Kayhan Kalhor Returns to Schimmel Center with Erdal Erzincan

Grammy Award winner, five time Grammy Award nominee andinternationally acclaimed kamancheh (spiked fiddle) virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor returns to theSchimmel Center on Saturday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. following last season's sold-out performance. This year, Kalhor has invited long-time collaborator and Turkish baglama (lute) master Erdal Erzincan for their first concert together in New York since 2006 .

The Persian and Turkish musical traditions performed by Kalhor and Erzincan, while derived from ancient roots, are thoroughly modern. Both artists use improvisation as the focal point of their intensely spiritual and emotional music, aiming to bring listeners into a trance-like state by interweaving ecstatic rhythms with rich melodic phrases.

The classical music traditions of Persia and of Ottoman Turkey that inspire the music of Kalhor and Erzincan share a great deal in common, including the ancient modal compositional system known as maqam, and the idea of improvisation playing a definitive role in performance. Likewise, the regional folk music of their two respective countries also shares many commonalities, including the similarity of instruments such as the Kurdish and Persian tanbur and setar with the Turkish saz, the strumming techniques used for these instruments, and the high keening vocal techniques used by singers throughout this vast area.

Kalhor and Erzincan's purely instrumental performance deviates from the musical traditions of both cultures wherein singers typically hold the pre-eminent role, allowing the kamancheh and baglama to deliver the musical meaning.

Event Information

Schimmel Center Presents
KAYHAN KALHOR AND ERDAL ERZINCAN
Persian and Turkish Improvisations

Saturday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Curated by Isabel Soffer / Live Sounds

Tickets are available at www.schimmelcenter.org, by calling 212-346-1715 or by visiting the box office located at 3 Spruce Street. The Schimmel Center box office is open Tuesdays through Saturday from Noon to 5:00 p.m. and three hours prior to performances.

About the Artists
Kayhan Kalhor is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso on the kamancheh (spiked fiddle), who through his many musical collaborations has been instrumental in popularizing Persian music in the West as well as serving as a creative force in today's music scene. His performances of traditional Persian music and multiple collaborations have attracted audiences around the globe. He has studied the music of Iran's many regions, in particular those of Khorason and Kordestan, and has toured the world as a soloist with various ensembles and orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de Lyon. He is co-founder of the renowned ensembles Dastan and Masters of Persian Music. Kalhor has composed works for Iran's most renowned vocalists Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Shahram Nazeri and has also performed and recorded with Iran's greatest instrumentalists. He has composed music for television and film and was featured on the soundtrack of Francis Ford Copolla's Youth Without Youth in a score that he collaborated on with Osvaldo Golijov. John Adams invited him to give a solo recital at Carnegie Hall as part of his Perspectives Series and he has appeared on a double bill at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, sharing the program with the Festival Orchestra performing the Mozart Requiem. Kayhan is an original member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project for whom he continues to compose for and tour with, and his compositions appear on all of the Ensemble's albums. His most recent albums include Silent City, a collaboration with Brooklyn Rider, and I Will Not Stand Alone with santoor player Ali Bahrami Fard. Kayhan has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and in 2017 was awarded a Grammy with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. He has two recordings on the ECM label with Erdal Erzincan.

Erdal Erzincan, a disciple of the legendary Arif Sag, is one of the most well known folk musicians of his generation in Turkey. Born in Erzurum in 1971, he became interested in the region's folk music at an early age. In 1985, he moved to Istanbul to study at the Istanbul Conservatory and the Arif Sag Music School. Erzincan has made numerous recordings, both as a solo artist and as an accompanist, some of which have become best-selling albums. His collaborations include concerts with Arif Sag and the Koln Philharmonic, and with the Ambassade Symphony Orchester Wien (an ensemble of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra). Erzincan has performed and taught throughout the world and founded the Baglama Music Academy in Istanbul where he leads a baglama orchestra comprised of his students. He has two recordings on the ECM label with Kayhan Kalhor.

About Schimmel Center
Schimmel Center, located in the heart of downtown Manhattan at Pace University, presents a unique and diverse array of internationally acclaimed artists, encompassing genres including dance, cabaret, music, comedy, world music, and family programming, in an intimate setting with affordable ticket prices. For more information, visit SchimmelCenter.org.

Location Information
Schimmel Center is accessible via the A, C, 2, 3, 4, 5, J, or Z to Fulton Street (William Street Exit), 4, 5, 6 to Brooklyn Bridge (Brooklyn Bridge Exit), and R to City Hall (Broadway Exit); via the Path Train to the World Trade Center stop; and via bus by the M1, M9, M15, M22, M102, B51 to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall Stop or the M6 to City Hall/Broadway.

Image by Kevin Yatarola