Alfred Hitchcock, The Trouble With Harry, and the Myth of the Honest Villager: A Short Essay by Payman Akhlaghi (2012)

A Poster for
The Trouble With Harry
the 1955 Film by
Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock, The Trouble With Harry & the Myth of the Honest Villager
A Short Essay by Payman Akhlaghi (2012) [Draft 1]


The Trouble With Harry (1955, 99 mins, English)
Dircted by Alfred Hitchcock
Music by Bernard Herrmann (*)

The dead body of an out-of-towner named Harry is found nearby a small rural settlement. Before it's become clear that Harry had died of natural causes, several characters have assumed their own guilt in his death, and they have tried to cover up their perceived crime. The film is a dark satire that sheds light on the hypocrisy of a small community by examining the cruel cynicism underlying a facade of congeniality, which in fact they share, if less conspicuously, with all other societies, large or small.

Harry is a significant work on the basis of its cinematic, dramatic, and musical merits. The film is further remarkable in that it criticizes uncompromisingly what we may refer to as "the myth of the honest villager", a fallacious assumption which has lingered far too long across epochs and societies. The myth basically implies that unlike city-dwellers, small-towners and villages are categorically more pure, honest, naive and gullible, caring, family-oriented, moral, natural, no-non-sense, real, straight-talkers, closer to their instincts, with convictions to be respected, if not downright adopted. The myth might appear innocently in the works of such poets as the Persian Sohrab Sepehri, or more consequentially in large scale populist propaganda commonly observed in politics of demagoguery. Over the ages, this myth has dragged many progressive movements astray, at times into regression, by unfairly forcing outdated provincial values upon the more dynamic urban cultures. Examples come to mind, from the Spartan-Athenian conflicts of the ancient Greeks, to the domineering air of the early Soviet Union, to the mind-boggling turn of events in 1979 Iran, not to mention the damaging influence of provincial inertia in today's Afghanistan. But the myth might as easily plague modern Western societies, as it may be evident in the anachronistic debate surrounding "The Evolution Theory vs. Creationism", or rather the larger political discourse of the past two decades in the States.

Composer Ernst Toch (1887-1963), a Note of Gratitude

Ernst Toch (1887-1963)
Viennese-born American Composer

"To the country which gave me shelter when shelter was taken from me I dedicate this book in everlasting gratitude."
-- Ernst Toch

For many years, I've wished to share this dedication with friends. I admit that I've never got around reading the whole book in detail yet, and no excuses there, but this particular dedication by composer Ernst Toch has continued to resonate strongly within me.

The prolific Ernst Toch (1887-1964) was a Viennese-born American Composer of advanced atonal stage and film music. He studied philosophy, medicine and music, in Vienna, taught for many years there, until due to the Nazi empowerment, he eventually landed in California. Here's the full version of the dedication from his book on music theory:


"To the country which gave me shelter when shelter was taken from me I dedicate this book in everlasting gratitude.


I do not know -- no composer does -- by whom my music is going to be liked, by whom disliked, by whom met with indifference. But having lived here long enough to know my fellow citizens' hunger both for music and ecucation I may perhaps hope that this book will reach and help also some of those whom my music will not reach or affect.


I wish I could convey that this dedication is not a mere gesture. Life and work were put back into my hands when they were doomed for me to cease. With this awareness, and with the awareness also that whatever I have created since then and may still create is rightfully this country's, I presume to offer this dedication. May the book return in humble service and usefulness a fraction of what I have received.
E. T."
-- Ernst Toch, the dedication to his book, "The Shaping Forces in Music" (1948, 2011, Dover Publications)

© Post by Payman Akhlaghi. All pertinent rights reserved.
© Dedication & the Original Cover photo by publisher. Shared with hopes of promoting the composer, his works, and his book. 

Grey Sighs of the Fog: The Liaison of Pitch and Celluloid, An Appreciation of Film Music, Graduate Paper by Payman Akhlaghi (2007)

Grey Sighs of the Fog: The Liaison of Pitch and Celluloid
An Appreciation of Film Music (2007)
(Parts I & II, English, 2006-2007, 28 Pages)

Author: Payman Akhlaghi

Original Graduate Paper Toward Degree of PhD in Composition
Independent Research Study
Excerpts of a Projected Book on the Subject
Fall 2006 - Winter 2007, UCLA
Free to Read on Scribd

(*) Full bibliography is missing from this version.

Filmmakers and composers discussed or referenced in part include:
Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky, Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Claude Lelouch, Fritz Lang, Ennio Morricone, Sergei Prokofiev, Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman, Gabriel Yared, et al. A comparison of different cinematic adaptations of Hamlet, as well as a commentary on Eisenstein's experience with Kabuki theater are included.

