of the 8th anniversary of launching HarmonyTalk Online Journal on 6 April 2012, Reza Ziaei, master luthier and researcher on classical music instruments (violin family), announced that the first phase of the project to improve Qeychak has borne fruit. The new instrument would feature a bowl of ribs and the material used for the surface would be wooden. Carrying out the second phase of the project took more than 7 years engaging the new members of Reza Ziaei’s Workshop. In this phase, new researches were conducted from different aspects on the Qeychak and the modern versions of the instrument which were introduced previously by other instrument makers. The available versions of the instrument were studied in terms of their weak and strong technical features.

Interview with Farhad Poupel (II)

Fantasia on One Note was my first professional work for piano, which had its world premiere by the great pianist Peter Jablonski in Sweden, and it has been performed by various pianists in the UK, Germany, France, and the Czech Republic. The recording of this work has also been broadcast on the Dutch public radio, NPR Radio 4.

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.

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.

Principles of Violin Playing (III)

Violin players should always pay attention to the proper position of the left thumb and other points related to it and to its joining point to the palm.

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.