THE RESONANCE ATLAS
Reza Vali
Biography
Reza Vali (born 1952 in Ghazvin, Iran) is an Iranian-American composer whose work encompasses chamber, orchestral and vocal music. He studied at the Tehran Conservatory, continued his training at the Vienna Academy of Music, and earned a PhD in music theory and composition at the University of Pittsburgh in 1985. He joined Carnegie Mellon University's music faculty in 1988 and is Professor Emeritus of Composition. His work explores the relationship between Persian musical traditions, including folk melody and modal practice, and contemporary concert composition. His extensive Folk Songs series ranges from vocal music to chamber works for varied instrumental combinations.
Why this music interests us
Vali's music offers an exceptionally rich meeting point between Persian musical traditions and contemporary concert composition. The Persian Folk Songs demonstrate how direct melodic expression can coexist with subtle instrumental invention; his wider chamber writing reveals a more exploratory side of the same musical imagination. Both dimensions make his work compelling for a programme concerned with music across cultural boundaries.
Selected works & listening
Persian Suite: Folk Songs, Set No. 12E (flute and piano); Folk Songs, Set No. 9 (flute and cello); Nine Persian Folk Songs, Set No. 2 (oboe and piano); Persian Suite No. 2 (flute, piano and string quintet); Mystery of the Rose (flute, violin and piano); Love Songs; Kord; Calligraphy No. 5