For the first time, the CNZ is dedicating an entire concert to the music culture of the Near East and Central Asia, with all its myths, legends and poetry. We see in the work of the selected artists, how their voices have been uniquely shaped by their relationship to very different younger and older traditions from all over the world. traditions from around the world.

In his latest work, commissioned by the CNZ, Arshia Samsaminia draws on intervals from traditional Iranian music to create a radically modern musical language, incorporating electronics.

Farzia Fallah’s string trio Lalayi (a lullaby for Sohrab), draws inspiration from a poem by Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980), to whom the piece is dedicated. In the oscillation between sound and noise, she finds a correspondence to the poetic images, which move between idyll and cruelty. Two two further world premieres round off the concert programme. Martyna Kosecka’s Ourobóros attempts to capture a representation of the infinite as described in Jorge Luis Borges’ “Book of Imaginary Beings”. The image of the snake swallowing its own tail serves as a representation of the eternal circling of time and can be traced back as a symbol to Greek and Scandinavian mythology.

Finally, in (Re)incarnation (Yerlik), Sanzhar Baiterekov explores the philosophical questions of Tengrism, a pre-Turkish religion based on oral tradition, whose god of the underworld gives the piece its title.
All the composers on this programme are being performed for the first time in CNZ concerts. And we can also announce a debut on the conducting podium: with Yalda Zamani, we have been able to win over a musician who, in addition to conducting, is also active as a performer and music researcher.