David Dalle
Thursday May 1st, 2014 with David Dalle
Hafez Nazeri's Rumi Symphony Project, Mozart

Today we hear the Rumi Symphony Project composed by Hafez Nazeri, son and heir of the great Shahram Nazeri. In this bold and ambitious work Hafez tries no less than to portray the history of the universe, from the dawn of time with the Big Bang to the evolution of life and humanity culminating in humanity's spiritual awakening. Musically, he also has the grand ambition to achieve a new level of fusion between Western and Persian classical music. He does this quite well in this work, he developed a new instrument based on the setar with an expanded range and more polyphonic capabilities called the Hafez, and he is joined by a range of musicians from different traditions, including himself on Hafez, percussion and voice, as well as his father on voice; Matt Haimovitz, Johannes Moser, and Paul Neubauer on cellos and viola; Zakir Hussain and Glen Velez on percussion, and the Rumi Symphony Chorus. This is a beautiful, moving and unique work of music. Considering the ambitious scope and subject of this piece, I can't help but be reminded of Gustav Mahler's 3rd symphony. The Ottawa Choral Society will be performing an all-Mozart program this Sunday afternoon, including his famed C Major Mass the 'Coronation Mass' and his exquisite Vesperae solennes de confessore, as well Mozart's 36th symphony and one of his Missa Brevis will be performed. More information at www.ottawachoralsociety.com