Kamancha (also known as kamancheh) virtuoso and composer Kayhan Kalhor was born in Tehran (Iran). He began his musical studies at the age of seven. Kayhan Kalhor performed with the prestigious National Orchestra of Radio and Television of Iran and the Shayda Ensemble of the Chavosh Cultural Center while still a teenager.
Deeply devoted to the Iranian classical repertoire (radif), Kayhan Kalhor was further inspired to study regional folkloric traditions, which added additional dimensions to his improvisations and acted as springboards for cross-cultural explorations.
Since then, Kalhor has performed and recorded with Iran’s greatest instrumentalists and singers, including Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Shahram Nazeri, and toured the world as a soloist.
He co-founded the Dastan, Ghazal: Persian & Indian Improvisations, and Masters of Persian Music ensembles and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de Lyon.
He was the featured soloist on the soundtrack of Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth, a score on which he collaborated with Osvaldo Golijov.
Kayhan Kalhor is an original member of Yo-Yo Ma’s acclaimed Silk Road Ensemble and his works are heard on all of the ensemble’s albums.
The Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition, in Shanghai, China, awarded Kayhor the 2018 Isaac Stern Human Spirit award. The award celebrates individuals and groups, from any part of the world, who have made an outstanding contribution to our understanding of humanity through music.
In 2019, Kayhor won the WOMEX (World Music Expo) Artist Award. At the award ceremony, Kayhor stated: “I am very touched and honored and it’s nice to be appreciated during your lifetime when you can see it. However, I don’t see this as a personal achievement. I think a lot of wisdom, history and hard work went into this and I represent the great Iranian musician community here. I am honored to represent them.
Kayhan Kalhor added: “On behalf of the Iranian music community, I dedicate this award to Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the great master of Persian music who has been fighting a nasty illness for the past few years. We need his voice and we need him to be with us, so we wish him well and I hope the musical community accepts this from me.”
In 2023, Kayhan Kalhor released The album “The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere,” a collaboration with Malian kora maestro Toumani Diabaté. The album landed at #1 at the Transglobal World Music Chart for June 2023.
“The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere” gracefully melds the melodic tapestries of two distinct cultural lineages, the rich musical traditions from the Persian and Malian repertoires. Notably, the kamancha harmoniously converges with the kora, a harp-like instrument. The album’s enchanting compositions, characterized by their depth and intricacy, beckon the listener to embark upon a profound spiritual journey when enjoyed in its entirety, evoking a sense of meditative introspection and elevated consciousness.
Discography:
* Eastern Apertures (1995)
* Lost Songs of the Silk Road, Ghazal (Shanachie, 1997)
* Scattering Stars Like Dust (Traditional Crossroads, 1998)
* As Night Falls on the Silk Road, with Ghazal (Shanachie, 1998)
* Through Eternity, with Dastan (Sounds True, 1999)
* Moon Rise over the Silk Road, with Ghazal (Shanachie, 2000)
* Night Silence Desert, with Mohammed Reza Shajarian (Traditional Crossroads, 2000)
* Caravan, with Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch Records, 2000)
* Silk Road Journeys, with Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road Ensemble (Sony Classical, 2001)
* Without You, with Masters of Persian Music (World Village, 2002)
* The Rain, with Ghazal(ECM, 2003)
* Beyond the Horizon, Silk Road Ensemble (Sony Classical, 2004)
* In the Mirror of the Sky, with Ali Akbar Moradi (World Village, 2004)
* Faryad, with Masters of Persian Music (World Village, 2005)
* The Wind, with Erdal Erzincan (ECM, 2006)
* New Impossibilities, with Silk Road Ensemble (Sony Classical, 2007)
* Silent City (World Village, 2008)
* Off the Map, with Silk Road Ensemble (2009)
* Voices of the Shades, Madjid Khaladj (2011)
* I Will Not Stand Alone, with Ali Bahrami Fard (World Village, 2012)
* Kula Kulluk Yakişir Mi, with Erdal Erzincan (2013)
* Sing me home, with Silk Road Ensemble (Sony Masterworks, 2016)
* Hawiniyaz (Harmonia Mundi, 2016)
* It’s Still Autumn , with Rembrandt Frerichs, Tony Overwater and Vinsent Planjer (Kepera Records/Challenge Records International, 2019)
* The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere (Real World Records, 2023)
Video
The Music of Strangers, with Silk Road Ensemble (2016)
Web site: www.kayhankalhor.net
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
Updated biography and discography