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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Elements of Form and Surprise in Beethoven's String Quartet No. 12, in Eb, Op. 127, by Payman Akhlaghi (2005)

Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
Elements of Form and Surprise
In Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127, in E-Flat Major

Author: Payman Akhlaghi

Academic Research Paper
Toward Degree of Ph.D. in Composition
UCLA, 2005, 26pp.
Advisor: Professor Roger Bourland

Please click Here to read and print the paper for free at Scribd.com.

© 2005, 2011: Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.

Excerpt:

"....Means of Coherence

Op. 127 is an epitome of Beethovenian organicism. Among the factors that are possibly ‎responsible for the structural stability and formal cohesion of this work, Symmetrical Structures, ‎Motivic, Intervallic and Tonal Relations, besides what can be broadly referred to as Architectural ‎Constructions seem to be most prominent. ‎

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Goleh Goldooneh Man, Simple Arrangement for Solo Piano


Goleh Goldooneh Man (P. 1of 3)
Tr. & Arr. by Payman Akhlaghi
Click to Enlarge & Print
Or use links on the  right for
the PDF version.

نت موسیقی "گل گلدون من"، تنظیم ساده برای تکنواز پیانو
Persian Music Score
Transcribed and
Arranged for Solo Piano by: Payman Akhlaghi (2009)

Composer: Fereydoun Shahbazian
Originally Sung by: Ms. Simin Ghanem
3 Pages, in PDF format

Free to Download and Print.
Shortened Link
A Video Clip of the Source Performance


Goleh Goldooneh Man
(P. 2 of 3)

(*) This arrangement is meant for educational purposes.
Not for sale or resale.
© 2009/2011, Payman Akhlaghi, this arr/edition only.
All rights reserved for respective artists.

نت موسیقی "گل گلدون من
نت نویسی و تنظیم آسان برای
تکنواز پیانو از پیمان اخلاقی

آهنگساز فریدون شهبازیان
بر اساس اجرای خانم سیمین غانم

پخش و چاپ مطلقا رایگان است. اما تمامی حقوق این تنظیم برای پیمان اخلاقی و دیگر هنرمندان ذی نفع همچنان محفوظ است.ـ

Lambada, Music Score, Arranged for Solo Piano by Payman Akhlaghi

Lambada, Arranged for Solo Piano
Music Score, Original Transcription &
Arrangement for Piano
by Payman Akhlaghi

Click on the image to print a larger size.
Or Read and Print for Free at Scribd.com
Lambada, Arranged for Solo Piano

Music Score, Original Transcription & Arrangement for Solo Piano by Payman Akhlaghi (1 page, PDF)
Intermediate Level (2009)
Based on Kaoma's 1980's performance, as available on YouTube.

Click Here to read and print the score for free at Scribd.com.

You may also click on the picture on the right to download or print the image.

نت موسیقی لامبادا
نت نویسی و تنظیم برای تکنواز پیانو از پیمان اخلاقی
برای داونلود و چاپ رایگان به لینکهای فوق مراجعه کنید

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Film Review: The Princess of Montpensier (2011)

Film Review: The Princess of Montpensier
By Payman Akhlaghi
The Princess of Montpensier" (2010/11, Fr.)
Directed by Bertrand Tavernier (b. 1941)
Music: Philippe Sarde (b. 1945)
Based on the novel by
Madame de la Fayatte (1634-1693)

© Copyright: 2011, All text by Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.

Every film by Bertrand Tavernier is a special treat; and "The Princess of Montpensier" is no exception.

This is a costume drama with real soul, thanks to an inspired casting; beautiful cinematography; shining color spectrum; camera movements as stylish on Steadicam as they're on tracks; beautiful locations; and impeccable mis-en-scène. But above all, the film owes its immense vitality to the director's acute sense of drama, control of rhythm, and espeically, his empathetic humane vision, seemingly a constant of his cinematic oeuvre, regardless of the period in which his stories take place.

