Levantine
Cultural Center Newsletter • January 31, 2005 •
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to Culture News for latest events USTAD (Maestra) FARIDA MAHWASH: AN APPRECIATION BY NAHID MASSOUD 
I heard Ustad Mahwash’s splendid voice on Saturday,
January 15th at the Getty Center’s Harold Williams Auditorium.
The sound took me back to my adolescent days. Tears rolled down my
eyes as memories of Kabul flooded my consciousness. The first song,
“Mullah Mamad Jaan,” was one of the most popular numbers
of its time. It was always played during Afghani New Year, Nowrose,
which is the 21st of March and the beginning of spring season. Radio
Kabul played this and other Afghan songs over and over. The sound
of music filled streets of the city and the narrow lanes of the bazaars,
while shopkeepers hustled and hawked their wares. You could hear the
voice of Ustad Mahwash everywhere as part of a kind of perpetual background
music to the activities of men, women, and children, all wearing colorful
native Afghan clothes as part of the seasonal festivities. Nowrose
is a particularly exciting time. The smell of spring was in the air,
the scent of plants and budding trees mingled with the smells on the
streets, everyone making mewai (our special Nowrose fruit dish).
In the streets, farmers in from the country seemed excited, ready
for the new planting season. All that seems a long time ago, the peaceful Kabul of my young years when people listened to music and lived peacefully despite their differences. It has vanished into a landscape devastated by war and destruction. Yet musical experiences can take you to a past that has gone, as Ustad Mahwash did for me, bringing what was repressed so vividly alive in the present. The powerful lyrics of her songs of god, love, and loss touched another part of me that I had forgotten. The ghazals penetrated my soul, made me remember my favorite composer, Ustad Naynawaz, who composed wonderful songs that were often sung by the handsome, great and very popular Ahmed Zaher, who I heard in person many times (he was the brother of my best friend). Unfortunately, both Naynawaz and Zaher were casualties of the Soviet war, assassinated while still in their prime. The melodies sung by Ustad Mahwash at the Getty in both Dari and Pashto languages were representative of popular Afghan music of the sixties and seventies. Their beauty was underscored by the excellent musicians who accompanied her—Aziz Herawi on dutar, Ehsan Ahmadi on tabla, and Ahmad Khalil Rageb on harmonium. As the first woman Ustad (maestro) in Afghanistan, she is not only a master musician but was in those days a role model, a strong woman who managed to turn her talent into a brilliant career against all the obstacles that usually prevented women from succeeding. I left the Ustad Mahwash concert full of sorrow over the years of war and destruction of my homeland. It’s so hard to imagine how during the Taliban regime, such a musical people had to live without music. Mahwash’s powerful voice was a reminder of how much the Afghan people have suffered and lost in this last quarter century. The concert taught me how in exile you can come to appreciate in a new way the meaning of a past that is forever lost, but can be resurrected momentary through the power of music and song. Nahid Massoud, a native of Kabul, is a psychiatric nurse who works at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. With the aid of her husband, historian Robert Rosenstone, she directs Sharq, an art space devoted to contemporary works by artists from the East. The next exhibit, opening March 5, will feature Teheran-born artist, Kamran Moojedi. |
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Feb.
1 (Tues.) 7:30 pm—Rumi and the Mystical
Life Journey, with Dr. Majid Naimi A Community Interfaith Event. DR. MAJID NAINI. Professor Naini is a world traveler who has lived and taught in four different continents. For most of the past 24 years Dr. Naini has been a Professor, Program Director, Laboratory Director, Department Chair, and College Dean at several major universities throughout the world in the fields of Computer Science, Engineering, and Information Technology. For the past 30 years of his life, Dr. Naini has been a student of mysticism, poetry, literature, history, and numerous traditions and cultures. He has been featured in numerous U.S. and international websites, newspapers, and TV and radio shows, including a new PBS program, “Iran: A Celebration of Art and Culture.” He also is the main speaker and consultant for a new documentary film about Rumi. Dr. Naini is one of the foremost scholars of Rumi, the 13th century Sufi mystic, who is the best selling poet in the U.S. today. Dr. Naini’s latest book is “Mysteries of the Universe and Rumi’s Discoveries on the Majestic Path of Love.” Dr. Naini’s electrifying and mesmerizing rendition of Rumi’s poetry resonates within all who seek love, peace, and knowledge. Many people have commented that Dr. Naini “radiates warmth and love and Rumi’s spirit moves in him” and they have been “transformed by his talks” and “moved by his generosity of spirit.” Professor Naini’s extraordinary gifts are perhaps described best by a recent workshop participant who stated, “The depth of his knowledge of Rumi's poetry and his ability to recite a poem appropriate to the subject on the fly and then accurately translate it to English, is unparalleled.” Everyone agrees it is wonderful to hear someone so passionately and touchingly speak of universal love, serenity, and peace. In this talk Dr. Naini will discuss Rumi’s life, discoveries, and his teachings of how to appreciate the wonderful journey of life both in time and space on this earth, throughout the universe, and beyond. As Dr. Naini states, “Rumi’s poetry emphasizes love, the miraculous force that quickens the flow of the energy of our souls and allows us to soar to the highest state of ecstasy in our life journey. Rumi declares that love is the reason for the creation of the universe. Love makes mountains dance and the whole universe sing a heavenly song of Divine Unity.” Join Dr. Naini for an exciting workshop and share a few sips of Rumi’s incredible potion of love and wisdom and reach a new level of mystical understanding about the journey of life on this earth and beyond, and the power of true love. Culver-Palms United Methodist Church, 4464 Sepulveda Blvd. Culver City, CA 90230. 310. 390.7717. Directions: Four blocks East of the 405 Freeway, 1 block south of Braddock Ave. Parking is available in the lot behind the church. $15 donation at the door, $10 in advance; Make check payable to YES, INC. For further info call: 310.837.2294.   Feb.
