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1. Mikhail Glinka, arr. Mily Balakirev: 11. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Prelude in The Lark (5:09) G-Sharp Minor, Op. 32, No. 12 (2:38)

2. Aminollah Hossein: Prelude No. 1, Aminollah Hossein: Excerpts from “Homage to Omar Khayyam” (6:11) Mosaics, Op. 19 12. Scenes from Summer (4:41) 3. , arr. Matthew 13. Sérénade Tartare (6:32) Cameron: Adagio from Spartacus (7:49)

4. Aminollah Hossein, arr. Delbar 14. Tara Kamangar: Etude “East of Hakimova: Caravan (2:27) Melancholy” (2:37)

Dmitri Shostakovich: from Preludes, Loris Tjeknavorian: Excerpts from Op. 34 Fantastic Dances, Op. 2 5. Prelude No. 10 in C-Sharp Minor (1:53) 15. Festive Dance (2:05) 6. Prelude No. 12 in D Minor (1:15) 16. Lyrical Dance (2:29) 17. Dance of Elegy (3:55) Aminollah Hossein, arr. Tara Kamangar: 18. Dance of Ecstasy (2:42) Excerpts from Persian Miniatures, Op. 25 7. Solitude (3:46) Total Time: 60:56 8. Call of the Desert (1:05) 9. Call of Remembrance (1:31) 10. Invitation to the Spell (2:11) 2 “Love with us is always mixed with sor- row… There is no doubt that our mel- ancholy, plaintive song, which is the child of the North, has also an oriental strain. Just listen to the Volga boatman’s mournful song—one almost feels the Ta- tars’ domination.” – Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857)

“The East was an Aladdin’s cave from which Russia drew endlessly. Love in the East was different…other melodies, oth- er harmonies, a mixture of reserve and expansiveness. It was a land of dreams.” – Music Producer Marina Ilanova

“Nowhere in Europe does the Oriental element play such a prominent role as in by Russian influenced by folk the works of our composers.” music from the Caucasus. There has been – Vladimir Stasov, Russia’s leading music a considerable interchange of artistic critic of the 1800s techniques and inspiration in this region – considered to be one of the most lin- East of Melancholy: Music from guistically and culturally diverse regions Russia to offers a pianistic guide in the world – and much of the Caucasus through a fascinating region in which was under Persian rule as recently as the continuous settlement and musical ac- mid-nineteenth century, when Imperial tivity dates back to 4000 B.C. Rarely per- Russia conquered the territory from the formed pieces by Iranian, Armenian, and Persian Qajars. Tajik composers born in twentieth-cen- tury Iran are showcased, as well as works The ancestor of the piano – thesantour , or dulcimer – is widely believed to have 3 originated in the land of present-day Music in Russia has long been subject to Iran over two thousand years ago. The the religious and political position of the modern piano, however, did not appear state. As recently as 1636, as part of a fight in Iran until 1806, when Napoleon gifted against the pagan spirit which lingered this instrument to the Persian emperor. on in legends and folklore, the Moscow The piano does not lend itself easily to Patriarch decreed that all musical pur- traditional Persian music, because the suits in the home were illegal, ordered the piano’s fixed tuning is incompatible with confiscation of all musical instruments, the microtones of Persian music. In addi- burned the instruments in bonfires, and tion, the piano’s ability to act simultane- dumped them in the Moscow River. It ously as melodist and accompanist is lost was not until Peter the Great made him- with traditional Persian music, which is self the virtual head of the Church that mainly monophonic. However, innova- secular music in Russia arose. From then tive composers have managed to incor- on, music was subject to the political ori- porate elements of Persian music into entation of the Russian court. their piano compositions, often using the harmonic minor scale to evoke a Middle Similarly, in Iran, music has been sporad- Eastern sound, and using quickly repeat- ically banned throughout the centuries. ed pedaled notes to recreate the distinc- Most recently, the Islamic Revolution of tive sound of the santour. 1979 dealt a major blow to the classical music scene in Iran. Many of the con- After the revolution of 1979, many Irani- servatory professors and highly skilled an composers’ lives were turned upside classical musicians fled the country, so down, and manuscripts were scattered there was a scarcity of capable instructors. and lost. As Iran’s best classical teach- Other casualties of the Regime included ers and performers left the country, few the Ministry of Arts and Culture, which remained to preserve and promote the had financially sponsored musicians and works of these composers, some of which composers abroad – including Aminol- are presented for the first time in this al- lah Hossein and Loris Tjeknavorian – and bum. the Shiraz International Arts Festival, for

