In our rather rapturous live review of classical Persian singer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian’s DPAC concert with the Shahnaz Ensemble, we included a video of Shajarian’s public conversation with Duke’s Amir Rezvani (check it out here). Today we’ve got the second part of that video, which includes some impromptu instrumental demonstrations from the phenomenal Shahnaz, and you…click to continue…
Live Review: Mohammad-Reza Shajarian and the Shahnaz Ensemble
On April 28, Iran’s greatest classical singer, Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, brought his phenomenal Shahnaz Ensemble to the Durham Performing Arts Center. For once, we’ll forgo burying the lead to build suspense: the concert was, quite simply, magnificent. Read on for a review and a video.
Interview: M. Ward Braves the Wasteland
M. Ward discusses how the themes of creativity, inspiration, and suffering inform his new album, A Wasteland Companion, which has more to do with T.S. Eliot than Garrison Keillor. Ward, who performs at Page Auditorium on May 15, also offers some advice on playing vintage without playing retro.
Interview: Bose Engineer Ken Jacobs Helps Artists Communicate with Audiences
"I think over-amplification is the worst problem," Bose engineer Ken Jacobs tells The Thread in this interview dealing with the challenges, advantages, and perils of designing live sound for concert halls.
Interview: Mohammad-Reza Shajarian (Part 2)
In the second part of their interview with the Iranian icon Mohammad-Reza Shajarian—who visits Duke Performances with the Shahnaz Ensemble this month—Amir H. Rezvani and Omid Safi explore the political and spiritual impact of the singer and composer, who maintains that “art, fundamentally, is the language of resistance.”
Interview: Mohammad-Reza Shajarian (Part 1)
In anticipation of Mohammad-Reza Shajarian’s Duke Performances show with the Shahnaz Ensemble, Amir H. Rezvani and Omid Safi conducted and translated a telephone interview with the iconic Iranian singer and composer, and then kindly shared this transcript with The Thread. In Part 1, we learn of Shajarian’s personal history and musical inventions.
Live Review: Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
Seun Kuti, son of Afrobeat inventor Fela, visited Page Auditorium with the legacy band Egypt 80 last week. Today on The Thread, UNC professor Lisa A. Lindsay, a specialist in African history, reviews the show, offering extensive perspective on Kuti’s familial and historical context in the process.
