Volume 12 - Number 2 February – March 2016 £4 TTHISHIS ISSUEISSUE: PPERSIANERSIAN MUSICMUSIC ● SSoundingounding thethe citycity ● SStilltill singingsinging ● A ddiscursiveiscursive studystudy ofof musicmusic inin IranIran duringduring thethe 1960s1960s ● SShapinghaping thethe PersianPersian repertoirerepertoire ● TThehe iintroductionntroduction ofof pianopiano practicepractice inin IranIran ● MMusic,usic, IIslamslam aandnd PPersianersian SuSufi ssmm ● MMusicusic oonn thethe mmoveove iinn thethe MMiddleiddle EastEast ● SSwayingwaying toto PersianPersian andand MiddleMiddle EasternEastern tunestunes inin LondonLondon ● PPLUSLUS RReviewseviews andand eventsevents inin LondonLondon Volume 12 - Number 2 February – March 2016 £4 TTHISHIS ISSUEISSUE: PPERSIANERSIAN MMUSICUSIC ● SSoundingounding tthehe ccityity ● SStilltill ssinginginging ● A ddiscursiveiscursive studystudy ooff mmusicusic iinn IIranran duringduring tthehe 11960s960s ● SShapinghaping tthehe PPersianersian rrepertoireepertoire ● TThehe iintroductionntroduction ooff ppianoiano ppracticeractice iinn IIranran ● MMusic,usic, IIslamslam aandnd PPersianersian SSuufi ssmm ● MMusicusic oonn tthehe mmoveove iinn tthehe MMiddleiddle EastEast ● SSwayingwaying ttoo PPersianersian andand MMiddleiddle EasternEastern ttunesunes iinn LondonLondon ● PPLUSLUS RReviewseviews aandnd eeventsvents inin LLondonondon Aida Foroutan, 'Protest', 2002. No. 14 of a series of 28 paintings called Women's Life, About the London Middle East Institute (LMEI) 2001-2015. Oil on canvas. 80 x 80 cm. Image courtesy of the artist Th e London Middle East Institute (LMEI) draws upon the resources of London and SOAS to provide teaching, training, research, publication, consultancy, outreach and other services related to the Middle Volume 12 - Number 2 East. It serves as a neutral forum for Middle East studies broadly defi ned and helps to create links between individuals and institutions with academic, commercial, diplomatic, media or other specialisations. February – March 2016 With its own professional staff of Middle East experts, the LMEI is further strengthened by its academic Editorial Board membership – the largest concentration of Middle East expertise in any institution in Europe. Th e LMEI also Professor Nadje Al-Ali has access to the SOAS Library, which houses over 150,000 volumes dealing with all aspects of the Middle SOAS East. 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First, it is based in of Arabia London, a city which has unrivalled contemporary and historical connections and communications with the Dr Sarah Stewart SOAS Middle East including political, social, cultural, commercial and educational aspects. Secondly, the LMEI is Dr Shelagh Weir at SOAS, the only tertiary educational institution in the world whose explicit purpose is to provide education Independent Researcher and scholarship on the whole Middle East from prehistory until today. Professor Sami Zubaida Birkbeck College Coordinating Editor Megan Wang LMEI Staff: SSubscriptions:ubscriptions: Listings Vincenzo Paci Director Dr Hassan Hakimian To subscribe to Th e Middle East in London, please visit: Designer Executive Offi cer Louise Hosking www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/affi liation/ or contact the Shahla Geramipour Events and Magazine Coordinator Vincenzo Paci LMEI offi ce. 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Contents LMEI Board of Trustees 4 19 Baroness Valerie Amos (Chair) EDITORIAL Swaying to Persian and Middle Director, SOAS Eastern tunes in London Professor Richard Black, SOAS Dr John Curtis 5 Roya Arab Iran Heritage Foundation INSIGHT Dr Nelida Fuccaro, SOAS Sounding the city: Tehran’s 21 Mr Alan Jenkins contemporary soundscapes REVIEWS Dr Karima Laachir, SOAS Laudan Nooshin CD Dr Dina Matar, SOAS Rhapsody of Roses: Persian Dr Hanan Morsy European Bank for Reconstruction 7 Classical Music from the 1950s and Development Dr Barbara Zollner PERSIAN