Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh

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Kronos showcases the work—and features the piano playing—of Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh. The Boston Herald calls it “utterly absorbing,” “a rich addition to the Kronos discography,” and “a marvelous introduction for many to Ali-Zadeh's music,” which, says David Harrington, “gives us exquisite interior worlds of instrumental color."

Description

Nonesuch Records releases Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, featuring the Kronos Quartet. The disc includes four works by the Azerbaijani composer, three of which—Oasis (1998), Apsheron Quintet (2001), and Mugam Sayagi (1993)—all were commissioned by the Quartet. Also on the record is Ali-Zadeh’s Music for Piano, which is performed by the composer, who also plays piano on Apsheron Quintet.

Franghiz Ali-Zadeh was born in 1947 in Baku, Azerbaijan—a country located between the southeastern edge of the Caucasus Mountains and the western shore of the Caspian Sea, and between the Russian empire to the north and Iran to the south. Kronos Quartet has championed her work for more than a decade. Ali-Zadeh defied the strictures of the classical training she received in her formerly Soviet-occupied homeland to combine ideas gleaned from the 20th century music of the west with the long-neglected Azerbaijani tradition of mugam. This native sound, performed on indigenous instruments, is rhythmically sophisticated and emotionally charged, with an almost cinematic sweep, reflecting the Silk Road traffic that brought influences from east and west. The album title Mugam Sayagi means “in the style of mugam.”Kronos Artistic Director and Violinist David Harrington says, “Franghiz’s pieces unfold with a magical sense of timing. New scenes arrive mysteriously, each born at just the right moment. She gives us exquisite interior worlds of instrumental color and we dwell in places we’ve never been before.”

Over the course of three decades, Kronos Quartet has commissioned more than 500 new works, literally creating a repertoire for the string quartet. Working with composers from practically every corner of the globe, Kronos has helped to give voice to a diverse array of artists representing many cultures. On its last full-length disc, the Grammy-nominated Nuevo, the group explored a century’s worth of Mexican music, culled from both the streets and the salons. The group subsequently won a 2004 Grammy for its recording of Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite, which featured the ensemble’s label-mate, soprano Dawn Upshaw.  Kronos recently collaborated on a pair of tracks for Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré’s acclaimed Nonesuch debut album, Bowmboï. The ensemble devotes up to five months of each year to live touring (2005 U.S. schedule attached). The Kronos Quartet members are David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; and Jennifer Culp, cello.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Judith Sherman
Oasis, Music for Piano, and Mugam Sayagi recorded August 2000, at Skywalker Sound, Nicasio, CA
Engineered by Leslie Ann Jones
Assistant Engineer: Dann Thompson
Editing Assistant: Jeanne Velonis
Apsheron Quintet recorded August 2001, at Skywalker Sound, Nicasio, CA
Engineered by Leslie Ann Jones
Assistant Engineer: Dann Thompson
Editing Assistant: Hsi-Ling Chang
Mastered by David Harrington and Judith Sherman at SoundByte Productions, New York, NY

All tracks composed by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh

Design by Barbara de Wilde
Cover image: Black Bird by Ali Dadgar, from series Recent Antiquities, 2003; 24” x 24”, mixed media on panel

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

79804

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
67
ns_album_id
567
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Kronos Quartet
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Kronos Quartet:
David Harrington, violin
John Sherba, violin
Hank Dutt, viola
Jennifer Culp, cello

Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, piano (1, 4)

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597980462
  • 79804

News & Reviews

  • Following Kronos Quartet’s historic 50th-anniversary season, longtime members John Sherba (violin) and Hank Dutt (viola) will retire from the ensemble at the end of June. Dutt joined Kronos in 1977; he and founder David Harrington (violin) recruited Sherba to join the group in 1978. Between now and the end of June, Sherba and Dutt will perform more than 20 shows with Harrington and cellist Paul Wiancko, who joined the quartet in 2023, culminating at the ninth annual Kronos Festival at the SFJAZZ Center. Kronos will enter its sixth decade with two new members: violinist Gabriela Díaz and violist Ayane Kozasa will join Harrington and Wiancko.