(*) Excerpts:

[1] Chapter 1‎
Yellow Wails of the Meadow
In 1928, Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) wrote in praise of the Japanese Kabuki for ‎its integration of the different sensory and intellectual elements of theater into a cohesive ‎artistic entity, one that if perceived as it had been instinctually intended, would induce a ‎unified emotional and dramatic effect in the audience. There, he spoke of “a monism of ‎ensemble”, where “sound-movement-space-voi ce … do not accompany (nor even parallel) ‎each other, but function as elements of equal significance.” The Kabuki artist employed ‎the theater as a quasi-synesthetic medium, building “his summation to a grand total ‎provocation of the human brain, without taking any notice which of these several paths he ‎is following.” As he observed, for example, once a character moved to the fore of the ‎stage, ever further away from a surrendered castle, his movement was conveyed and ‎accentuated in four stages of removal: ‎[...]

Composer John Williams (b. 1932): An Appreciation

John Williams (b. 1932)
American Film & Art Composer, Pianist, Arranger, Orchestrator & Conductor

With a Record 47 Oscar Nominations & 5 Wins to Date
Works Include Jane Eyre (1970), Fiddler on the Roof (adaptation), Jaws, Star Wars (Series), Superman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Indiana Jones (Series), Jurassic Park (I, II), Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Munich, Memoirs of a Geisha, War of the Worlds, A.I., Harry Potter (I & 2 Sequels), The Adventures of Tin-Tin & War Horse, among others.

He's composed the score for almost every major Spielberg film, except for Color Purple, and for almost every George Lucas film, except for THX-1138. For years, he led the Boston Pops Orchestra. In mid-1970's, he was largely responsible for re-introducing the symphonic score to the larger film culture worldwide, and his sophisticated music has continued to form a bridge from the pop culture to the classical music before a global audience. Many a first-rate young talent, and not just in the less developed countries, who had his or her first major grasp of modern symphonic orchestration by being exposed to his music. For years, he's remained the composer of choice for other Hollywood composers, openly admired on record as "the" role-model, by Elliot Goldenthal & James Horner, among others.

I've often recalled that I heard his music for Jane Eyre (1970) one night, as a little kid, on Iranian TV, and it never left me. The theme of Jane Eyre has remained one of my most endeared cinematic melodies ever since. Ironically, it took me many years before I learned that Mr. Williams, by then an established and admired figure in my musical glossary, was in fact the composer of this beloved theme from my childhood. He remains one of my most favorite composers in any genre, and one of the hand-picked film composers I could safely claim to be consistently excellent, without exception.

-- Payman Akhlaghi

(*) War Horse, directed by Steven Spielberg is nominated in the Best Picture Category (Oscars, 2012)

(*) This Note was first published and updated on 1/26/2011, on Payman's Facebook page.
Note © 2012, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.
(Photo available on the web.)

The Story of Pouran and Aziz: An Introduction by Payman Akhlaghi

Writing the story of my parents, our story, has been a long-term project; actually doing it, however, continues to prove impossibly difficult. For now, I do wish to leave at least a brief trace of it on the cyberspace.
-- Payman Akhlaghi, February 25th, Los Angeles

Update: Many erudite friends contributed to a discussion on this post, resulting in a thread which I think is of value to the public. You may read and follow the thread located on my Facebook Wall, as it's been made open to Public. (Author)


Preface: [draft 1]
My parents, Aziz and Pouran, were brutally murdered within hours, each in a different Iranian city, on October 18th and 19th, 1990, respectively. To think that how such violent cruelty could have happened to our little family, this remains largely beyond comprehension. The scope and nature of the crime made it one of the worst cases of violence against the Jewish community in modern Iran.

A few months later, shortly before I left Iran, the lead detective on the case told me in person that there was not enough proof to charge and convict the lead suspect in the case. However, about 2 years later, by then in the States, I was informed by my relatives that the same man responsible for the brutality had been finally arrested, had confessed to the murdering of my parents, and had been punished for his crimes. It was rather ironic that this was also the man who had long been trusted by my family and I.

Those who knew my father knew that he didn't believe in revenge, and later in life, neither in capital punishment. To me, this has meant to create arts, communicate my stance against physical violence, trying to spread a general respect for life, and doing the little I can to help prevent such monstrosities from ever happening to anyone again. It means to stop the cycle of revenge -- "now". In part, it entails helping to uproot anti-Semitism, using the limited intellectual means available to me.

© 2012, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.

A Page From My Life by Payman Akhlaghi

It might sound strange, but it now seems that for the past few months, I've been defending the Constitution of the United States, and my dignity, by as little as insisting on my right to drink or eat, and read a book, in a coffee shop or a restaurant, without being insulted, disturbed or humiliated. Such abuse is not new to me. Combined with my sensitivities, they've largely handicapped my life and education for years, with some cases taking place on my very beloved campus, while I'd been doing nothing but a simple walk, heads down. However, the degree or nature of such abuse as I've experienced since about November 2011 has had few precedents. I've become consistently subjected to verbal harassment and manipulations of all sorts, in a straightforward or oblique but highly suggestive language, at times loudly directed at me, by suspicious individuals. These began to happen almost every single time I was out in the evening, as I sat at a place to eat or drink, and read a book. All these has happened while I'd been most polite to others, and mindful of their privacy in public. (Those who know me, would attest to that.)

