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The Chronicle Review Corner

The two composers on this CD are both Iranian, Hormoz Farhat (b 1928) has lived through the Islamic Revolution, Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour (b 1974) probably not able to remember anything of his country before the ruling house was kicked out in 1979. Farhat was the first Iranian to study music in the US, before returning to his homeland and ending his career in Ireland, at Trinity College, Dublin. Tafreshipour studied in Denmark and has links with Trinity and Brunel University. Both men seem to favour a more Western style, though there are nods to their traditional music.

Farhat’s music ranges from a toccata, written in 1952 to the Piano Sonata No. 2, written nearly 60 years later. The music is austere. We’re always glad to see Mary Dullea’s name on a CD; she’s usually tackling modern music, but she always interprets it well and we like to think she reins in some of the more modern moments. While there is a certain dry technicality to much of the music, Dullea gives it some life. We guess this is aimed more at people who like take their piano seriously and have an ear for the technical.