“In March of 1988, poison gas rained down on the Iraqi city of Halabja,” writes Matthew Palm in Saturday’s (2/25) Orlando Sentinel (Florida). “Kayhan Kalhor, an Iranian native with Kurdish heritage … composed ‘Silent City,’ a lament for the thousands who died in the chemical attack…. ‘Silent City’ will be the centerpiece of ‘East Meets West,’ the Orlando Philharmonic’s next concert, Monday. In the piece, Kalhor plays the kamancheh, a traditional [bowed] Iranian instrument…. Kalhor [is] a member of acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble…. As a teenager, he played in the National Orchestra of Radio and Television of Iran. But Western classical music piqued his curiosity and he moved first to Rome, then to Canada to study further. He graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa and now holds dual Canadian and Iranian citizenship, though he lives outside Los Angeles in those infrequent times he’s not touring…. He hopes that a shared love of music might bring people together. ‘I have been an ambassador for my culture, especially the musical side of it,’ Kalhor says. ‘I will continue to be that.’ ” The program also includes Weber’s Overture to Oberon, Purcell’s Fantasia Upon One Note, and Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, led by Music Director Eric Jacobsen.
Posted February 27, 2017
