peymanfarzinpour-blog

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Schoenberg's Painting of Alban Berg

Berg Standing above Schoenberg's Painting

This is one of my favorite- and I think one of Arnold Schoenberg's greatest paintings- that of his portrait of his student, Alban Berg. What's even more wonderful is the now, very iconic photo of Berg, overlooking the windowsill, with his painting right below him. How sad and awful that their beautiful and groundbreaking music was so misunderstood and neglected in their own period, and even more so after an entire century. Has society become so intellectually, musically, and artistically profligate that now, even the major orchestras are programming video game and popular film music alongside the diarrhea of young, "in" composers (read EID or IED politics replacing merit) that's it's become virtually impossible to hear ANY music by the great, Second Viennese Composers on orchestral programs, especially in the U.S.? Sadly, the answer seems to be yes, and it won't be changing anytime soon, if ever...

(For those of you who wish to rant and rave against my politically incorrect remarks, save your breath as plenty of people are already doing so, and ironically, I'm neither American, European, white, nor fit the neat boxes of a POC, or ALAANA, conveniently excluded by all as a result of blatant racism and discrimination against my background.) To place this into context, a few years ago, while attempting to receive grants to re-stage a marvelous opera composed by a young yet renowned Italian composer, which I had conducted/ premiered to great success in NYC, I was later repeatedly turned away by the various grants organizations, even though the committees responded that the production and opera were excellent. The issue, however was that the subject matter was simply NOT "current" and didn't align with their current sociopolitical interests. Ironically, the subject matter of the opera was that of three characters- one escaping the Armenian genocide, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, and an Italian immigrant trying to forge a better life in the U.S.- all of whom had passed through Ellis Island and whose actual words and recordings were incorporated into the opera. This opera, seemed to have nothing metaphorically in common with what's happening in the U.S. today! I know that if the operatic characters were simply swapped with the "appropriate" current sociopolitically favorable figures, the grants would have been rolling in, with a cross-country tour. I'll leave it at that for now...

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Sergiu Celibidache on Time & Tempo:

“Something starts to move, but you don’t notice that it is moving in time. If anyone has the feeling it is either too long or too short, he is already out of the music. Here you can somehow live beyond time. In this sense music has no duration in time. In any normal concert you are out of it all the time. In a hundred concerts a year, if there are three where you somehow stayed with it - that would be a lot.”

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Very rare, and amazing recording of this magnificent piece!

Lontano

György Ligeti (28 maggio 1923 - 2006): Lontano per orchestra (1967). Wiener Philharmoniker, dir. Claudio Abbado. Lontano è una delle opere fondamentali di Ligeti, risale al periodo in cui decise di sperimentare procedure compositive totalmente nuove e inusitate. Il titolo (in italiano) fa riferimento a una lontananza intesa in senso non solo spaziale, ma anche “storico” e soprattutto musicale: i…

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One of the best 20th c./ contemporary albums around...

Wien Modern II: Hommage à Andrei Tarkovsky · Play album

Composiciones de Luigi Nono, Gyögy Kurtág, Beat Furrer & Wolfgang Rihm

Ensemble Anton Webern & Arnold Schoenberg Chor Claudio Abbado (conductor)

* Lp info

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Harmonizing Creativity: Inside Composer Peyman Farzinpour's Journey

The world of music composition is a fascinating field where artistry and imagination come together to create tunes that resonate time and time again. Behind every symphony, sonata or concerto lies the composer's complex creative journey. Exploring the creative process of a musician like Peyman Farzinpour reveals a tapestry woven of inspiration, dedication, and innovation. It begins with a spark – an idea, a fleeting melody, or a surge of emotion – that ignites the composer's imagination. This initial impulse serves as the foundation upon which the entire composition is built. From here, the composer delves deeper into the nuances of music theory, experimenting with harmony, rhythm and instrumentation. Each note is carefully crafted, reflecting Farzinpour's unique voice and vision. It is a process of testing and revision, where each iteration brings the composition closer to its intended form. However, a musician's journey is not entirely a solitary endeavor. Collaborations with musicians, feedback from gurus, and even influence from other art forms contribute to shaping the final composition. Ultimately, a musician's journey, exemplified by talents like Peyman Farzinpour, is a testament to the limitless possibilities of human creativity, where passion meets discipline, and innovation finds its voice in the universal language of music.

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One of the most wonderful conductors in the world- Emilio Pomarico- conducting a reduction of Arnold Schoenberg's magnificent Five Orchestra Pieces, Op. 16 with Klangforum Wien. I confess that I'm a bit biased here in that I had the great pleasure and honor of having studied with Emilio, who himself had studied with the great Sergiu Celibidache (conductor of the Berlin Phil before Karajan and then for many years, the music director of the Munich Philharmonic). For any aficionados of avant-garde 20th c. & contemporary music, you can find a huge amount of Pomarico's recordings of new music, always impeccably performed under his direction with a number of German orchestras and especially with the new music group, Klangforum Wien on various music channels as well as YouTube.

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One of my favorite end scenes from any movie: 400 Blows by Francois Truffaut. The music is absolutely magnificent...

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"Shrotavyasya" is a piece I composed several years ago- thrilled that it's finally officially released online! The title translates from Sanskrit as "toward all that is to be heard". It was inspired by a couple of weeks I spent in Bali a few summers ago doing a yoga and meditation retreat, as well as by a huge Balinese gong I heard while I was there. In the piece, two percussionists and the pianist are in front on the stage, while the violin and cello are to the back left, behind the audience, and the flute and clarinet back right, also behind. The idea was to have a triangle of sound coming from three directions, representing the three main Hindu gods (which are represented in the composition, divided into three equal segments). Here is the premiere with ENSEMBLE / PARALLAX and Ionee Waterhouse's beautiful video:

You can find it on Spotify here:

You can also hear/ buy it on iTunes: