THE RESONANCE ATLAS
Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour
Biography
Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour is an Iranian composer whose music spans chamber works, orchestral writing, concertos and opera. He studied piano and composition in Denmark and London, and completed a PhD in composition at Brunel University in 2016. His BBC-commissioned harp concerto was premiered in 2005; his operas include The Doll Behind the Curtain (2015) and The Red Room (2022). His quintet Alas (2011), for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn and piano, draws on Persian melodic traditions and has been recorded on the album Persian Echoes.
Why this music interests us
Tafreshipour's Alas (2011) offers a substantial and especially practical point of entry for Resonance: a twenty-minute quintet for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn and piano. Its musical argument draws on Persian melodic material, bringing sustained lyrical lines into dialogue with denser instrumental writing. It would make a natural centrepiece for a chamber programme exploring the variety of contemporary Iranian musical voices.
Selected works & listening
Alas (2011; oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, piano); Only the Sound Remains (2007; baritone, cor anglais, harp, string quartet); The Doll Behind the Curtain (opera, 2015); The Red Room (opera, 2022); Persian Echoes (harp concerto)
Further information