The Museum of Islamic Art of the National Museums in Berlin is organising a four-part concert series by the Iranian musician, composer and tar-meiste Elshan Ghasimi from 10 November to 1 December 2022. Ghasimi will premiere her new interpretation of the Radīf at three performances in the Bode Museum and one concert in the Museum of Musical Instruments. Ghasimi is thus the first woman to dedicate herself to the renewal of this centuries-old tradition that dates back to the time of the Achaemenid Great Kings.
Image above © Photo: Gerhard Kühne, SILKROAD
The Radīf is a system of classical Persian art music that is at least 1,400 years old. As a melodic repertoire, it is divided into a total of twelve modules and melodic units – the so-called dastgahs and gushehs. Since 2009, the Radīf has been a UNESCO “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.
Elshan Ghasimi is the first woman to reinterpret this classical melodic spectrum. It is also about the traditional transmission and handing down of the Radīf, which is threatening to break off due to a lack of new blood, especially after the 1979 revolution in Iran and the ongoing difficult political and social situation there.
Elshan Ghasimi is a master of the Persian long-necked lute Tar and of classical Persian art music. Her original compositions combine poetry and conceptual art with individual engagement with her counterparts, a purely human encounter at eye level. The musician began her training at the age of nine at the Tehran Conservatory of Music. At 17, she became the youngest member of the Iranian National Orchestra (1998-2006) under the direction of Farhad Fakhreddini. Ghasimi has been living in Germany since 2016, where she performs as a soloist as well as with ensembles such as Concerto Köln and Ensemble ɛkstʁaktə. She also performs in various chamber music constellations. Further information: www.elshanghasimi.com
To kick off the concert series, which is scheduled to run for several years, Ghasimi will perform the melodic repertoire of the Dastgāh-e Shur subsystem in a total of four concerts. The opening concert on Thursday, 10 November 2022, will take place at 7 pm in the Basilica of the Bode Museum and will be introduced by British music and opera critic Michael Church and Stefan Weber, Director of the Museum of Islamic Art. Further concerts at the Bode-Museum will take place on 17 and 24 November 2022 at 7pm. Admission is from 6.30 pm in each case. The final concert will take place on Thursday, 1 December 2022, at 7 pm in the Curt Sachs Hall of the Museum of Musical Instruments. Here, too, admission starts at 6.30 pm.
The concert series under the artistic direction of Julian Malte Hatem Schindele is a project and production of Bublitz in cooperation with the Museum of Islamic Art – National Museums in Berlin.
Tickets for € 16, reduced € 8 can be booked on the respective concert evening from 6 pm at the box office and online: www.eventbrite.de
WHEN?
Friday, 10. November until Thursday, 1. December 2022
WHERE?
Bode Museum
Am Kupfergraben
10117 Berlin-Mitte
and in the
Musikinstrumenten Museum
Ben-Gurion-Straße
10785 Berlin-Tiergarten
