The world-renowned Iranian composer and conductor Ali Rahbari will perform on September 26th at the prestigious stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. This event marks the beginning of Rahbari's sixth creative season in this famous hall.
As part of the concert, he will lead the Mariinsky Orchestra, performing works by outstanding composers from around the world. These include pieces by German composer Richard Wagner, Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg, and French composer and conductor Hector Berlioz.
The repertoire includes Wagner's symphonic poem 'Siegfried's Idyl', Grieg's incidental music for Henrik Ibsen's play 'Peer Gynt' from 1867, and Berlioz's programmatic symphony 'Symphonie Fantastique'.
Richard Wagner (1813–1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor, best known for his operas, although his mature works are often called musical dramas. Unlike most composers, Wagner wrote the libretto and music for all his productions himself. He first gained recognition through works in the romantic tradition of Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer, but revolutionized the genre with his concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), which seeks to unite poetic, musical, visual, and dramatic elements.
Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the leading composers of the Romantic era, and his music is part of the standard world classical repertoire. Grieg's use of Norwegian folk music in his compositions brought fame to Norwegian music, contributing to the development of national identity, similar to what Jan Sibelius did in Finland and Bedřich Smetana in Bohemia.
Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) was a French Romantic composer, conductor, and critic. His work includes orchestral pieces such as 'Symphonie Fantastique' and 'Harold in Italy', choral works including 'Requiem' and 'Childhood of Christ', three operas—'Benvenuto Cellini', 'Troi', and 'Beatrice et Benedicte'—as well as hybrid genre works, such as the dramatic symphony 'Romeo and Juliet' and the dramatic legend 'Faust's Curse'.
Rahbari, who was given the title of 'permanent guest conductor' of the Mariinsky Orchestra by Valery Gergiev, the legendary and celebrated conductor of Russian orchestras, has successfully presented 28 diverse programs over the last five seasons, earning the trust and wide recognition of the public and critics. During this period, he has brought to the stage a wide range of world classical masterpieces, as well as outstanding Iranian works.
Ali Rahbari, aged 78, began 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 Gottfried von Einem, and completed his conducting studies in 1974 under Hans Swarowsky. He is a laureate of international conducting competitions, winning a gold medal in Besançon, France (1977), and a silver medal in Geneva (1978).
He has conducted more than 120 orchestras worldwide, including the Orchestra della Svizzera Romanda, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, French Chamber Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and Prague Symphony Orchestra.
Rahbari served as the principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, receiving the Dvořák Medal in 1985 for his collaboration with this ensemble, and also conducted the Belgrade Symphony Orchestra and the Belgian Radio and Television Orchestra (later becoming its chief conductor from 1988 to 1996).
Rahbari was the chief conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virtuosi di Praga chamber orchestra. From 2000 to 2004, he held the position of chief conductor and musical director of the Málaga Symphony Orchestra in Spain.
In 1997, Rahbari founded the Persian International Philharmonic Orchestra in Bregenz, Austria, gathering 60 Iranian musicians from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA.
In July 2022, Rahbari debuted at the Mariinsky Theatre, conducting Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony and Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite 'Scheherazade'. Since then, he has regularly performed at the Mariinsky Theatre.
He has released over 250 compact discs, with his recordings of Verdi and Puccini operas under his direction being particularly popular.