In Friday’s (3/27) Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), Nathan Weinbender writes about a Spokane Symphony program, built around Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, that explores “the more abstract themes present in Middle Eastern culture and the compositions inspired by it…. The two selections that originate directly from Middle Eastern roots are by Iranian composer Bahzad Ranjbaran and Egyptian composer Mohammed Fairouz.… Neither piece is quite what you’d expect. Ranjbaran’s ‘Seven Passages,’ which is the final entry in the composer’s ‘Persian Trilogy,’ opens the program…. Although the subject matter of Ranjbaran’s work is certainly inspired by his Middle Eastern upbringing, [Spokane Music Director Eckart] Preu says, ‘It’s a lot like Rimsky-Korsakov, but a little bit updated.’ Fairouz’s piece ‘Tahrir’ was written after the young composer saw news broadcasts of the 2011 protests in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, a defining moment during the social and political upheaval known as the Arab Spring…. Preu [notes] that its featured clarinet solo (performed by the symphony’s Daniel Cotter) recalls traditional Islamic prayer. ‘You really feel like you’re right there in Tahrir Square.’ ” The program also includes Mexican composer Ana Lara’s Angels of Darkness and Dawn.
Posted April 3, 2015