I did not acquiesce to such thuggish behavior, as isolated or connected as they might have been, and whatever their intent, which I've left to speculation. Instead, I continued to stay, sometimes covered my ears, at all times tried to concentrate on my reading or writing, all the time staying as civil as I could. Only two or three times, when the deliberate intent of the perpetrator became clear, I voiced my concern against such "bullying by quasi-fascist techniques.", once by complaining to the waitress, who immediately sympathized with me, helped me change seats, and apparently asked the man to bring his voice down. I continued to stay, even though my heartbeat was at the ceiling and I'd been made sick to my stomach.

On February 17th, 2012, after months of perpetuated abuse, I finally decided to complain in person to the police department. The officer kindly listened and asked me to ignore such people (I've long tried), talk to them (I consider these too much beneath me), or call the police (which I very well might.)

Now I'm asking myself, was it worth it to for me to stay and suffer, or would it have been better for me to leave? I'm afraid that my answer is still, Yes. To be sure, I'm not the only person to have been put through such ordeals in any society, even in a very civil society in which I'm fortunate to live. Also, it's been very hard to distinguish such incidents from ordinary conversations, loud or soft, which go around us all the time, and which I do ignore like anyone else does. But after careful consideration, I concluded that everything about these particular cases indicated that they had been meant to bully me, a non-suspecting person, trying to have a moment to himself in a coffee shop, or have dinner by himself. If so, what would happen if everyone caved in to such bullying? -- A Page From My Life, © 2012, Payman Akhlaghi."

Film Review Snippet: The Winslow Boy (1999), by Payman Akhlaghi

"The Winslow Boy" (1999, 104 mins)
Directed by David Mamet
Adapted from the 1946 play by Terence Rattigan
Based on Actual Historical Events
Music by Alaric Jans
Cast: Nigel Hawthorne, Jeremy Northam, Rebecca Pidgeon, Gemma Jones, et al.

One of David Mamet's finest films, "The Winslow Boy" is based on true the story of a family who loses all they have, both health and fortune, to defend their 14-year old son against accusations of a minor theft, and to clear his name in court. A quiet narrative, as in most other Mamet films, allows his succinctly crafted lines to echo in the dignified spaces of his locations, and the drama to unfold smoothly, helping the audience to absorb the inner tension of the story and join this family in their predicament, while remaining in awe of their civility and persistent dignity. They might be talking, but what you hear feels as a whisper, as the very sound of their breathing.

We know that eventually, in the actual case, the High Court of Justice ruled that the child "is innocent of the charge." The film, however, ends with a more colorful conclusion, one that's never left me since I saw the film more than a decade ago, which I'd to quote in full from IMDB:
"- I wept today, because right had been done.
- Not justice?
- No, not justic. Right. Easy to do justice. Very hard to do right."
© 2012, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.

Wrongfully Accused, A Running Theme of Hitchcock's Cinematic Output: An Appreciation (Photo Essay)

[This post is a work in progress.]

Musical Culture & Asymmetry of Information in Free Market Systems: Protective Intervention on Behalf of Minority Arts, by Payman Akhlaghi (2004, UCLA)

Charles Dutoit Conducting
LA Philharmonic

Musical Culture & Asymmetry of Information in

Free Market Systems

A Case for Protective Intervention on Behalf of Minority Arts

Author: Payman Akhlaghi (2004)

Graduate Paper Toward Degree of PhD in Composition

(English, 20 Pages, 2004, UCLA)

Advisor: Prof. Robert Fink

Free to Read, Download & Print at Scribd

Note:
(*) Please note that this version consists of the content of the paper at the time of submision. Hence, this version does not reflect the advising professor’s final valuable comments and valid criticisms. – P.A., 2012

Excerpts:
"Is the market always right? Should the fate of culture in general, and music in ‎particular, be fully entrusted to the unchecked trends and decisions of a free market ‎system? Are sales ratings reliable indicators of the real value of musical artifacts or the ‎underlying cultural orientation of the society? Would the preferences of today’s ‎audiences amongst modern sonorities ‎ still be the same, had they been informed ‎differently?‎ [...] The present paper tries to offer a perspective on such issues, by relying primarily ‎on the notion of imperfect or ‘asymmetrical’ information in [free]-market systems, a ‎concept that was first developed in the 1960’s and 70’s America, and which eventually ‎garnered its three pioneers, Joseph E. Stiglitz, George A. Akerlof and A. Michael Spence, ‎the 2001 Nobel prize in economics. By referring to this notion, the author will attempt to ‎explain how it is that the artist in a free-market society, which is an ostensibly ideal ‎environment for the flourishing of his or her creative potential, can still maintain the need ‎for some level of intervention, preferably by democratically elected, qualified institutions, ‎rather than the private sector, in order to preserve the integrity of the collective or ‎individual artistic output, as well as the artistic experience of the audiences. My line of ‎thought recognizes Theodor Adorno’s major contribution, Culture Industry Reconsidered ‎‎(Adorno, 1963), [...]" Please click here to read the full paper.

