Mehr News Agency, Iran
May 1 2004
Kamkars Returns After One-Week UK Concert Tour
TEHRAN, May 1 (MNA) — Iranian traditional music group Kamkars has
returned to Tehran after a one-week concert tour of Britain.
The group gave several performances honoring the Italian composer
Luciano Berio in Oxford, York, Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham,
accompanied by the London Sinfonietta Orchestra.
Omaggio was the first festival celebrating Berio’s work after the
composer’s unexpected death last spring. At the time, Berio had been
working on a piece combining elements of Sicilian folksongs and
Kurdish songs.
Organized by Gillian Moore, the manager of the London Sinfonietta
Orchestra, the festival also included performances by the renowned
Armenian duduk player Jevan Gesparian.
Berio is considered to be one of the 20th century’s leading
composers. He was a pioneer in the use of electronic and avant-garde
composition techniques. In terms of influence he is often placed in
the same league as Stravinsky. During his career he taught at
Tanglewood, Mills College, Harvard University, and Juilliard College.