Award-Winning Master of Azerbaijani Accordion Featured by Kronos Quartet

Saturday, February 12 2005 @ 09:25 AM EST

San Francisco, California, USA - Stanford Lively Arts presents the Kronos Quartet, champions of new classical music, with special guest Rahman Asadollahi, award-winning composer, conductor, and master of the garmon (Azerbaijani accordion). (Asadollahi replaces Paul Hillier, who has cancelled due to health issues.) The Kronos Quartet performs on Friday, February 18 at 8:00 pm in Dinkelspiel Auditorium on the Stanford University campus. A post-performance discussion is free and open to the public.

Rahman Asadollahi, master of the garmon is known for his phenomenal playing and ravishing original compositions, which plumb the depths of musical sensuality. First prize-winner among 650 artists at the All European Accordion and Harmonica Championship in Switzerland (1995), Asadollahi was a featured master artist at the first annual San Francisco World Music Festival in 2000 and again in 2004. Exiled in 1985 from Iran, which banned Azerbaijani music from public venues, he has toured and performed in Turkmenistan, England, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, settling in the United States in 1999. Prior to that, he composed, performed, and conducted Azerbaijani concerts in Iran where he became known as the master of all accordion players. Technically brilliant, Asadollahi conveys an amazing understanding of human suffering and joy.

Asadollahi and the Kronos were introduced by Kutay Kugay, KPFA radio host and program director for the San Francisco World Music Festival. During a conversation about Kronos' program for the 2004 festival, Kugay suggested Asadollahi. During that summer, Kronos founder David Harrington met Asadollahi, who then composed a piece for himself with Kronos. Two rehearsals later, it was evident they were a perfect match, said Kugay.

Azerbaijani music is emotionally appealing, full of dramatic flares, trembling embellishments, cascading improvisations, and slow meandering descents that end in a swift decisive finish. Deeply rooted, the music stems from a natural progression of Southwest Asian and middle European roots. Azerbaijani music employs mughams, similar to Turkish makams and Persian dasgahs, involving free improvisations, instrumental melody, and folk motifs to evoke certain moods. The garmon is a smaller, sweeter-toned version of the European model accordion. The garmon that Asadollahi plays is more than 90 years old and was made in the Caucasus.

The program has been revised to feature Asadollahi's artistry. New selections include: Jabiru Dreaming by Peter Sculthorpe; Mugam Beyati Shiraz, a traditional work arranged by the Kronos Quartet featuring Asadollahi on garmon; and Garmon Yanar Odlaryurdana by Rahman Asadollahi (arr. Kronos Quartet). The program also includes the following previously scheduled works: The Day the Earth Stood Still by Bernard Herrmann (arr. Stephen Prutsman); Flugufrelsarinn (The Fly Freer); Suite by Rahul Dev Burman; and String Quartet: Oculus Pro Oculo Totum Orbem Terrae Caecat ("an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind") by Alexandra du Bois.

Kronos Quartet

Synonymous with musical innovation, the Kronos Quartet is known for its unique artistic vision and fearless dedication to experimentation. Created in 1973, Kronos has been commissioning new work since its earliest days. To date, more than 450 pieces have been written or arranged for the ensemble. The group's current line up is: founder David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; and Jennifer Culp, viola.

An extensive repertoire ranges from Alban Berg, Alfred Schnittke, and George Crumb to Hildegard von Bingen, Charles Mingus, and Astor Piazzolla. In addition to creative relationships with composers such as Terry Riley, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, and Osvaldo Golijov, Kronos has collaborated with countless artists, among them, Dawn Upshaw, Zakir Hussain, Allen Ginsberg, Burhan Öçal, and the Throat Singers of Tuva. Kronos has recently, or will soon, premiere works written for them by Alexandra du Bois, Michael Gordon, Guo Wenjing, Martyn Jaques, Vladimir Martynov, Stephen Prutsman, Peteris Vasks, and Julia Wolfe, among others.

Among its numerous awards are three Edison Prizes (the Netherlands), Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (Germany), Rolf Schock Prize in Music (Sweden), eight ASCAP/Chamber Music America Awards for Adventurous Programming (United States), Australian Broadcasting Company Classic FM Best International Recording of the Year, Les Diapason d'Or de Mai (France), and others.

Kronos, which records exclusively for Nonesuch Records, has released more than 35 albums, won Grammy Awards for Alban Berg's Lyric Suite with Dawn Upshaw (2003) and Different Trains (1989), and been nominated for eight other Grammy Awards. Nuevo (2002), was nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Classical Crossover Album, and a Latin Grammy for Best Classical Album. The quartet's music is heard throughout the world in concert, on radio and television, in films, and in more than 100 concerts around the globe each year.

Ticket information

Tickets for the Kronos Quartet on Friday, February 18 at 8:00 pm in Dinkelspiel Auditorium are priced at $44/$40 for adults. Half-price tickets are available for young people age 15 and under, and discounts are available for students. For tickets and more information, contact the Stanford Ticket Office, located at Tresidder Memorial Union, at 650-725-ARTS (2787), or go online to http://livelyarts.stanford.edu.

Stanford Lively Arts, celebrating its 35th anniversary season at Stanford University, annually brings to the Peninsula a full season of classical and world music, dance, stage, and spoken word by world-famous artists as well as astounding newcomers. Lively Arts fosters artistic growth through world premieres, unique collaborations, and commissions to create new works. Its extensive education and community programs provide intimate opportunities for dialogue and interaction between artists and arts lovers of all ages, many of which are free and open to the public.

Stanford Lively Arts programs are supported in part by Arts Council Silicon Valley, Cisco Systems Foundation, Citigroup Foundation, Koret Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, The San Francisco Foundation, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

[Photos: 1 - Rahman Asadollahi; 2 - Kronos Quartet].

World Music Central
http://worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20050129192539323