The Evolution of Keyboard Prelude from Bach to Shostakovich, Graduate Analytical Paper by Payman Akhlaghi (2004, UCLA)

The Evolution of Keyboard Prelude from Bach to Shostakovich: A Brief Discussion
Author: Payman Akhlaghi (2004)

Graduate Analytical Paper Toward Degree of PhD in Composition
Essay in English, 45 Pages, 2004, UCLA

Consulting Professor: Ian Krouse

Free to Read, Download and Print at Scribd


"Abstract:
This paper traces the evolution of the genre of Prelude by ‎examining selected compositions from representatie ‎composers of each period, from Bach to Shostakovich. The ‎study tries to establish the validity of an evolutional axis in ‎the history of prelude as a genre, which it sees to be passing ‎through the works of Bach, Chopin and Debussy, with each ‎figure defining the genre on his own term and influencing the ‎succeding generations of prelude composers. Considering the ‎didactic dimension of prelude and its relation to the genre of ‎Etude, a short discussion of the latter is also included when ‎appropriate, as in the case of Chopin. A review of shorter ‎works by Bach’s contemporaries are included in Appendix 1.‎"

Composers discussed include: Bach, Cramer, Beethoven, Czerny, Chopin, Debussy, Scriabin, Shostakovich, Gershwin, Gorecki, Corelli, Pachelbel, etc. Works discussed  included WTC I and II (Bach), Chopin's Op. 28 Preludes, etc.

تاریخچه ای از تحول پرلود پیانو از باخ تا شوستاکوویچ

مقالۀ تحقیقی به قلم پیمان اخلاقی

به هدف دکترای آهنگسازی

به زبان انگلیسی، 45 صفحه، 2004، یو سی ال ای

مطالعه، داونلود و چاپ رایگان در اسکریبد

(*) Payman Akhlaghi is a Los Angeles based composer, pianist, and piano instructor. His repertoire extends over Classical, Pop and Film music, as well as Persian music (Iranian) and Jewish music. His lessons cover the Greater Los Angeles area, including the Westside, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Westwood, Beverlywood, Encino, etc.

For more information, please call 310-208-2927.

Brahms & "Edward": Asymmetry & Performance Issues in Ballade in D minor, Op. 10, No.1, Graduate Analytical Paper by Payman Akhlaghi (2000)

Brahms & "Edward": Asymmetry and Performance Issues in Brahms’ "Ballade in Dm, Op. 10, No.1" 

Also Includes Two Brief Discussions of
"Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2" &
"Rhapsodie in E-flat Major, Op. 119, No. 4"


Author: Payman Akhlaghi (2000, UCLA)
Graduate Academic Paper Toward Degree of PhD in Composition (27 Pages, English)

Supervising Professor: Robert Winter (Music 261E)

(*) Please note that this essay was formatted at the time as a basic HTML text for maximum accuracy on an older online database sharing system. Thank you. (Author)

Excerpt:
"[...] Section Three: The Extra-musical Origins of Asymmetry in the ‎Music of Brahms

Especially the Intermezzo affords us with the opportunity to ask if one can account ‎for the origins of such irregularities not merely on purely musical grounds. ‎

There are many reasons for such reflections. At any given period, each artistic field ‎might resist changes in some of its parameters, while promoting progress and variety in ‎the others. Music of the first half of the nineteenth century, for example, was relatively ‎explorative in terms of its harmonic language, some aspects of its formal aspirations, and ‎its timbral ambitions. Nevertheless, it had developed a resistance toward a change in its ‎underlying binary design, which manifested itself in the widespread acceptance of the ‎Sonata form (ABA in essence) and the generally even number of phrase elements. Even ‎the meter too had stayed frozen in either 2 or 3 meters, with extremely rare exceptions.. [...]" Please read, download or print the article Here.

Short Independent Film Review: A Separation (2011), جدایی نادر از سیمین, by Payman Akhlaghi

A Separation (جدایی نادر از سیمین، 2011, ca 123 mins, Persian)
Written & Directed by Asghar Farhadi
With Leila Hatami & Peyman Ma'adi.
End title music: Sattar Oraki
Reviewed by Payman Akhlaghi

By now, this has been a much reviewed and well received film. It's an artfilm without the pretense, a commercially successful neo-realistic work coming from Iran, with true roots in, and a genuine understanding of, its modern culture at large. It's full of sentiments, yet decidedly not sentimental. The script flows like a quiet and unceasing brook, with a dramatic curve that almost never loses its momentum. Notwithstanding the excellent work of the adult performers, the epilogue leaves you with one of the most moving cinematic moments ever solicited from a child actor. Patient, heartfelt, confident, the film captures the humanity of its characters at every turn, with a fitting camera work and an equally integrated editing style. If nominated, it could very well garner the first Oscar for an Iranian film. I'm pleased that this moving picture was the first Iranian film I saw in a relatively long time. This review first appeared on Payman's Facebook Page.

I find it noteworthy that Simin, the protagonist of "A Separation", when leaving her husband and daughter behind, doesn't ask for anything to take with her -- no shoes, no jewelry, no books, no tv's -- except for one thing: a CD of [Mohammad Reza] Shajarian's music. This is a significant homage paid by the younger generation of Iranian artists to this acknowledged master of Persian traditional music. Here's a sample of Mr. Shajarian's work.

