3 March 2017 - EMPAC
Mohammad Reza Mortazavi
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Due to President Trump’s executive order preventing immigration and visiting visas to the US from a number of countries, EMPAC was not able to obtain the necessary artist visas for Mohammed Reza Mortazavi to perform live. Instead, this evening featured a screening of his 2010 performance at the Berlin Phliharmonie.
Respected from Tehran to Berlin to Shanghai, Iranian hand drummer Mohammad Reza Mortazavi is considered one of the most innovative and virtuosic hand drummers in the world. He has dominated elite international competitions since the age of 9. Mortazavi is most well-known for re-envisioning the traditional ways of playing the Tombak—an ancient Iranian goblet-shaped drum—and developing over 30 new striking and finger techniques, not always to the delight of old masters. Arte Magazine has commented that “watching the unbelievably virtuosic soloist, one could get the impression he does not have two but at least six hands."