Throughout the 2011–12 season, Metropolitan Museum Concerts will present an array of events in which a diverse selection of artists will perform music from, or inspired by, the regions and cultures represented in the New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia, opening November 1, 2011.
The acclaimed concert series marks its 58th season in 2011–2012.
The new galleries will house the Metropolitan Museum's preeminent collection of its Department of Islamic Art—one of the most comprehensive gatherings of this material in the world—a completely renovated, expanded, and reinstalled suite of 15 galleries. The organization of the galleries by geographical area will emphasize the rich diversity of the Islamic world, over a span of 1,300 years, by underscoring the many distinct cultures within its fold.
Related concerts will include:
- "Ecstatic Music!" Hassan Hakmoun Ensemble and Najmuddin Saifuddin Brothers Ensemble Perform Gnaoua and Qawwali Traditions – Two famed virtuoso artists and their ensembles perform hypnotic praise songs from North Africa and South Asia. Morocco's Hassan Hakmoun Ensemble, representing the Gnaoua spiritual trance tradition, and Pakistan's Najmuddin Saifuddin Brothers Ensemble, belonging to the Sufi Qawwali tradition, perform their distinctive music and come together for a specially created finale. Saturday, October 29, 2011, at 7:00 p.m.
This program is generously supported by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.
- "Ecstatic Music!" Family Concert – The Hassan Hakmoun Ensemble and the Najmuddin Saifuddin Brothers Ensemble perform an hour-long family program highlighting aspects of the Gnaoua and Qawwali traditions, including drumming solos and acrobatic dancing. Sunday, October 30, 2011, at 3:00 p.m.
This program is generously supported by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.
- Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert – The Museum's acclaimed ensemble
performs a program inspired by the new galleries: Strauss's Four Pieces for Piano Quartet; Sulkhan Tsintsadze's Miniatures for String Quartet; Vache Sharafyan's Adumbrations of the Peacock for Piano Quartet (2003); a work by ensemble member Colin Jacobsen; and Shostakovich's Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57.
Saturday, December 17, 2011, at 7:00 p.m.
- Kaylan Kalhor – The internationally acclaimed virtuoso on the kamancheh (Persian bowed string instrument), known for his collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project, is a three-time Grammy nominee. He performs an evening of traditional Persian music. Saturday, January 28, 2012, at 7:00 p.m.
- Fazil Say – The acclaimed Turkish pianist and composer, known for his work with jazz as well as classical repertoire, performs a program featuring, in addition to Janáček's Piano Sonata and Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 7, a number of his own works: Black Earth, Three Ballades, Paganini Jazz Variations, Inside Serail, Alla Turca Jazz, and Summertime Variations. Friday, April 20, 2012, at 7:00 p.m.
- Jordi Savall – The "early music superstar" (The New York Times) returns to the Metropolitan Museum with "La Lira D'Espéria," a program of dances, lamentos, and stampitte in the Mediterranean cultures. Jordi Savall performs on the rebab, vielle, and lira, and is joined by Dimitri Psonis playing santur, morisca, and percussion.
Thursday, June 14, 2012, at 7:00 p.m.
- Cirène – An ensemble of some of New York's best young artists—led by violinist Colin Jacobsen (Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert, The Knights, Brooklyn Rider)—Cirène reimagines timeless tales from around the world and crafts them into presentations of dance, music, and live painting and animation. For this family concert inspired by the new galleries, folktales of the region will be set to original music, dance, and live animation. Saturday, June 16, 2012, at 3:00 p.m.
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May 9, 2011
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