Cast includes Leila Hatami, Peyman Ma'adi, Sareh Bayat, Sarnia Farhadi (Termeh), A.A. Shahbazi, S. Hosseini, Merila Zare'i, et al. Full cast and crew can be found at IMDB.

(*) Update: "...I think they are a truly peace-loving people." -- Asghar Farhadi, director of A Separation, speaking of Iranians, as he received the Golden Globe 2012 for Best Foreign Language Film, Sunday Jaunary 15th, 2012. The film was up against 4 other films, including the much discussed, impressive Almodovar masterpiece, The Skin I Live In. This was a tough contest, and the film earned the Globe with every breath, with every frame. Oscars could well be within its reach. Congratulations to the team & to the artistic community of Iran at large. - P.A.

(*) Update: On February the 26th, A Separation was awarded an Oscar for The Best Foreign Film.

© 2011, 2012, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.

Short Film Review: War Horse (2011), Spielberg's Poetic Commentary Against War and Destruction, Review by Payman Akhlaghi

War Horse (2011)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Music by John Williams
146 mins, English
Original Review by Payman Akhlaghi

In many ways, "War Horse" is Spielberg's very personal and intimate sequel to "Saving Private Ryan" -- intimate, that is, by this director's standards. This has been clearly more than the simple story of an exceptional horse taken to the war front, who ends up trapped in a "no man's land"; or the suspense of whether he'd survive this unfair ordeal and return to the young man who had raised him. (No spoilers here.) It isn't a film about WWI in particular, either, despite the many specific historical and geographic contexts of the narrative. Instead, by underscoring the anthropomorphic aspects of the equine hero, and by establishing the humane bond between him and his young owner, the torments imposed on this innocent being have transcended well into the timeless zone of a poetic commentary on war and destruction. This is further heightened by many direct references to the humanity of the characters, beyond the common stereotypes of good vs. evil, including a significant scene of fraternization between enemy soldiers, which has in fact roots in the actual history of that war.

Ahmad Shamlou (1925-2000), Modern Persian Poet, and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: A Tribute by Payman Akhlaghi

Ahmad Shamlou (1925-December 12, 2000), great modern Persian poet, a free spirited man, the poet of freedom, and one of the progressive minds of Persian intelligentsia. In 1963, he wrote and dedicated a poem to the brave men and women of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, about 20 years earlier.

Here's an excerpt from the poem, خفتگان (Those Who're Asleep):

از آنها که رویاروی با چشمان گشاده در مرگ نگریستند
از برادران سربلند، در محلۀ تاریک، یک تن بیدار نیست
(Of those who stared into the abyss of death,
Of the proud brothers, in the dark ghetto, none's awake.)

از آن ها که خشم گردن کش را در گرۀ مشت های خالی خویش فریاد کردند
از خواهران دلتنگ، در محلۀ تاریک، یک تن بیدار نیست
(Of those who cried rising rage in the clench of their empty fists,
Of the sad-hearted sisters, in the dark ghetoo, none is awak.)
[Draft translations by this author.]

You may find the entire poem in Persian at the following link:
خفتگان (Khoftegan, "Those Who're Asleep")
Poem in Persian by Ahmad Shamlou:

(*) Payman's Short Film, based on a poem by Ahmad Shamlou:
Recently, I completed the beta-version of my first short-film, a music video, upon a commission. The music is Not mine; and the words of the song belong to Ahmad Shamlou. Although the video is now posted on YouTube, in respect to the current wish of the composer-singer, a good friend of mine, I have not yet made it Public. However, if you're interested to see a sample of my budding cinematic portfolio, you may do so by clicking Here. (NB: The music is not mind. Full credits available on the page):

© 2011, Payman Akhlaghi. All pertinent rights reserved for respective authors.

"Feather and Fire" (1998), Original Poem by Payman Akhlaghi

‎"Feather and Fire" (*)
A Poem by: Payman Akhlaghi (1998)

When the boots had marched away, and
the silence'd melted with the stink of
the corpses, all spread over the soup
of the mud, the urine, and the human
blood, the mother came out from the hiding.

Knowing that the father'd been shot--holding, still,
after death, onto his walking stick--she then
went on, looking for her only child.

As she turned over the half-burnt body
of the boy in the barn, she could hardly notice
the flight of the white feather,
that'd been spared in
the clinched fist of his...

Septmeber 30, 1998, Los Angeles
© 1998, 2011, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.

(*) This poem was originally inspired by the news genocide taking place in Bosnia. However, I always understood it as a broader cry against war and violence toward the innocent. That was why in Fall 2002, I incorporated the poem into a dance and music collaboration with choreographer Sri Susilowati, based on this theme, as the conclusion of a seminar conducted by Prof. Keith Terry, UCLA. The poem was recited at the opening of the presentation, with some minor modifications.

Independent Film Review: The Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn, Part I (2011), by Payman Akhlaghi

Kristen Stewart in
Breaking Dawn (I)

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part I (2011, 117')
Directed by Bill Condon
Based on Stephenie Meyer's novels
Music by Carter Burwell
Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro
Cast Includes: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, et al.

