The Radīf (lit. "order, sequence") is the repertoire of classical Persian music. This collection of melodies, structured into twelve modular systems—the Dastgāhs and Avâz—has been orally transmitted for millennia.

The continuity and vitality of this tradition have always depended on its transmission from one generation to the next. However, since the first transcriptions into Western notation and the earliest sound recordings in the mid-20th century—a situation further exacerbated by the 1979 revolution—there has been no substantial renewal of the repertoire.

In the fall of 2022 (1401 in the Persian calendar), Iranian composer and virtuoso Elshan Ghasimi premiered the first chapter of her reinterpretation of the Radīf according to Mirza Abdollah, starting with the Dastgāh-e Shur, at the Bode Museum in Berlin. Since then, she has been sharing her reinterpretations with international audiences worldwide. She is the first female musician to undertake a systematic renewal of this classical tradition and UNESCO-listed Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Elies Miniatures

Elies Miniatures is the name of a long-term collaborative project and a series of concept albums. The series, which began in 2018, merges music, visual arts, poetry, exhibition and biographical narration. At the heart of the undertaking is a poeticising remembrance of the life and work of the mystic, mathematician and poet El Arbi Bouqdib, who died in 2016.

Building Bridges between East and West

For Western musicians, non-European art music, which can only be inadequately represented by notation, remains a book with many seals. Breaking this down and building a bridge from east to west is one of Ghasimi’s heartfelt concerns. As a mediator and didactician between Persian and European music culture, she searches for new spaces and concepts of communication. It may surprise you: Western instruments can play classical Persian music.

SHAHNAMEH (DUO Ghasimi & Püschel)

Das Schahnameh (dt. „Buch der Könige“) ist eines der bedeutendsten Werke der Weltliteratur und erzählt die Geschichte sowie die Entstehung der persischsprachigen Welt. Das Duo Elshan Ghasimi & Philipp Püschel bringt dieses Epos in die Gegenwart und verbindet dabei Jazz, freie Improvisation auf Tar und Trompete, Live-Elektronik sowie rezitierenden Gesang zu einem musikalischen Austausch, der die Jahrtausende und Kulturen miteinander vereint.

Ausgehend vom Radif, der klassischen persischen Kunstmusik, und inspiriert von den Texten des Autors Abū ʾl-Qāsim Firdausī (940–1020), nähert sich das Duo der östlichen Tradition aus einer zeitgenössischen Perspektive und verwebt diese mit heutigen musikalischen Ausdrucksformen.