Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Mohammed Fairouz (born November 1, 1985) is an American composer.
He is one of the most frequently performed composers of his generation and has been described as an important new artistic voice.
Fairouz began composing at an early age and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music. His teachers included Gunther Schuller, Halim El-Dabh, György Ligeti and John Heiss.
Fairouz lives in New York City.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Vocal music[edit]
Fairouz says that he first set poems of Oscar Wilde at the age of 7 and has gone on to write hundreds of art songs and over a dozen song cycles. In Poets & Writers Magazine, he described himself as being obsessed with text.
Three Fragments of Ibn Khafājah was commissioned by the Cygnus Ensemble and sets poetry by Arab Andalucian poet Ibn Khafajah.
Musicians for Harmony commissioned the song cycle Furia for baritone Randall Scarlata together with the Imani Winds and the Borromeo String Quartet and sets Western texts about the Middle East.
Jeder Mensch, was written for Kate Lindsey with texts set from the diaries of Alma Mahler.
Fairouz has also collaborated extensively with living poets. Bonsai Journal, on texts by Judson Evans, was released on Albany Records.
The Pierrot ensemble, Lunatics at Large commissioned the cycle Unwritten on texts by David Shapiro.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Orchestral music[edit]
Symphonies[edit]
Fairouz has written four symphonies. His Third Symphony, Poems and Prayers was commissioned by the Middle East Center for Peace Culture and Development and is cast for solo voices, mixed chorus and orchestra. The Symphony sets the texts of Arab poets such as Fadwa Tuqan and Mahmoud Darwish, the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, as well as prayers such as the Aramaic Kaddish. The Third Symphony was premiered on February 16, 2012 by conductor Yoon Jae Lee, mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway, Baritone David Kravitz, Ensemble 212 and The Young New Yorkers Chorus at the Miller Theater at Columbia University.
Fairouz's Fourth Symphony In the Shadow of No Towers is scored for wind ensemble and is inspired by Art Spiegelman's graphic novel of the same title. The symphony explores American life in the aftermath of 9/11.
The final movement of Fairouz's First Symphony Homage to a Belly Dancer is based on an essay by Edward Said about the Egyptian belly dancer Tahia Carioca.
Concertos[edit]
Fairouz's Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and orchestra States of Fantasy was commissioned by New York-based orchestra Ensemble 212. It is inspired by Jacqueline Rose's book of the same title and was written for violinist Nicholas Kitchen and cellist Yeesun Kim.
Fairouz has also written a clarinet concerto, Tahrir, for David Krakauer. The works takes its title from Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.
Akhnaten, Dweller in Truth, a dance scene for cello and orchestra, takes its name from Naguib Mahfouz's book of the same title.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Operas[edit]
Sumeida's Song is Fairouz's first opera and is based on the play Song of Death by the Egyptian playwright Tawfiq al-Hakim The opera follows the return of the protagonist Alwan to his Upper Egyptian peasant village, and his attempts to bring modernity to darkness in an effort to break a never ending cycle of violence. The opera also clearly depicts the grave consequences of this pioneering energy. The opera is recorded on Bridge Records.
Fairouz is currently developing his second opera Eichmann in Jerusalem with American Opera Projects. It is based on the Eichmann Trial as documented by Hannah Arendt in her book, Eichmann in Jerusalem.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Chamber and solo music[edit]
Fairouz's Wind Quintet, written for the Imani Winds is composed in three movements titled March, "Lamentus (for my fallen heros)," and "Dance and Little Song."
His Lamentation and Satire for string quartet was recorded by the Borromeo String Quartet for release on GM/Living Archive Recordings.
Fairouz has written a Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin for Rachel Barton Pine.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
