User:Antonuzza/sandbox

Test test is an Persian hammered dulcimer player. Originally from .., he lives in .. Alireza Mortazavi (born September 17, 1976 in Isfahan in Iran, Persian عليرض†ا†مرتضوي†) is a Persian avantgarde musician, composer and master of the Santur, which he started learning at the age of seven.

Life
The beginning of Alireza Mortazavi career is marked by cooperation with his brother, percussionist on the Tombak and Daf, Mohammad Reza Mortazavi. From a young age, Alireza was considered an outstanding interpreter of classical works. His virtuosity has been confirmed by numerous awards. Since his first encounter with Western music, his musical interests have gradually matured beyond traditional teaching, enabling him to develop a new, highly personal style on his instrument, while expanding his repertoire to include classical, modern, and contemporary music.

Alireza Mortazavi studied Musicology in Cremona (Italy) 2001-2003. His concert career in Europe began with his particiption in radio broadcast Bavarian Radio and appearances at various music festivals in Italy and Germany. He appeared at the "Progetto Jazz" in Cremona in 2003 and with his brother at the Dance and Folk Festival TFF Rudolstadt. There he was nominated for RUTH, the German World Music Award, but ultimately his brother Mohammad Reza Mortazavi received this award.

When Alireza Mortazavi returned to Iran in 2003, his musical art was cultivated within an intellectual circle made up of his followers as well as fellow artists, philosophers, and scientists: with them, he shared a desire to pursue and develop a new artistic movement that rejected conventional artistic standards. His interviews have been published in various cultural magazines, such as Honare Musighi (the Art of Music) and Sharq (orient), where he reveals himself to be a unique composer.

He has also dedicated himself to music research and the development of his own Santur piano ([1]), which allows him to play the notes of the Western chromatic scale and thus to achieve a wide range of chromatic solutions and sounds. He can likewise successfully achieve his musical ideas on the classical Persian Santur.

His custom-made musical instrument is a Santur of the same size as any other santur, which is divided into four positions, but his instrument has fourteen narrow bridges.

In 2007, Alireza Mortazavi performed inter alia, together with his brother Mohammad Reza Mortazavi at a series of concerts at the festival of improvised music "Total Music Meeting" in Germany (now TFF Festival). In summer 2012, he decided to return to live performance in Italy and moved to Turin, where he is now working on a musicological project at the DAMS (Discipline delle Arti, della Musica e dello Spettacolo) Art University.

Alireza Mortazavi has given numerous performances on Italian radio and at concerts in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. He has cooperated with renowned artists and conductors such as Markus Stockhausen, Franco Battiato, and the orchestra Filarmonica di Arturo Toscanini in Parma, who very much appreciate his extraordinary work.

Discography
Alireza Mortazavi has two albums on Hermes Records, a prominent Iranian music publisher specializing in unusual musical productions.
 * 2004 "Gah o Bigah" (Now and Then)
 * 2008 "Clouds", a selection of works by 20 distinguished musicians from the Asian region, including Djivan Gasparian, an Armenian duduk player and Hossein Alizadeh, a famous artist of Tar and Setar.

Awards

 * 1994 and 1998: Best Santurs player at the Fajr Festival in Tehran and Isfahan, Iran
 * 1994 Honorary Diploma for Best Santurs player and soloist at the National Festival in Mashhad, the second largest Iranian city.
 * 1998: Honorary concert in Chehel Sotoun ("Forty Pillars"), a palatial monumental pavilion at the end of a long pool in Isfahan in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Mohajerani.
 * 2013: Price [premio Talento dall 'Associazione Culturale Ca dj'Amis "in Turin, Italy. The prize is awarded exclusively to musicians with a classical, western education.

Music style
The music of Alireza Mortazavi can be described as "minimalist". Its originality consists of the extroverted art of the artist and is linked to the use of different positions on theinstrument. In particular, in the fourth position, not normally used because it does not meet the need of a traditional conductor.

Alireza´s use in his compositions has many special effects: he has developed great technical skill and a dynamic exploration of the opposite poles of tension and relaxation.

Western harmonies are always present in his music and can be experienced as a clear contrast to the other sounds he creates with a distinctive, oriental character.