  • As part of Kronos: Five Decades, the year-long celebration of Kronos Quartet’s 50th anniversary, the group is publishing five decade-spanning playlists curated by its founder and violinist David Harrington. The fifth and final playlist, featuring music Kronos performed in its fifth decade, 2013–2022, is out now. It includes music from their album A Thousand Thoughts; Folk Songs, with vocals by Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Natalie Merchant, and Rhiannon Giddens; their Grammy-winning collaboration with Laurie Anderson, Landfall; and Terry Riley's Sun Rings. You can hear it here.

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  • About This Album

    Nonesuch Records releases Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, featuring the Kronos Quartet. The disc includes four works by the Azerbaijani composer, three of which—Oasis (1998), Apsheron Quintet (2001), and Mugam Sayagi (1993)—all were commissioned by the Quartet. Also on the record is Ali-Zadeh’s Music for Piano, which is performed by the composer, who also plays piano on Apsheron Quintet.

    Franghiz Ali-Zadeh was born in 1947 in Baku, Azerbaijan—a country located between the southeastern edge of the Caucasus Mountains and the western shore of the Caspian Sea, and between the Russian empire to the north and Iran to the south. Kronos Quartet has championed her work for more than a decade. Ali-Zadeh defied the strictures of the classical training she received in her formerly Soviet-occupied homeland to combine ideas gleaned from the 20th century music of the west with the long-neglected Azerbaijani tradition of mugam. This native sound, performed on indigenous instruments, is rhythmically sophisticated and emotionally charged, with an almost cinematic sweep, reflecting the Silk Road traffic that brought influences from east and west. The album title Mugam Sayagi means “in the style of mugam.”Kronos Artistic Director and Violinist David Harrington says, “Franghiz’s pieces unfold with a magical sense of timing. New scenes arrive mysteriously, each born at just the right moment. She gives us exquisite interior worlds of instrumental color and we dwell in places we’ve never been before.”

    Over the course of three decades, Kronos Quartet has commissioned more than 500 new works, literally creating a repertoire for the string quartet. Working with composers from practically every corner of the globe, Kronos has helped to give voice to a diverse array of artists representing many cultures. On its last full-length disc, the Grammy-nominated Nuevo, the group explored a century’s worth of Mexican music, culled from both the streets and the salons. The group subsequently won a 2004 Grammy for its recording of Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite, which featured the ensemble’s label-mate, soprano Dawn Upshaw.  Kronos recently collaborated on a pair of tracks for Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré’s acclaimed Nonesuch debut album, Bowmboï. The ensemble devotes up to five months of each year to live touring (2005 U.S. schedule attached). The Kronos Quartet members are David Harrington, violin; John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; and Jennifer Culp, cello.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Kronos Quartet:
    David Harrington, violin
    John Sherba, violin
    Hank Dutt, viola
    Jennifer Culp, cello

    Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, piano (1, 4)

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Judith Sherman
    Oasis, Music for Piano, and Mugam Sayagi recorded August 2000, at Skywalker Sound, Nicasio, CA
    Engineered by Leslie Ann Jones
    Assistant Engineer: Dann Thompson
    Editing Assistant: Jeanne Velonis
    Apsheron Quintet recorded August 2001, at Skywalker Sound, Nicasio, CA
    Engineered by Leslie Ann Jones
    Assistant Engineer: Dann Thompson
    Editing Assistant: Hsi-Ling Chang
    Mastered by David Harrington and Judith Sherman at SoundByte Productions, New York, NY

    All tracks composed by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh

    Design by Barbara de Wilde
    Cover image: Black Bird by Ali Dadgar, from series Recent Antiquities, 2003; 24” x 24”, mixed media on panel

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

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