Sony Corporation to distribute “Rumi Symphony” this summer

A group of Iranian musicians gathered at the Music Museum of Iran on Monday to discuss this great project. Shahram and Hafez Nazeri, Keivan Saket, Behruz Bayat, Hushang Kamkar, Davud Ganjeii, Morteza Kazemi and several more took part in the session.

Hafez was the first one who talked about the project, “Ten years ago when I left Iran for New York, a day like today was only a dream for me, but I am happy that dreams come true one day.

“When I was in New York, I began from the very beginning, at zero, and only spent my days working on classical music. The symphony of Rumi is a new project and it insists on introducing itself as a new form of music that is combined with Iranian national music and Western classical. It actually sends our dialogue into the world.

“The project bears the title of Rumi which is a mixture of Eastern and Western culture. The project’s nature and major structure are based on Iranian national music. While the music incorporates harmony, melody and rhythm, it is different from Iranian music. I can say it is not totally oriental or completely western,” he said.

He then explained that a group of world prominent musicians collaborating with the Sony Corporation is cooperating with the distribution of the album.

“The entire project has taken about 10b rials (about $9.7m) and we began recording last November. In the past few months, I have traveled to six different countries to record the different pieces. The final section will be recorded with a New York choral group within the next 20 days. The first phase of the project is due to be given to Sony in April.

Following is part of the text available at The International Music Network (IMN) in description of the project:

“The Rumi Symphony Project is an ongoing work in Hafez Nazeri’s search to cross formal boundaries and integrate classical Iranian and Western musical traditions into a new genre. While the essence and elemental structures of Persian music are preserved in this work, its orchestration, harmony, rhythmic patterns, melodic forms, and resonance diverge from traditional Persian musical arrangements.

“No longer solely Persian or Western, the music matches the transcendent tone of Rumi’s Sufi poetry, transposed into the context of a new age. In the Path of Rumi, it is an expression of respect for the legacy of evolution, innovation, and creative interaction between musical traditions. Like Rumi, this project celebrates unity while rejoicing in the endless landscape of diversity that voices our humanity.”

Then music researcher and giant of traditional Iranian music, Mohammadreza Darvishi, spoke about the project. He said, “We have not heard the symphony but we trust you and your father and we are sure it is a special and unique project.”

Father Shahram Nazeri expressed his attitude on the project and said, “I taught Hafez to be independent. His thoughts, his compositions and his singing are different with mine. I personally like the difference.”

However, musician Hushang Kamkar noted that it was better if the participants hear the symphony before they talk about it. “I congratulate you for what you have achieved and the way you defend your job”, he told Hafez adding, “Surely, you will have a bright future, because you are young and are pursing innovation, and excitement.”

Photo: Musician Hafez Nazeri (R) and vocalist father Shahram attend a press conference to promote the “Rumi Symphony” at the Music Museum of Iran in Tehran on February 28, 2011. (ISNA/Ruhollah Vahdati)