Ali (Alexander) Rahbari (; also as "Alī Rahbarī", ; born 1948) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

who has worked with more than 120 European

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

s, including the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

and the

Mariinsky Opera The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

.محمود خوشنام شغل,کارشناس موسیقی
BBC Persian

Life

Born in Tehran on 26 May 1948, Rahbari studied

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

with Rahmatollah Badiee and

Hossein Dehlavi Hossein Dehlavi () (September 30, 1927 – October 15, 2019) was an Iranian composer. Biography Hossein Dehlavi was born in 1927 in Tehran, Iran and started music with his father Moezeddin Emami who was a pupil of master Ali-Akbar Shahnazi. Deh ...

at the Persian National Music Conservatory. From the age of 17 he was a violinist at the Fine Arts Administration Orchestra No. 1 (conducted by

). After receiving his violin diploma from the National Conservatory, he won a scholarship from the Iran Ministry of Culture and Art and moved to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Rahabari continued his studies in composition and conducting at the

Vienna Academy The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

with

Gottfried von Einem Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ. Bio ...

, Hans Swarovsky and

Karl Österreicher Karl Österreicher (3 January 1923 – 11 March 1995) was an Austrian conductor and music teacher. Life Born in Rohrbach an der Gölsen, Lower Austria, Austrian studied clarinet as well as conducting with Hans Swarowsky, later also with Alfre ...

. Some months after his return to Iran, in 1973 he became director of the Persian National Music Conservatory and was director of the Tehran Conservatory of Music from 1974 to 1977. During this time Rahbari, in co-operation with young Iranian musicians, established Iran's Jeunesse Musicale Orchestra where he was its music director and permanent conductor. He also conducted the

Tehran Symphony Orchestra The Tehran Symphony Orchestra (TSO, ), founded in 1933, is Iran's oldest and largest symphony orchestra. It was founded as the Municipality Symphony Orchestra by Gholamhossein Minbashian, before entering its modern form under Parviz Mahmoud in 194 ...

, the

National Iranian Radio and Television National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT; , ''Râdyo Televizyon-e Melli-ye 'Irân'') was the first Pahlavi Iran, Iranian state broadcaster, which was established on June 19, 1971, following the merger of the country's radio and television serv ...

(NIRT) Chamber Orchestra, and the Tehran Opera Orchestra as a guest conductor in

Roudaki Hall Rudaki (also spelled Rodaki; ; – 940/41) was a poet, singer, and musician who is regarded as the first major poet to write in New Persian. A court poet under the Samanids, he reportedly composed more than 180,000 verses, yet only a small ...

. In 1977 he emigrated to Europe. In the same year he won the first prize of the

International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors The International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors, is a music competition for young conducting, conductors in the city of Besançon, France. History The competition was organized for the first time in 1951 by the music and film critic a ...

(France) and in 1978 received the silver medal at the Geneva International Conducting Competition. In this year he recorded three LPs entitled "

Symphonische Dichtungen aus Persien ''Symphonische Dichtungen aus Persien'' (Symphonic Poems from Persia) is the name of 3 gramophone records recorded with Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in 1980 conducted by Ali Rahbari. Including works of the Persian (Iranian) contemporary compos ...

" ymphonic Poems from Persiawith the Nürnberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany, including 6 works by some of the greatest 20th century Iranian composers: "Bijan & Manijeh" by Hossein Dehlavi, "Dance", "Ballet-Immpressionen" and "Rhapsodie" by

Ahmad Pejman Ahmad Pejman ( ; born 1935), also spelled as Ahmad Pezhman, is an Iranian contemporary classical composer who resides in the United States. Pejman is notable for his works in opera, symphonies, and music for film. Biography Born in 1935 in Lar, ...

, "Sheherazade" by Aminollah (Andre) Hossein, "Iranian Suite" by Houshang Ostovar, "Persian Mysticism in G" (his own composition) and "Mouvement Symphonic" by Mohammad-Taghi Massoudieh. 1979 was the most important year in Rahbari's career. He was invited to conduct the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

and in 1980

Salzburg Easter Festival The Salzburg Easter Festival (, sometimes OFS) is a classical music and opera festival held every year over the extended week before Easter (Holy Week) in Salzburg, Austria since 1967. It was created by the conductor Herbert von Karajan, and for ...

became Karajan's assistant. From 1988 to 1996, Rahbari was the principal conductor of the Flemish Radio Orchestra (now

Brussels Philharmonic The Brussels Philharmonic is a Belgian orchestra located in Brussels. Formerly known as the Groot Symfonie-Orkest, BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, and later as the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the orchestra has been linked to the Flemish public broadc ...

), and after that became music director of the

Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra The Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra (Croatian: Zagrebačka filharmonija) is a Croatian orchestra based in Zagreb. The orchestra gives its concerts principally at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall and at the Croatian National Theatre, Zagreb. Hi ...

.
In 2005 he came back to Iran, and conducted

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's Ninth Symphony in Tehran. Many conservatives and newspapers accused Rahbari of promoting Western values. He resigned from the Tehran Symphony Orchestra and left Iran as a protest against its music industry .
In 2009 he introduced new musical ideas based on rhythms in

Persian traditional music Persian traditional music or Iranian traditional music, also known as Persian classical music or Iranian classical music, refers to the classical music of Iran (historically known as '' Persia''). It consists of characteristics developed through ...

. In 2022, following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Rahbari spoke out against the

international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...

against Russian musicians. Rahbari believed that the worst thing an artist can do is sanction another artist. "If the sanction is correct, then we should have sanctioned many British, American and basically NATO who have attacked villages in Afghanistan and attacked Baghdad for no reason since the last 45 years. They had no border and no problem with them. So, in this way, we should have banned all Hollywood films", he said.

Selected compositions

* Violin Concerto / Symphonie Persane ''Nohe Khan'' (1967/72) * ''Persian Mysticism'' -around G-, for orchestra (1969) * ''Beirut'', for flutes ensemble (1985) * ''Music For Human Rights'', for orchestra (1980s) * ''Puccini: Tosca'' - Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) and Slovak Philharmonic Chorus pril 1990* ''EXTA$Y'' The Musical (dedicated to

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

) (1995/96) ** Part 1 : Sister Angelica ** Part 2 : Mister Gianni * ''La Fuerza Flamenca'', for Choir and Orchestra (2000) * ''My Mother Persia'', 7 Symphonic Poems (2017/18) * ''Zarathustra Spitama'', for orchestra and tenor premier concert with Zagreb philharmonic orchestra with Iranian opera singer Reza Fekri (2022) and two times in Marinsky theater with Reza Fekri * ''My Mother Persia'', 7 Symphonic Poems (2017/18)RAHBARI, A.: My Mother Persia
Naxos * ''Morshed'', Tenor: Reza Fekri and published on

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahbari, Ali 1948 births Iranian classical composers Living people Musicians from Tehran Prize-winners of the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni 21st-century Iranian conductors (music) 20th-century conductors (music) Male conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians

Life

Selected compositions

See also

References