MUSIC Pejman Akbarzadeh Birkbeck College Still singing: female singers in contemporary Iran 22 LMEI Advisory Council Parmis Mozafari BOOKS Iranian Classical Music: Th e Lady Barbara Judge (Chair) 9 Discourses and Practice of Professor Muhammad A. S. Abdel Haleem H E Khalid Al-Duwaisan GVCO A discursive study of music in Creativity Ambassador, Embassy of the State of Kuwait Iran during the 1960s Stefan Williamson Fa Mrs Haifa Al Kaylani Arab International Women’s Forum Mohammadamin Hashemi Dr Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa 23 President, University College of Bahrain Professor Tony Allan 11 BOOKS IN BRIEF King’s College and SOAS Shaping the Persian repertoire Dr Alanoud Alsharekh Senior Fellow for Regional Politics, IISS Houman M. Sarshar 26 Mr Farad Azima IN MEMORIAM NetScientifi c Plc Homa Nategh (1934-2016) Dr Noel Brehony 13 MENAS Associates Ltd. Th e introduction of piano Touraj Atabaki and Nasser Professor Magdy Ishak Hanna British Egyptian Society practice in Iran Mohajer HE Mr Mazen Kemal Homoud Maryam Farshadfar Ambassador, Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 27 Mr Paul Smith Chairman, Eversheds International 15 Khodadad Farmanfarmaian Music, Islam and Persian (1928-2015) Founding Patron and Donor of the LMEI Sufi sm Ramin Nassehi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber Terry Graham MBI Al Jaber Foundation 28 17 EVENTS IN LONDON Music on the move in the Middle East Ilana Webster-Kogen February – March 2016 The Middle East in London 3 PPERSIANERSIAN MMUSICUSIC Roya Arab gives a brief tour of the Persian and Middle Eastern music scene in London SSwayingwaying ttoo PPersianersian aandnd MMiddleiddle EEasternastern ttunesunes iinn LLondonondon © Public Domain Hossein Alizadeh in concert with Hamavayan Ensemble London, November 8, 2015. Courtesy of Fariborz Kiani, Nava Arts UK ondon has a thriving live music scene, For Persian and Middle Eastern music something going on musically in London. and Persian and Middle Eastern music London accommodates both classical Th e annual Nour Festival has a cornucopia Lis not left out: it is facilitated by a host and modern, young and old, although in of the region’s cultural off erings which of musical venues and festivals spread across my humble opinion not all with the same are presented at various venues across the city, various societies, institutions and frequency or indeed quality. A cursory Kensington and Chelsea, whilst Shubbak concert organisers. Together they serve overview on the Internet of musical events shares Arab culture biennially across an international audience living, visiting that took place across London since the start London. and studying in London. A major part of 2015 shows the wide range in age, styles When looking at the creation, is played by the educational institutions and venues used for musical events. From performance and consumption of teaching, disseminating and providing a many restaurants with popular Persian Persian and Middle Eastern music, one performance platform, such as SOAS which and Middle Eastern music to smaller gig must also consider the impact from the acts as a major venue for visiting artists and venues and large concert halls sharing unprecedented spread of people from students to perform, as well as other ethno- popular and classical music, there is always these regions in the modern world, musicological courses being taught across London (at City University, Goldsmiths, Th e exponential growth of diaspora communities over Kings College and Royal Holloway) which also play their part in spreading the region’s the past 40 years has created a mélange of artistic music. styles, manners, forms and expressions February – March 2016 The Middle East in London 19 with an exponential growth of diaspora Across London in any given month Persian and communities over the past 40 years. A survey of demographics looking at Iranian Middle Eastern music is performed by native