4 which many important works were com- of the introduction to Rimsky-Korsakov’s missioned and premiered. Music – with Scheherazade. the exception of sacred religious chant- ing – was banned in Iran from 1979 until MIKHAIL GLINKA (1804-1857), known 1988, throughout the duration of the Iran- as the “father of Russian classical music,” Iraq War; it was even illegal to buy was the first composer to integrate Rus- during this time. Though this ban has sian folk idioms into well-crafted classical gradually been lifted, musicians perform- compositions. Glinka’s protégé was the pi- ing in the Western classical style in today’s anist and composer Mily Balakirev (1837- Iran are subject to the demands of the 1910) – the self-appointed leader of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Mighty Five, a group of Russian nation- alist composers from the second half of The Russians have a word called “nega,” the nineteenth century, whose members which refers to the lush languor of the included César Cui, Mussorgsky, Borodin Orient as viewed through European eyes and Rimsky-Korsakov. (Taruskin-On Russian Music). Such ex- oticism is not always guileless; Borodin’s The Lark was originally written for voice Prince Igor is a prime musical example of and piano by Glinka, and later arranged “nega,” and yet one can argue that its sub- for piano by Balakirev. The original song text was the racial justification of Russia’s is set to Russian verses by Nestor Kukol- militaristic expansion to the East. Iranian nik, about a lark singing into the wind for composers writing in the classical idiom his lost beloved. – many of whom studied Western clas- sical music in Russia – appear to have AMINOLLAH HOSSEIN (1905-1983) been influenced by works like these that was born in Ashkhabad to Iranian par- display musical exoticism, whether con- ents. Hossein learned to play the tar sciously or subconsciously. In the pieces (Persian lute) as a child from his mother, I selected for the album, the most strik- and recordings of his tar performances ing example is the opening of Aminollah are still venerated in Iran today. After Hossein’s Solitude, strongly reminiscent the Russian Revolution of 1917, Hossein

5 moved to Stuttgart, Germany to study The Prelude No. 1 is inspired by the poet medicine at the insistence of his father, Omar Khayyam, whose complete verses and simultaneously studied the piano Hossein could recite by heart. Persian with Artur Schnabel. In 1927, he moved Miniatures have been excerpted from to Paris, and studied composition and Hossein’s eponymous ballet, and I have orchestration privately under Paul Vidal arranged them for solo piano. Scenes at the Paris Conservatory. Hossein’s from Summer and Sérénade Tartare are first work, the ballet Toward the Light, excerpts from the Mosaics Suite, a set of was performed in 1938 at the Paris Op- six pieces dedicated to Hossein’s wife, era House, and his later ballets, Persian Anna, a Jewish-Ukrainian actress. For Miniatures and Scheherazade, were cho- Scenes from Summer, Hossein writes the reographed by George Skibine, one of following notes: “(Scenes from Summer) Diaghilev’s dancers. His other orchestrat- depicts the light atmosphere of a sunny ed works include of the Sands day, clear and sonorous. To be played (1946), Persepolis Symphony (1947), Arya with an airy execution.” For Sérénade Symphony (1976), and three piano con- Tartare, he writes: “A gloomy sketch – certos. He also composed twenty film feeling very sad for no reason.” Caravan scores – many for films directed by his was originally written for tenor and or- son, the famed French actor and director chestra, and has been arranged for solo Robert Hossein – under the pseudonyms piano by Delbar Hakimova (b. 1958), a Andre Hossein and Andre Gosselain. -based professor and pianist of Hossein’s works have seen a revival in Tajik origin. recent years: his Persepolis Symphony was performed and recorded by the BBC ARAM KHACHATURIAN (1903-1978) Symphony , and his Symphony was one of the leading composers of the of the Sands was performed and recorded Soviet Union, and the most celebrated by the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Or- composer of his native state of Armenia. chestra with tenor Roberto Alagna. When he arrived in Moscow in 1921 from his hometown of Tbilisi, he had virtually no formal training in music, but was ad-

