Reethaus is proud to present a solo performance by Mohammad Reza Mortazavi on May 9. In the intimacy provided by the inner chamber of Reethaus, Mortazavi will improvise from new percussive compositions developed over the last years on tombak and daf.
For Mortazavi, the tombak, like the universe, is a deep circle in which anything is possible. Mortazavi began his long apprenticeship to the instrument — one of the oldest drums in the world and a centerpiece of classical Persian music — at the age of six in Isfahan, Iran. He came to understand the onomatopoeic tombak as an instrument that narrates more than its tradition, eventually adding over thirty new striking techniques to its vocabulary. In his hands, the Persian goblet drum is unloosed, sending an astonishing stream of polyrhythms galloping out into space.
Mortazavi applies his inventiveness with equal vigor to the daf, the orb-like frame drum distinguished by its crown of metal hoops. Combining the two in live performances, Mortazavi marshals his virtuosic repertoire of taps and knocks into cascades that gleam with dynamism and exacting precision. The shades of sound he coaxes from the apparently simple percussion instruments allow him to exploit the tonal potential of the drum. “To me, rhythm is spirit and melody is the body. Body and spirit together are music,” he says.
After the performance and an intermission, Mohammad Reza Mortazavi will be in conversation with Ann-Kathrin Grebner, Curatorial Director of Slowness. Reethaus is pleased to offer the opportunity for direct exchange with an artist whose technical innovations and philosophical imagination continue to expand the bounds of music.
Doors open at 6pm, with the performance beginning at 7pm.