RENOWNED MUSICIANS FROM CENTRAL ASIA CELEBRATE THE MUSIC OF
THE REGION IN ZANKEL HALL ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27
On Saturday, October 27 at 8:30 p.m., Carnegie Hall will present 17 of Central Asia’s finest artists in a program entitled Spiritual Sounds of Central Asia. The performance will feature legendary Azerbaijani mugham singer Alim Qasimov, Tajikistan’s Badakhshan Ensemble, and “Bardic Divas” from Kazakhstan and Qaraqalpakstan. Introductory documentary films will precede each section of the concert to introduce the musicians and the social context of their music in their home countries. This performance is presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with the World Music Institute.
This concert will bring several musicians to the United States for the first time in a program designed to provide North American audiences with a rare opportunity to hear music from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Qaraqalpakstan (an autonomous region in Uzbekistan). The concert will feature a panoramic range of vocal and instrumental music that showcases some of Central Asia’s finest performers. Accompanied by a four-man ensemble—on tar (lute), kemanche (spike fiddle), balaban (double reed oboe), and percussion—Alim Qasimov debuts a new program of duets performed with his daughter, Fargana. From Badakhshan, the seven-person Badakhshan Ensemble offers trance-inducing mystical songs based on texts by Rumi, Hafez, and Nasir Khusrow, bringing to life these classical poets’ work. The power of the female voice is illustrated with the “Bardic Divas,” four women from Kazakhstan and Qaraqalpakstan, who perform in a variety of musical styles, some of them taboo to performance by women in their native regions.
In addition to the Spiritual Sounds of Central Asia, this season’s world music series includes Turkish and Kurdish folk music with the Nevzat Akpinar Ensemble (November 9); Armenia’s premier folk troupe, the Shoghaken Ensemble (January 26); pipa virtuouso Wu Man and a traditional Chinese Shawm Band (February 15); and Brazilian singer-songwriter-guitarist Lenine (May 9).
Carnegie Hall’s world music series is presented in partnership with the World Music Institute, which is dedicated to the study and presentation of the finest traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world. Growing out of a concert program developed at New York’s Alternative Museum begun in 1976, the World Music Institute has presented music from more than 100 countries in regions throughout the world.
Program Information
Saturday, October 27 at 8:30 p.m. Zankel Hall
SPIRITUAL SOUNDS OF CENTRAL ASIA
Alim Qasimov
Fargana Qasimov
The Badakhshan Ensemble
Bardic Divas
Presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with the World Music Institute.
Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
Ticket Information
Tickets, priced at $36 and $44, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street. Tickets may also be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or online by visiting
www.carnegiehall.org
.