6 mitted on the strength of his talent to the LORIS TJEKNAVORIAN (b. 1937) was Gnessin Academy. His international rep- born in Borujerd, Iran. He studied violin utation was established with the success and piano at the Tehran Conservatory of the Piano in 1936, composed of Music, and composition at the Vien- at the same time that he became active na Music Academy. As Director of the in the newly founded Union of Soviet National Music Archives in Tehran, he Composers. In 1939, Khachaturian lived was placed in charge of collecting and re- for six months in Armenia, immersing searching traditional Persian folk music himself in Armenian folk music. Khacha- and national instruments. In the course of turian remained a proud Armenian his career, Tjeknavorian has made nearly throughout his life, serving in 1958 as the one hundred recordings and written more state’s delegate to the Supreme Soviet of than seventy-five compositions, including the USSR. As he once proclaimed, “My , , a requiem, chamber whole life, everything that I have creat- music, ballet music, choral works, an or- ed, belongs to the Armenian people.” atorio, and over forty-five film scores. His compositions have been performed by The balletSpartacus is one of Khachatu- numerous major , including the rian’s most well-known works. The sce- American Symphony Orchestra, the Lon- nario follows the exploits of Spartacus, don Philharmonic, the London Sympho- the leader of the slave uprising against ny Orchestra, and the symphony orches- the Romans known as the Third Servile tras of Haifa, Johannesburg, and Tehran. War, although it takes liberties with the From 1989 to 1999, he was the principal historical record. The Adagio (often re- conductor of the Armenian Philharmonic ferred to as the “Love Theme from Spart- Orchestra in Yerevan. acus”), accompanies the reunion of the hero and his wife. Its melodic style is said The Fantastic Dances were composed to be reminiscent of Armenian laments. during Tjeknavorian’s final years at the It was arranged for solo piano by Brook- Academy (1959–1960). He later lyn-based composer and concert pianist, orchestrated the work for three pianos, Matthew Cameron. celesta, and percussion. Haunting, Arme-

7 nian-sounding melodies weave through of all time. As the Polish pianist Josef the dances, which range in character from Hoffman said, “Rachmaninoff was made meditative to rapturous. Regarding this of steel and gold: steel in his arms, gold composition, New York Times music critic in his heart.” Bernard Holland writes: “Mr. Tjeknavori- an puts Armenian and Iranian tradition in The Prelude in G-Sharp Minor, Op. 32, our hand as if they were passports.” No. 12 was composed in 1910 and con- tains references to Dies Irae, the theme of SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873- a thirteenth-century Latin hymn describ- 1943) was born into an aristocratic fam- ing the Day of Judgment. ily of Moldovan descent in northwestern Russia. After his father, a retired army (1906- officer, lost the family fortune and de- 1975), born in St. Petersburg, Russia, was serted the family, Sergei’s cousin, the one of the most popular composers of the concert pianist and conductor Aleksandr twentieth century, with a compositional Siloti, sent him to study piano with the output including fifteen symphonies and noted teacher Nikolay Zverev in Moscow. fifteen string quartets. An obsessive char- Rachmaninoff graduated from the Mos- acter working under the Stalinist regime, cow Conservatory at the age of nineteen, he used irony and sarcasm as tools of ex- winning a gold medal for his one-act op- pression. era Aleko. By 1905, Rachmaninoff had established an international reputation as Shostakovich began composing his cycle a pianist and composer and held an ap- of twenty-four preludes in late 1934 – one pointment as a conductor at the Bolshoi prelude for each of the major and minor ballet. After the October Revolution of keys, as Chopin’s preludes were arranged. 1917, Rachmaninoff left Russia and lived The preludes are unpredictable and full mainly in the United States and Switzer- of contrasts. The C-sharp minor prelude land for the rest of his life. His works en- is melancholy and haunting, while the joy great popularity to this day, and he is D-minor prelude excites with its erratic considered to be one of the finest pianists yet determined quality.

