Masters of Persian Music Begin High Profile U.S. tour

New York City, USA – Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Hossein Alizadeh and Kayhan
Kalhor debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Lincoln Center, and Kennedy Center.
Coinciding with the tour, Iran’s classical supergroup has released a new CD, Faryad, on the World
Village label.It’s been four years since the first Masters of Persian
Music tour brought the leading lights of the Persian classical tradition for a
historic, 14-city North American tour in 2001 – and what started as a
once-in-a-lifetime gathering of living legends has blossomed into a genuine
phenomenon, with a second, sold-out tour in 2002 and a 2003 album, Without
You on World Village (Harmonia Mundi USA). Now the Masters of Persian Music
return with both a new 2-disc, CD Faryad (World Village), and a North
American tour in February and March of 2005.

This year’s tour will bring them to bigger audiences and
surprising new venues, including New York’s Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center
and Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The Masters of Persian Music ensemble brings together
three of contemporary Iran’s most innovative and virtuosic musicians

Mohammad Reza Shajarian,

Hossein Alizadeh, and

Kayhan Kalhor, as well as Shajarian’s son,

Homayoun Shajarian, a master in the making. These artists have been at the
forefront of a renaissance that’s swept Persian classical music in recent
decades, introducing new innovations as they preserve this ancient musical
tradition.

One of the innovations of the Masters of
Persian Music has been their work as an ensemble, which gives new depth and
dimension to the music while still allowing each musician to improvise as a
soloist. As a quartet, the musicians are also able to experiment with new
melodic and polyphonic structures previously unheard in the Persian classical
repertoire. Another innovation has been the elevation of instrumental music in
recent years, something that was once viewed as mere accompaniment to the voice. Hossein Alizadeh (tar)and Kayhan Kalhor (kamancheh) especially have contributed
to a new respect for instrumental Persian music, composing new works for
instruments only.

[Buy

Faryad and

Without You now].

Tour Dates:

Feb 26, 2005,
8:00 PM
Los Angeles, CA
Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 S. Grand Avenue
Tickets and Info: (323) 850-2000
http://wdch.laphil.com/home.cfm

Feb 27, 2005 ,
7:00PM
Berkeley, CA
Cal Performances
Zellerbach Auditorium
University of California
101 Zellerbach Hall
Tickets and Info: 510.642.9988
http://www.calperfs.berkeley.edu

March 1 & 2, 2005
7:30PM
Honolulu, HI
Orvis Auditorium, University of Hawaii
Corner University Ave. and Dole St.
Presented by East West
Center
Tickets and Info: Tickets available at the UH Campus Center Box Office
M-F 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Call 944-7177 to charge-by-phone
http://www.eastwestcenter.org/events-ce.asp

March 5, 2005,
4:30 pm
Washington, D.C.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts Concert Hall
2700 F Street NW,
Tickets and Info: (202) 467-4600
http://www.kennedy-center.org
Presented by Washington Performing Arts Society
Info: 202-785-9727
http://www.wpas.org

March 6 & 13,
2005, 7pm
New York, NY
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Frederick P. Rose Hall
Presented by World Music Institute
Tickets and Info: (212) 545-7536
http:www.worldmusicinstitute.org

March 10, 2005,
8pm
Atlanta, GA
Gwinnett Civic Center
6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth
Tickets/Info: 770-205-8051
Presented by the Persian Arts Group of Atlanta

Mar 12, 2005, 8pm
Boston, MA
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue
Presented by World Music, Boston
Tickets and Info: (617) 876-4275
www.worldmusic.org

March 18, 2005,
8pm
Cleveland, Ohio
The Cleveland Museum of Art
11150 East Boulevard
Tickets and Info: (216) 421-7350 or 1-888-CMA-0033

March 20, 2005,
7:30 PM
Chicago, IL
Symphony Center
220 S. Michigan Ave.
Tickets and Info: 1-888-294-3550