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Paniz Faryousefi makes history
First woman to lead Tehran Symphony draws full houses at Vahdat Hall
Faryousefi, joined by violin soloist Pedram Faryousefi, opened on November 12 with a taut, clear-cut reading of Jean Sibelius’s ‘Impromptu Op. 5,’ delivered by the string ensemble to a hall so still that one musician later called the atmosphere “almost weightless”.
The baton then shifted to homegrown repertoire. Works by Iranian composers Golfam Khayam and Aftab Darvishi followed, with ‘Simorgh’ and ‘Zamzameh’ setting a hushed, inward tone before Pedram Faryousefi stepped forward to lead Darvishi’s ‘Diyar.’ Both composers were invited on stage to acknowledge prolonged applause.
The orchestra switched gears after the interval, expanding to full forces for Franz Schubert’s ‘Symphony No. 8 in B minor, the Unfinished.’ The ‘Allegro moderato’ and ‘Andante con moto’ unfurled with a slow tension that held the audience in tight focus. Several listeners described the hall as “locked in” to the orchestra’s phrasing.
A more hard-hitting finale came with Aram Khachaturian’s ‘Sabre Dance’ from ‘Gayaneh,’ its driving rhythm bringing the two-night program to a head and prompting a wave of cheers across the venue.
Faryousefi, closing the evening, thanked the musicians, the Roudaki Foundation’s management and its artistic council for trusting her with what she called a “milestone responsibility”.
She added, “A special thanks to Nasir Heydarian, who stood by me and the orchestra with genuine care and made this program possible.”
She dedicated both performances to “Iranian mothers and women”, singling out her own mother.
Heydarian, invited on stage afterwards, said he was “glad” to see decision-makers opening space for younger conductors.
“We must gradually hand the world to the young,” he told the audience, adding that the “maternal sensitivity” and artistic nuance of women musicians had been audible “last night and tonight [November 12 and 13]”.
At the end of the November 12 performance, commendation plaques from the Roudaki Foundation were presented to Paniz Faryousefi, Golfam Khayam and Aftab Darvishi by Heydarian, pianist Raphael Minaskanian and music scholar Farimah Ghavamsadri. Senior cultural figures, including composer Mohammadreza Darvishi, mezzo-soprano Nesrin Nasehi, pianist Bahnaz Zakeri, and Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Zahra Behrouz-Azar, were among the attendees.