TEHRAN – Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor and tombak player Behnam Samani will perform a concert of classical Persian music at San Giorgio in Venice.

The concerts will be organized on July 14 at the invitation of the Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies, the institute has announced.

The performances will be held with contributions from the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage at Ca’ Foscari University, Venice.

As a great interpreter of the kamancheh, a bowed string instrument with an end-pin, four-time Grammy Award nominee Kalhor is considered an ambassador of Persian music in the world.

He is also a member of the renowned Silk Road Ensemble founded by Yo-Yo Ma, and continues to tour with the celebrated cellist as well as regularly composing for him.

He has been honored with prestigious awards at numerous international music events. He won the Artist Award at the WOMEX Awards, the World Music Expo, in Finland in 2019.

Kalhor also received the Artist Award of the globalFEST, North America’s most important world music industry event, in New York in 2020.

Samani plays tombak, an Iranian goblet-shaped drum. In his own particular style, he combines an amazing variety of rhythms that have their roots in classical Persian music but are open to influences from other cultures, leading to a wide range of sounds, colors and expressions. 

A founding member of the percussion group Zarbang, Samani has played with leading Iranian musicians and has toured extensively internationally, especially with the Dastan ensemble.

In line with the concert, a review session on the music and aesthetics of the classical Persian tradition will also be organized by Giovanni De Zorzi on July 13 at 5 pm.

Both the meeting and the concert will be streamed on the Youtube channel of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini.

Photo: This file photo shows Kayhan Kalhor (L) and Behnam Samani performing a concert.

MMS/YAW