"The Twilight Saga" series resonate with the throbbing heart of our inner teenagers. That could also be why the producers must have felt that the first ever wedding ceremony between a vampire and a human surely deserved to be captured in full for posterity. Alas, the result, which has occupied almost a full third of the film, looks as interesting as any other wedding video being watched for the 10th time.

And yet, this tedious intro has served well to shape the dramatic curve of the story, setting up a patient crescendo toward an exciting and satisfying climax, saturated as much with action as with genuinely engaging human, and vampire, emotions. The consistently sensitive and sympathetic performance by Kristen Stewart continues to propel the series through this installment, too, with no sign of fatigue. Mr. Condon, a seasoned director ("Dreamgirls", "Kinsey"), has not only maximized on the natural talents of his gifted actress, but also has successfully employed an abstract experimental visual style, which is more typical of art films than a commercial franchise.

Carter Burwell's bitter-sweet music, absent since the original installment, once more underscores a variety of sentiments and events, with his recognizable melodic contours and orchestral timbres, but without sounding intrusive or overwhelming.

As such, one might recommend, endure the wedding, and you shall feel rewarded!

(*) Although this author tends to highlight original dramatic scores, this simple yet exciting song by Barlow Girls seems to merit to force him break the rule: "Never Alone".

(*) "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Par I",  IMDB page.

© 2011, all text by Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.

Independent Film Review: "A Dangerous Method" (2011), by Payman Akhlaghi

Knightley in David
Cornenberg's Film

"A Dangerous Method" (2011, English, c. 100 mins)
Directed by David Cronenberg
Music by Howard Shore
Screen adaptation by Christopher Hampton, from his play, "The Talking Cure", Based on the book "A Most Dangerous Method" by John Kerr
Cast: Keira Knightley (Sabina Spielrein), Viggo Mortensen (Sigmund Freud), Michael Fassbender (Carl Jung), Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gordon, et al.
(The original version of this review was first published at Payman's Personal Facebook Page, December 2nd, 2011. © 2011, all text by Payman Akhlaghi, unless noted. All rights reserved for the author.)


"We're Jews, my dear Miss Spielrein, and Jews we will always be.", so says Sigmund Freud, in director Cronenberg's latest film, about Freud, Jung, and Sabina Spielrein, a patient and later colleague of theirs. Today, she's credited, as a psychoanalyst, to have anticipated and perhaps inspired both men in some aspects of their theories. (*)

I meant to write about this film since I saw it on its first night in LA. A deliberately patient visual style has allowed the very impatient characters, and their equally passionate enactors, to come through with an exceptional, intriguing sense of urgency. Indeed, the consistently heartfelt, nuanced and sophisticated performances could garner an Oscar nomination for Ms. Knightely, if not also for Mr. Mortensen and Mr. Fassbinder.

Roy Harris: Symphony No. 6, "Gettysburg", Brief Discussion by Payman Akhlaghi

Roy Harris and Johana Harris
Awakening on YouTube

Roy Harris, Symphony No. 6, "The Gettysburg" (1944); Movement I: Awakening
A Note By: Payman Akhlaghi

Roy Harris composed his Symphony No. 6, the "Gettysburg", toward the end of WWII, inspired by Lincoln's famous address of 1863, and it consists of four movements which correspond to the salient themes of that brief note: "Awakening, Conflict, Dedication, Affirmation." The first movement is especially memorable, not the least, for its success at evoking the imagery of the "rise" of a young nation, and the spirits of its fallen. Emerging out of a quasi-eternal silence, the movement develops patiently, allowing its many short but recognizable thematic fragments to interact and converge; distinct layers of sound expose and superimpose; and a sonic mass to build in a gradual crescendo; toward an exuberant climax, an outburst of unsaid words. Given its tonal atmosphere and colorful timbres, Harris' Awakening remains an enjoyable and accessible treat on sonic terms, even on many listenings. Still, it does map large-scale strategic designs on an extra-musical, visual and conceptual, narrative to fortify formal cohesion; and as such, a sense of its narrative would surely enhance one's appreciation of the music. In that respect, this is as much a neo-Romantic work, as it foreshadows the Post-Modernism which was to fully emerge four decades later.

Independent Film Review: "The King's Speech" (2010), by Payman Akhlaghi

King's Speech (2010, Released 2011)
Directed by Tom Hooper
Music by Alexander Desplat, with original music by Beethoven, Mozart, et al
Cast includes: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Thimothy Spall, Derek Jacobi, et al.

I had avoided the film in its theatrical release, amid or because of the huge publicity surrounding it, followed by 12 Oscar nominations, winning 4, for Best Picture, Best Actor (Firth), Best Director, and Best Original Script (Seidler). I had avoided it, despite my admiration for the production team, including composer Alexander Desplat, most of whom I had long privately registered as consistently reliable in their art and craft. Not even an interesting interview I watched at the time convinced my doubts to vanish. But a few minutes into the DVD version of the film, I realized that fortunately, I couldn't have been any more wrong. To put it succinctly, here was a touching dramatic work, in a way, despite all odds, beginning from the true story behind it, to the carefully crafted script, to the sensible and sensitive ensemble performance, to the music, and to the gestallt of its cinematic experience.

