TEHRAN – Iranian maestro Ali (Alexander) Rahbari will conduct the Cemal Resit Rey (CRR) Symphony Orchestra in Istanbul during a concert celebrating Republic Day in Turkey.

Azerbaijani violist Elvin Hoxha Ganiyev will accompany the orchestra during the performance, which will be held on October 29 at the Cemal Resit Rey (CRR) Hall.

A repertoire of works by world-renowned composers, including Ferit Tüzün, Fazil Say and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, will be performed at the concert.

Several other ensembles are scheduled to give performances on Turkey’s Republic Day, which marks its 99th anniversary this year.

Celebrations for that day usually begin at noon on October 28 and run until the next day. Turkey had been a republic in effect since April 23, 1920, when the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was established, but official recognition came three and a half years later. 

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who was later chosen as the first president by the Grand National Assembly, declared the country a republic on October 29, 1923. Turkish people pay their heartfelt respects to the republic’s founder during the celebrations.

Rahbari is currently the conductor of the Mariinsky Orchestra in Saint Petersburg. He was appointed by the Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev, in July to conduct 10 performances, the first of which was on July 14.

He has previously worked with numerous orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and Tehran Symphony Orchestra.

He has also composed many pieces, including the symphonic poem “Zarathustra Spitama”, which was performed by the Mariinsky Orchestra on September 29 at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Earlier on March 4, the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra performed the symphonic poem under the baton of Rahbari at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb to celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations between Iran and Croatia.

During the entirely Persian concert, Iranian vocalist Reza Fekri sang a tenor solo accompanied by the Ivan Filipovic Chamber Choir.

The Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra previously performed “Zarathustra Spitama” on October 23, 2020 to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Photo: Maestro Ali Rahbari in an undated photo.

MMS/YAW