TEHRAN -- Iranian music is moving across borders and formats, from traditional Persian repertoire performed in Russia to international kamancheh tours and orchestral projects pairing Iranian musicians with Western classical and cinematic traditions.
An Iranian traditional-instrument ensemble led by Pouria Shivafard, with vocalist Mojtaba Asgari, performed in Astrakhan as part of Iran Cultural Week in Russia. Presented at the Astrakhan State Philharmonic, the concert featured music in the Segah mode, offering Russian audiences an encounter with the colors of traditional Iranian instruments and the vocal tradition of Persian classical music.
The performance was part of a wider cultural program running across St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan and Astrakhan, featuring 168 Iranian artists working in 30 artistic disciplines.
Elsewhere, Grammy-winning Iranian kamancheh player and composer Kayhan Kalhor is taking Songs of Hope to European audiences. The project brings Kalhor together with Kiya Tabassian on setar and Hadi Hosseini on vocals, with percussionist Hiwa Khatib appearing in some performances. European presenters describe the program as a meeting of Iranian classical music, improvisation and contemporary expression.
The European itinerary includes Copenhagen and Oslo, with the latter performance scheduled at Oslo Concert Hall.
In Tehran, the Alnam Philharmonic Orchestra is bringing back its Interstellar concert at Milad Tower, revisiting Hans Zimmer’s music from Christopher Nolan’s 2014 film. The project combines live orchestral performance with the film’s visual universe, extending the growing Iranian appetite for concert experiences built around cinema.
The Lenió String Orchestra is also returning to Rudaki Hall with On the Threshold of Light, Before We Forget. Led by Hussein Mahrami, with Farid Zakeri as concertmaster, the program draws on Baroque and orchestral-choral repertoire, including works associated with Arcangelo Corelli, Antonio Vivaldi, John Tavener, Jean Sibelius and Henry Purcell.
Meanwhile, Iran’s House of Music is hosting a discussion titled Composition in Iranian Music: From Khaleqi to Today, examining the evolution of composition from the legacy of Ruhollah Khaleqi to contemporary Iranian music.
A more unusual project comes from composer and ney player Hamed Mokhtarani, who is developing a multimedia work inspired by Iranian Culture, a 15-volume cultural and scholarly project associated with Iranian geneticist Dariush Farhud. The project aims to translate themes from the collection into orchestral music, calligraphy and film.