Maimonides' "The Guide for the Perplexed" Translated to Persian by Ms. Shirin-Dokht Daghighian

Maimonides: A Guide for the Perplexed

Translated to Persian byShirin-Dokht Daghighian

Commentaries in English and Persian by the Translator

Published by
Persian Maimonides Foundation, Los Angeles (2011)

راهنمای سرگشتگان، اثر بزرگ فلسفی هارامبام
برای نخستین بار به زبان فارسی

برگردان، معرفی، نقد و حواشی از شیرین دخت دقیقیان

به همت بنیاد ایرانی هارامبام، 2011، لس آنجلس

The Persian translation of Maimonides' (Rambam's) most famous philosophical book, "The Guide for the Perplexed", or as known in its original Arabic, دلالت الحائرین, has just been completed by the Iranian American Jewish scholar, Ms. Shirin-Dokht Daghighian.

برگردان فارسی مهم ترین کتاب فلسفی هارامبام، "راهنمای سرگشتگان" سرانجام توسط دانشمند برجسته، خانم شیرین دخت دقیقیان، به پایان رسیده است. این اثر در 4 مجلد و همراه با حواشی و مقدمۀ مترجم فرهیخته توسط بنیاد ایرانی هارامبام  در لس آنجلس به چاپ رسیده است و به زودی در معرض ابتیاع عموم قرار خواهد گرفت. دکتر میر حمید سالک نقدی خواندنی بر این اثر نوشته اند که در سایت ایران امروز به چاپ رسیده است. 

Uncertainty as a Common Thread in 20th Century Philosophy, Science & Music: A Short Original Essay by Payman Akhlaghi (2011)

Uncertainty as a Common Thread in 20th Century Philosophy, Science & Music
A Short Original Essay by Payman Akhlaghi [Revision 2]

© 2011, Payman Akhlaghi. The following is a slightly modified version of a Foto-Note, first Published on October 1st, 2011, at Facebook.com/PAComposer under Uncertainty as a Common Thread in 20th Century Philosophy, Science & Music. . The following is copyrighted material at the time and by the virtue of its original creation. Proper citation is required. Thank you. [*This post was updated on 12.28.2014 to mend the links and this notice.]

A thread on John Cage's chance composition, "Indeterminacy, Part 1", initiated by Thomas Monteforte and Andy Green, led me to summarize some of my longstanding thoughts on the subject of probability in 20th century music, philosophy, and the little I know about physics.

By now for decades, John Cage has continued to provoke, inform, and fascinate me by way of his compositions, poems, interviews, and the very air of his being. That could be true for his striking "music of silence", i.e  "4'33"", a string quartet in the tonal style, a piece for percussion group which I heard live, his "sketching" over Dvorak's 9th Symphony, a movement from his "Lectures", his composition for an ensemble of radios, or his book of highly structured poetry, "Composition in Retrospect".

Film Review: "The Debt" (2010)

"The Debt" (2010, released 2011, English, 113 min) is one of the most gripping films of the past decade, well worthy of an Oscar consideration for its adapted screenplay, as well as additional considerations for three sophisticated performances by Helen Mirren, the beautiful Jessica Chastain, and the intimate Sam Worthington, cinematography, directing & edit, not to mention a very effective score by Thomas Newman, who's once more succeeded in reinventing his sound world. This is an artful film without a dull moment, one with an relentless suspense which has grown out of the necessities of its narrative, and the lives of its characters and their complicated pasts.

The film follows the intense emotional world of three specially gifted Mossad agents, and survivors of the Holocaust, tormented for decades over a lie they once agreed to live. By allowing its characters to express their pains, hopes and desires, the story surpasses a basic narrative of revenge, bringing out their humanity, three people, who seek not vengeance by justice, who struggle to the end not to become the very abhorrent beast whom they've pursued. The attempt at understanding the mindset of the characters has helped the film exceed the ethnic or political boundaries of the protagonists, and explore and relate to broader aspects of human condition.

I have not yet seen the original Hebrew version of the film, but to my recollection, "The Debt" is one of the finest adapted or original thrillers of the past few years, and next to "Munich" (dir. Steven Spielberg, 2005) and "Walk On Water" (dir. Eytan Fox, 2004, Hebrew), one of the three best revisionist films about Israel at large, and its much talked about secretive agency, in particular.


‎"The Debt" (2010, English, German, 113 mins.)
Directed by John Madden, based on Assaf Bernstein's 2007 film in Hebrew, "Ha-Hov"
Music by: Thomas Newman
Cast includes: Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds, Jessica Chastain, et al.

© 2011, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.
(*) This review first appeared on Payman's Facebook page.

(*) Payman Akhlaghi is a Los Angeles-based composer, pianist, and piano teacher, covering the greater Los Angeles area. His repertoire includes classical, as well as Persian music. Payman holds an MA and a BA degree in Composition from UCLA. He's currently working on his dissertation toward degree of PhD in Composition. You may contact him by calling (310) 208-2927 [USA].