4 (Fri.), 8 pm—Sussan Deyhim / Maya Beiser in Exclusive Double
Bill at UCLA's Royce Hall Sussan Deyhim: Vocodeliks Maya Beiser: World to Come "[Sussan Deyhim creates] thrilling music that sounds in the ear long after you’ve left the show." — The New York Times "Maya, it seems to me, is doing for the cello what the Kronos Quartet did or the string quartet ... She's saying, 'This is a different way to go.'" — Steve Reich Incorporating the ancient mysticism of Middle Eastern music with the wizardry of modern technology, Iranian-born vocalist, composer and performance artist Sussan Deyhim creates a haunting, resonant and deeply moving fusion of East and West. Best known for her celebrated collaborations with world-renowned Iranian filmmaker Shirin Neshat, this versatile artist has lent her trademark vocal improvisations and lushly layered harmonies to Peter Gabriel’s score for The Last Temptation of Christ as well as to projects by Bill Laswell, Bobby McFerrin, Branford Marsalis, Mickey Hart and DJ Spooky. Vocodeliks takes audiences on a musical and visual odyssey across time, showcasing Deyhim’s most probing vocal soundscapes, including her stirring film music with Neshat. Former cellist for new music heroes, Bang on a Can, Maya Beiser has redefined her instrument with a repertoire that cuts across cultures and genres. Evocative, theatrical and spiritual, Beiser’s new multimedia solo concert features the Los Angeles premiere of a Steve Reich multi-track cello piece as well as new works by Osvaldo Golijov, David Lang and Louis Andriessen. Encompassing text, vocals, dramatic lighting and interactive videos, World to Come is Beiser’s personal journey into the sounds and images of cello music in the 21st century through the works of some of our most esteemed living composers. Royce Hall, UCLA, Fri, Feb 4 at 8pm. Tickets: $45, 35, 25 ($15 UCLA students). Media Sponsor: LA Weekly.
Feb. 5 (Sat.), 8 pm—The Yuval Ron Ensemble Performs at Lenart Auditorium, Fowler Museum/UCLA In a concert to benefit the Oasis of Peace (Neveh Shalom/Wahat al-Salam), a small town in Israel where Israelis and Palestinians live, work and govern together, the Yuval Ron Ensemble, featuring Najwa Gibran, will perform songs of Sufi origin, Arabic folklore, Jewish - Andalusian and Ladino music from Spain and Morocco and Armenian traditional music. Organized by UCLA's Progressive Jewish Students' Association and the United Arab Society. For more about Oasis of Peace, visit their site. The Yuval Ron Ensemble is a collaboration of musicians from Arab, Israeli, Jewish and Armenian origins. The ensemble combines the sacred musical traditions of Judaism, Sufism (Islamic mystical tradition) and the Christian Armenian Church. Join Angelenos in celebrating a night of peace and co-existence. Sat., Feb. 5 at 8 pm. Doors open 7:30. UCLA Fowler Museum, Lenart Auditorium. $10 suggested donation. No reservations or advanced ticket sales. Parking: $7 in Wilson Plaza (Lot #4). Enter from Sunset Blvd. Directions: visit the Fowler website at: or call 310.825.4361. |
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Copyright © 2005 Levantine Cultural Center
editor@levantinecenter.org
Copyright © 2005 Levantine Cultural Center
editor@levantinecenter.org