Visitors flocked to the mausoleum of renowned classical Persian poet Sa’di in Shiraz, Fars province, during Norouz (Iranian New Year) holidays (March 21-April 2).

(Photo by Mojtaba Mohammadi)

Iranian Concerts In St. Petersburg

Pieces composed by the Iranian ethnomusicologist Mehdi Hosseini will be presented during two performances in St. Petersburg in April and May.
Hosseini’s ‘Taleshi Hava’ and the Concerto for String Quartet and Chamber Orchestra will be presented at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory and Philharmonic Hall on April 8 and May 23, respectively.
‘Taleshi Hava’ combines regional Iranian music with avant-garde rhythms and will be performed to dedicate the memory of avant-garde Italian composer Luigi Nono, Mehr News Agency said.
The piece, written for bassoon and violin, incorporates traditional melodies of the northern Iranian city of Talesh.
Hosseini, 31, learned the basics of music from renowned Iranian composer Farhad Fakhreddini in Tehran.
He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in composition from St. Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia and also studied under British composer Nigel Osborne.
Hosseini has written symphonic and chamber orchestra pieces for ensembles and solo performances in various compositional genres. His works present a fusion of contemporary and ancient Persian music with a focus on regional melodies.
‘Varshan’ (2002), ‘Symphony of Monody’ (2005), ‘String Quartet N.2’ (2007) and ‘Hafez’ (2009) are among Hosseini’s works.

Children’s Book Day Programs Scheduled

Iran’s Children and Young Adults Writers’ Association will organize programs to celebrate the International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) on April 8.
According to ISNA, a message by the Iranian animator and children’s book illustrator, Noureddin Zarrin-Kelk, will be read at the event.
Book reading, music performance and other special programs, including meetings with authors and illustrators, are also scheduled for the event that will be held with a six-day delay.
Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, April 2, ICBD is celebrated to promote love for reading and children’s books.
Each year, a different member-state of IBBY (The International Board on Books for Young People) has the opportunity to sponsor the ICBD events. It selects a theme and invites a prominent author from the host country to give a message to the children of the world and a well-known illustrator to design a poster.
These materials are used in different ways to promote books and reading.
This year, Spain is the sponsor and the motto is ‘A Book Is Waiting for You, Find It!’.
Iran is an IBBY member that promotes ICBD through the media and by holding activities in schools and public libraries.

12 Graphic Designers Bound for Warsaw

Twelve Iranian graphic designers have been selected to compete at the 22nd International Poster Biennial in Warsaw.
Reza Babajani, Iman Safaei, Mohammad Jamshidi, Ehsan Mahdavi, Ladan Rezaei and Mehdi Saeedi will be among participants of the Polish event, Presstv reported.
This year’s international jury will comprise Cao Fang (China), Alejandro Magallanes (Mexico), Finn Nygaard (Denmark), Marian Oslislo (Poland), Gunter Rambow (Germany) and Monika Zawadzka (Poland).
The poster biennial was launched by Professor Jozef Mroszczak in 1966.
The event is endorsed by the International Council of Graphic Design Association (Icograda), which funds an excellence award.
It will be held at Warsaw’s Poster Museum at Wilanów from June 5 until September 30.

Painting Exhibit in Syria

Iran’s Cultural Center in Damascus is holding an exhibition of paintings by contemporary Iranian artists in the Syrian capital.
According to IRNA, the 15-day event displays 23 artworks, on loan from Iranian museums, at the Al-Mazzeh Center.
Syria’s Deputy Culture Minister Muhammad Taraki Al-Seyid and representative of Iran’s cultural attaché, Mehdi Khaledzadeh, attended the exhibit’s opening on March 30.
“The exhibited artworks are manifestations of Iran’s rich civilization and contemporary art,” Al-Seyid said.
Holding such events can improve cultural relations between the two countries, he added.
The items on display were previously showcased in Italy, Britain and the Netherlands.

‘Titans’ Takes Lead at Box Office

‘Clash of the Titans’ ended the month-long reign of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ at the box office during Easter weekend, becoming only the third title to take the crown this year.
Director Louis Leterrier’s 3D, special effects-laden update of MGM’s 1981 action fantasy loosely based on Greek mythology grossed an estimated $44.2 million in 15 markets, Reuters reported.
‘Alice’ fell to No. 3 after drawing $34.2 million from 51 markets. ‘Avatar’, which led the field for the first eight weeks of the year, finished out of the top five with $4.6 million from 37 markets for a foreign total of $1.959 billion.
‘Titans’, which stars Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, claimed the No. 1 spot in each country. Key markets included the UK ($7.8 million over three days), Spain ($8.6 million, five days), South Korea ($6.8 million, four days), and Australia ($5.9 million, four days). Openings in France and Germany are due this week.
Runner-up ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ garnered $38.5 million overall from 54 markets, 19 of them new. Key markets for the DreamWorks Animation entry included the UK ($7.8 million) and France ($4.7 million).

Sotheby’s Asian Art Sale Underway

Sotheby’s Hong Kong opened its Contemporary Asian Art Spring Sale 2010 on Monday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.
This season’s sale offers a series of early works by established Chinese artists that are rarely seen on the market, as well as seminal works from prominent Japanese and Korean artists. There will be over 170 extraordinary pieces, with a total estimate in excess of $12 million, Artdaily reported.
Evelyn Lin, Sotheby’s head of Contemporary Asian Art, said, “Last year, our Contemporary Asian Art Autumn sale in Hong Kong achieved very encouraging results amidst a progressively recovering global market, having reached a sale total almost 80 percent higher than that of our 2009 Spring sale. Riding on this success, coupled with the robust performance of contemporary Asian art in our sales in New York and London, we are confident that the market is buoyed up once again.”
Sotheby’s will present early works by blue-chip contemporary Chinese artists, namely Cai Guo-qiang, Liu Ye, Zeng Fanzhi and Yue Minjun. These extraordinary works provide a glimpse into the early musings of these creative minds that would go on to represent Chinese art of our era. Sotheby’s will also offer a series of remarkable conceptual art, including ‘Table With Two Legs’ created in 2005 by Ai Weiwei, 53.

Imam Ali (AS):

A person will be ruined if he does not accept his own limits.