Tavernier tells us an early Renaissance story of love and war, power and greed, dogma and freedom, but above all, one of a young woman's tragic fate in the context of patriarchal world, adapted from arguably the first novel ever written. Despite the temporal gap, there's a rare sense of relevance and immediacy maintained throughout, generated by selective dialogues, a linear narrative, decidedly unaffected performances, and hand-held camera movements. In a way, this film is successful against its presumed genre, because the director has deliberately made a "historical film" while avoiding many of the all too common, albeit successful, formulae of grandeur and exalted emotions, often encountered in the so-called Epic dramas.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Elmer Bernstein, Cecil B. DeMille and a Love Story Named Ten Commandments (Film Music Review for General Public)

Bernstein, DeMille, and a Love Story Named "Ten Commandments"
By: Payman Akhlaghi
April 17th, 2011, Los Angeles
First Published as a Note on http://Facebook.com/PAComposer

50th Anniversary DVD Release
Includes both 1923 & 1956 Versions
And Interviews
 Preface

It's a testament to Cecil's uncanny eye for talent, who at 75, entursted his 2nd take on the "Original Testament" into the hands of a young Elmer (34), whom he ironically deemed as "a second Wagner!" The gamble paid off, as the composer managed to weave leitmotifs of glory & romance, passion & mystery, into what's ultimately a love story - the story of humanity's unceasing love for life & freedom.

The Affair of a Lifetime

The 1956 film "Ten Commandment" was indeed director Cecil B. DeMille's second adaptation of the Biblical story of Moses. Even today, the earlier 1923 silent adaptation surprises us by its own share of admirable technical achievements for the period. The "parting of the sea", for instance, is a marvel for its time, as the "creation of the tablets" is a memorable spectacle within its contemporary limitations . In retrospect, it's clear that the director's appreciation of the dramatic values of these two scenes would linger on through the following decades.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire vs. Webern's Six Bagatelles Op.9: Voices of Modernism? (1999)

Schoenberg vs. Webern: Voices of Modernism?

A Brief Discussion of
Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21
and
Webern's Six Bagatelles for String Quartet, Op. 9
(Sechs Bagatellen fur Streichquartett)

Free to Read and Print at Scribd.com.

Author: Payman Akhlaghi (1999)
Graduate Paper Toward Degree of MA in Composition | UCLA, 1999, 28 Pages
Supervising Professor: David Lefkowitz
© Copyright: 1999, 2011, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved for the author.

(*) This academic paper includes background information and analysis mainly focused on Pierrort Lunaire (Arnold Schoenberg); a less extensive discussion of Six Bagatelles, Op. 9 (Anton Webern); and a certain  conclusions on the nature of Modernism in 20th century classical music.

Excerpt from the Introduction:

"The primary thrust of this paper is an attempt in understanding the place of two ‎quintessentially twentieth century compositions within our current discussion of ‎Modernism and according to our present conclusions in the seminar for which the paper is ‎being written. Yet, thereafter, it also tries to achieve a better understanding of Modernism ‎itself, in the light of these two compositions. Here, something should be noted. Although ‎at first this might seem to suggest a basically circular argument in nature, I believe it is far ‎from being so. It should be rather considered a reflection of the dialectic relationship ‎between the general definition of a class on one hand, and the particular species on the ‎other. Indeed, this has been the methodology that was adopted from the outset by the ‎seminar, and considering the illusive and controversial nature of the subject at hand, ‎namely Modernism, it proved to have been a quite suitable approach.‎

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Franz Liszt & Exoticism in Classical Music (2006)

Franz Liszt and the Case of the Other
Aspects of Exoticism in Western Classical Music Tradition
Free to Read and Print at Scribd.com.

Complete information:
Franz Liszt and The Case of the Other
Toward a Study of Aspects of Exoticism in
Western Classical Music Tradition

Author: Payman Akhlaghi (2006)


Graduate Independent Research Paper Toward Degree of PhD in Composition
UCLA, 2006, 26 Pages
Supervising Professor: Ian Krouse
© Copyright: 2006, 2011, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved for the author.

(*) The paper partially includes analytical discussions of Nuages Gris, La Lugubre Gondola, Mephisto Waltz (Liszt); Dance of the Dervishes from Consecration of the House (Beethoven); In a Persian Market (Ketèlby); etc.

Excerpt:

"[...] Liszt: Three Late Short Pieces

Nuages Gris

Hardly anything in the myth—and the spectacular works—of the extroverted ‎performer of virtuosic piano pieces could prepare the listener for the intimate world of ‎this short work of 1881, Nuages Gris, i.e. “Gray Clouds”, or “Somber Clouds”. Liszt was ‎the consummate romantic composer for whom the semantic context of the music would ‎be an essential element to justify its existence. Judging from the titles of his works, from ‎symphonic poems to the shorter piano pieces, it appears is that his musical imagination ‎would be stirred more readily by the exotic or surreal sense of a poem or a story, although ‎he also has enough ‘purely musical’ works to his credit: Faust Symphony, Dante ‎Symphony, Prometheus, etc., along with two Concertos and numerous Etudes, among ‎others. For such a compositional mind, the most inventive of harmonic departures would ‎inevitably be intertwined with some form of expressive need.‎