8 My parents emigrated from Iran to bum, Aminollah Hossein’s Prelude No. 1 the United States three months before is subtitled Homage to Omar Khayyam in the 1979 Revolution, and I was born in honor of the beloved poet, whose Rubai- California. Growing up in a small town yat Hossein could recite by heart. Car- in Central California in which we were avan is a piano arrangement by Delbar the only Iranian family, I was fascinated Hakimova of a song that Hossein set to by all things Persian, and eager to learn two stanzas by the poet Sa’adi (Oh! Car- more about this part of the world. In the avan, do not make haste. You are taking process of learning and recording the my sweetheart away. She is carrying the pieces on this album, I have researched only heart I have...) Though they are not the lives of several Iranian-born compos- included in this album, Loris Tjeknavori- ers and have developed friendships with an has written several works inspired by some of them. I greatly admire how they ’s thirteenth-century epic poem are able to apply the best of Western mu- or Book of Kings. Russia also sic structures and theory to their native has an incredibly rich tradition of poet- traditions, and in doing so, make them ry, and Balakirev’s The Lark, included accessible to broader audiences. in this album, is the arrangement of a song that Glinka set to the Russian poem The title of this album, East of Melancholy, of the same name by Nestor Kukolnik. is the English translation of a famous collection of poems by the Iranian con- Since performing and uploading these temporary poet Sohrab Sepehri (Shargh pieces onto YouTube in the past decade, I e Andouh.) I chose this title because it have had several requests for their scores, speaks to the melancholic and nostalgic mainly from musicians living in Iran. Sad- mood of the music in the album. I also ly, some of Aminollah Hossein’s original feel that the reference to a book of poems manuscripts burned in a fire at his house, is apt because poetry is seen as the high- and there is no record of them in SACEM, est expression of culture in Iran; much of the French national library, or through Persian music throughout the centuries their original French publisher, Costallat. I has been inspired by poetry. In this al- arranged Hossein’s Persian Miniatures for

9 piano from orchestral LP recordings from the pianist and violinist for the classical the seventies, since Hossein’s own piano crossover trio “Triptyq,” whose first sin- arrangement of his orchestral suite has gle recently debuted at #2 on the classi- been lost. Loris Tjeknavorian’s complete cal iTunes chart. An avid composer with scores are now readily available through a background in ethnomusicology, Tara his website, and Delbar Hakimova was so wrote the original score for the prize- kind as to send me her yet-unpublished winning documentary “Fifi Howls from score. I feel that this music is a valuable Happiness” (France/Iran), named one of addition to the piano repertoire. the best films of 2013 by “Le Monde,” and has incorporated Kurdish folk music into —Tara Kamangar her classical compositions. Born in California to a musical Iranian Pianist Tara Kamangar has been de- family, Tara has studied the piano and vi- scribed as a “world-class musician who olin from the age of three. She is an hon- excels at blending the best of Western ors graduate of both Harvard University and Middle-Eastern compositions” (Gulf and London’s Royal Academy of Music, News). Praised for her “nimble technique where she completed postgraduate stud- and lustrous phrasing” (San Francisco ies in piano performance as a recipient of Chronicle,) Tara has premiered works the Kathleen Bayfield scholarship. by Iranian composers of the past centu- ry to standing ovations in venues such as London’s Cadogan Hall, the Whitehall Palace, ’s Skirball Audito- rium, San Francisco’s Masonic Auditori- um, Oakland’s Paramount Theatre, and LA’s Disney Hall. A versatile artist, Tara has collaborated with musicians across several genres, from Spanish classical guitarist Angel Romero to multi-plati- Tara Kamangar and Producer/Engineer num R&B producer James Poyser. She is Leslie Ann Jones 10 Dedicated to the memory of Aminollah Hossein

Producer: Leslie Ann Jones Engineer: Leslie Ann Jones Assistant Engineer: Dann Thompson, Robert Gatley Editors: Mark Willsher, Robert Gatley, Dann Thompson Mastered by Mark Willsher

Recorded at Skywalker, a Lucasfilm, Ltd. Company, Marin County, CA

Piano: Yamaha CFIIIS 9’ Concert Grand Piano Technician: Mark Schecter

Photo/Special Art Credits: Page 3: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco Covers/page 10: Golnaz Shahmirzadi

Special thanks to my parents and brothers for their love and support, to Leslie Ann Jones and her incredible team at Skywalker Sound, to Robert and Candice Hossein for their kind permission for the Persian Miniatures arrangement, to Maestro Loris Tjeknavorian, Roxane Zand, John Hillebrandt, Elizabeth Kidwell, and my colleagues in Kiosk and Triptyq for their mentorship and friendship, to the Iran Heritage Foundation, Magic of Persia, PAAIA, and Oakland East Bay Symphony for helping to promote this music, and to my musical friends in Iran for their inspiring messages. And endless gratitude to my mother, Farvardin. © 2014 Delos Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 343, Sonoma, CA 95476-9998 (707) 996-3844 • Fax (707) 320-0600 • (800) 364-0645 [email protected] www.delosmusic.com Made in USA 11 12