TEHRAN-Renowned Iranian conductor Ali Rahbari will conduct the season opening concert of the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra Denizbank Concerts, slated for October 11.

The orchestra will perform two pieces by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky at the upcoming concert, ISNA reported.

In this performance, the orchestra opens its 80th concert season. Under the baton of the distinguished conductor Rahbari, the orchestra will accompany the esteemed artist, Presidential Symphony Orchestra soloist Gülsin Onay, as she performs one of Tchaikovsky's most beloved works, the First Piano Concerto. The concert will continue with Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, a symbol of his defiance against fate, composed after a ten-year struggle to overcome life's hardships and personal anguish.

Rahbari, 76, embarked on his musical journey at the age of five, learning to play the violin. He graduated from the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts in 1971, specializing in composition under the tutelage of Gottfried von Einem, and completed his conducting studies in 1974, guided by Hans Swarovsky. He is a laureate of international conducting competitions, securing the gold medal in Besançon, France (1977), and the silver medal in Geneva (1978).

He has conducted over 120 orchestras worldwide, including Orchestra della Svizzera Romanda, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Orchestre National de France, French Chamber Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and Prague Symphony Orchestra. 

He has served as the principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, receiving the Dvořák Medal in 1985 for his collaboration with the ensemble, and also led the Belgrade Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Belgian Radio and Television Orchestra (later becoming its principal conductor from 1988 to 1996).

Rahbari was the principal conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virtuosi di Praga chamber orchestra. From 2000 to 2004 he was the chief conductor and musical director of the Malaga Symphony Orchestra, Spain.

He has also had about 20 collaborations with the Mariinsky Orchestra at the Mariinsky Opera and Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia. In July 2022, Rahbari made his debut at the Mariinsky Theater and since then, he has been a regular on the Mariinsky stage.

In 1997, Rahbari formed the Persian International Philharmonic Orchestra in Bregenz, Austria, by bringing together 60 Iranian musicians from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. With this ensemble, he recorded Rimsky-Korsakov's “Scheherazade,” Khachaturian's “Violin Concerto,” and his own violin concerto, “Nohe Khan,” and was later awarded by the Vienna Academy of Music and Performing Arts.

He has released over 250 compact discs, with his recordings of operas by Verdi and Puccini under his direction gaining particular popularity.

Gülsin Onay (born 12 September 1954) is a leading Turkish concert pianist of German descent, based in Cambridge, England.

Onay is acknowledged worldwide as the definitive interpreter of the music of Ahmed Adnan Saygun, the leading Turkish composer of the 20th century, whose works feature prominently in her concerts and recordings, and whose second Piano Concerto (which she premiered in Turkey and abroad) was dedicated to her.

Onay's international career has spanned 80 countries across all continents, from Venezuela to Japan. She has given concerts in the major musical centers of the world such as Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Vienna Konzerthaus, London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall, the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Washington DC National Gallery of Art, and the New York Miller Theater. 

The Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1945 as the Istanbul Municipality City Orchestra. Since then, it has enjoyed brilliant years, performing with world-renowned, esteemed conductors, soloists, and artists, supported by meticulously crafted repertoires. 

SS/SAB