Chopin, Harmonic Series, Sympathetic Resonance & the Pedal: A Short Note on Nocturne No. 15 in F Minor, Op. 55/No. 1 by Payman Akhlaghi (2011)

Frederic Chopin, Nocturne No. 15 in F Minor, Op. 55, No. 1

A Brief Comparative Discussion of the Coda by Payman Akhlaghi

The Coda From Chopin's
Nocturne in Fm
The Mikuli Edition
(Click to Enlarge)

The Coda of Nocturne Op. 55, No. 1 is founded on a 13-bar pedal point of an F- major chord, spaced in an open position and sustained in the bass. This passage is of particular significance, given the fast decay of piano sounds.

In the Mikuli edition (left), the bass line is once re-articulated, while in the Joseffy edition (right), as well as in the Paderewski edition (as I recall), these chords are tied together throughout the entire passage without interruption. (NB: In the Mikuli edtion, at the beginning of the third system from the bottom, a Pedal marking is clearly omitted by error.)

The Coda from Chopin's
Nocturne in Fm
The Joseffy Edition

The discrepancy is not a trivium. It seems that Mikuli, in his focus on the theoretical aspects of the instrument, has lost sight of the composer's ingenious calculation of the effects of the harmonic series on the bass line, that is, the sympathetic resonance of the LH open strings with the rapidly ascending F-Major arpeggio of the RH. In practice, as the passage unfolds, the bass line "stays alive" by a succession of rapid notes in the right hand. That is, the arpeggio "keeps playing" the open F-C-A strings of the bass, by reinforcing their upper partials.

If so, the pianist might further consider to experiment with the damper pedal, perhaps avoiding it for the entire passage, partially or altogether, to allow for a more unique and delicate effect a more selective interference pattern, to emerge out of the interaction of the RH arpeggio with the only the three strings remained open (senza sordine, or "undamped") in the bass. Alternatively, and perhaps preferrably, one could also experiment with a gradual release of the pedal, as the diminuendo progresses.

You may notice how beautifully the sustained F-major chord in the left hand starts out, and continues, by "shadowing" the right-hand arpeggio. It's a most subtle effect, which could be easily lost if the sustained F-major chord is re-articulated, or if the passage is over-pedalled.

© 2011, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.

Appendices:
1) The Mikuli edition in PDF:
2) The Joseffy Edition in PDF

Payman Akhlaghi is an LA-based composer, pianist and piano teacher. For lessons, covering the Greater Los Angeles Area, please contact: (310) 208-2927.

"Achorripsis" (1956-57): Iannis Xenakis and Stochastic Music

Achorripsis (1956-57)
Iannis Xenakis
Click for Larger Image

The score of Achorripsis (1956-57), ca. 7 mins, for 21 instruments, composed by the Greek French composer and architect, Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001).

This is an example of Xenakis's work in aleatory and stochastic music. The image is taken from the cover of "Music on the Move", a special edition of UNESCO's Courier, April 1986. This issue is of particular importance to me, as its Persian edition, and especially, Xenakis's enlightening interview therein, left an indelible impression on me as a teenager.

Related Links:
(*) Please click on the following links for the entire April 1986 issue of UNESCO's Courier, the magaine, in English, as well as French or Spanish, in PDF format.
(*) You may also listen to a rendition of Achorripsis, accompanied by an analytic animation, by clicking on the following: Achorripsis on YouTube.

© 2011, Text by Payman Akhlaghi.

Payman Akhlaghi is an LA-based Iranian American composer, pianist, and piano teacher. For lessons covering the greater Los Angeles area, please contact the following number: (310) 208-2927.

Film Review: "Love Crime" (2010, 2011 US Release)

Love Crime (2010, French, 104 mins, 2011 US Release)
Directed by: Alain Corneau
Music by: Pharoah (Ferrel) Sanders
With Kristin Scott Thomas, Ludivine Sagnier, et al.

Fortunately, Alain Corneau the co-writer has won over Alain Corneau the director, delivering a more or less satisfying psychological crime thriller, despite demonstrable weakness in his role as the director. I found the film a wonderful pas-de-duex for two gifted actors, as beautiful as talented they are, depicting ages-long fatal games of love and manipulation in a modern corporate setting. The main regret is that this could have been a much more engaging film, had the director not confused the meditative serenity of the likes of Tarkovsky or Rohmer with a disturbingly lethargic mise-en-scène and edit.

The music does add to the narraive in an atmospheric sense. It's largely made up of soundtrack numbers primarily composed for solo tenor saxophone and koto, which according to Ms. Sagnier, was already helping her get into the mood during the shooting. May I add that the use of koto, a Japanese plucked instrument, although geographically remote from the Paris settings of the film, does highlight the masked hypocrisy of the characters by alluding to Japanese Kabuki.

-- Payman Akhlaghi, September 3rd, 2011, Los Angeles

© 2011, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.

This short review first appeared on Payman's Personal Facebook Page, on September 3rd, 2011.