Alireza Mashayekhi (Persian: علیرضا مشایخی; born 1940) is an Iranian musician, composer, conductor and academic. He is one of the first composers in Iran to represent avant-garde and electroacoustic music.[1]

Alireza Mashayekhi
علیرضا مشایخی
Alireza Mashayekhi at the 30th Fajr International Music Festival, 19 February 2015
Background information
Born1940
Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician, conductor, composer
Websitewww.alirezamashayekhi.com

Early life and education edit

Mashayekhi was born in Tehran in 1940.[2] After graduating from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, he went to Utrecht, the Netherlands, to study electronic and computer music at the Institute of Sonology under Gottfried Michael Koenig.[1]

Career edit

In 1993, with cooperation of the pianist Farima Ghavam-Sadri, Mashayekhi founded the Tehran Contemporary Music Group. In 1995 he established the Iranian Orchestra for New Music,[3] which released its first recording in 2002 on Hermes Records.

In 2007, Belgian experimental label Sub Rosa released Persian Electronic Music: Yesterday and Today 1966–2006, a double-disc anthology that includes works by Mashayekhi and Ata Ebtekar.[4] In 2009, Brandon Nickell’s Isounderscore label released the vinyl double LP Ata Ebtekar & The Iranian Orchestra for New Music Performing Works of Alireza Mashayekhi "Ornamental". Mashayekhi granted Ebtekar full creative freedom to work with the Iranian Orchestra for New Music to arrange and transform his compositions.

Musical language edit

Mashayekhi's music circulates between a range of styles and genres, from classical compositions inspired by Persian rhythms and Iranian folk music that incorporate meditated repetition and polyphony, to atonal compositions, to works for tape and live electronics that combine traditional Iranian and Western instruments. Mashayekhi calls his compositional practice "Meta-X,"[5] referring to the sonic multiplicities present in his work (as contradictions of tonal/atonal, improvised/pre-defined, Persian/non-Persian)[6] that unify within a single musical piece.

Works edit

Albums edit

  • Symphony No. 8 for Piano and Orchestra
    • Piano: Farimah Ghavamsadri; National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, conducted by Vladimir Sirenko
  • Music for Piano
    • Piano: Farimah Ghavamsadri[11]
  • Happy Electronic Sounds[12]
  • Ravi-Azar-Kimia music Institute
    • White Cactus

Books edit

  • Modal Counterpoint
  • Tonal Counterpoint: Bach Composition
  • Harmony: Classical Composition
  • All Those Years without Memory

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Gluck, Bob. "CEC — eContact! 14.4 — A New East-West Synthesis: Conversations with Iranian composer Alireza Mashayekhi by Bob Gluck". CEC | Canadian Electroacoustic Community. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  2. ^ Signal to Noise. Signal to Noise. 2008. p. 87.
  3. ^ Ibid.
  4. ^ "Ata Ebtekar". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  5. ^ "Celebration: New CD by the Persian Avant-Garde composer Alireza Mashayekhi". www.payvand.com. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  6. ^ "This Weekend's Kids & Family Activities in Bronx". www.nymetroparents.com. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  7. ^ Shahrzad (CD). Tehran: Tehran University. 2004.
  8. ^ Symphony No. 3 (CD). Tehran: Hermes Records. 2007.
  9. ^ Symphony No. 4 (CD). Tehran: Music Center of Hozeh Honari. 2007.
  10. ^ Symphony No. 5 (CD). Tehran: Music Center of Hozeh Honari. 2009.
  11. ^ Music for Piano (CD). Tehran: Hermes Records. 2004.
  12. ^ Happy Electronic Sounds (CD). Tehran: Musical Center of Hozeyeh Honari. 2005.