At Tehran Symphony, Music Lovers Seek Escape From Reality

樂迷在德黑蘭交響樂團的樂聲中尋覓現實生活的出口

Aficionados of Western classical music have carved out a niche for themselves in Iran, where cultural expression remains tightly controlled by strict rules imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

       伊朗（Iran）的西方古典樂迷(aficionado)已開拓出一片屬於自己的天地(carve out a niche)。自 1979 年發生伊斯蘭革命（Islamic Revolution）以來，當地人民對文藝的表達就大幅受限於政府強制實行(impose)的嚴格法規。

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At Tehran Symphony, Music Lovers Seek Escape From Reality
VOA News｜Arts & Culture
July 8, 2019 09:13 PM Associated Press (source)

At Tehran Symphony, Music Lovers Seek Escape From Reality

樂迷在德黑蘭交響樂團的樂聲中尋覓現實生活的出口

July 8, 2019 09:13 PM

Associated Press

TEHRAN, IRAN —

Aficionados of Western classical music have carved out a niche for themselves in Iran, where cultural expression remains tightly controlled by strict rules imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

And perhaps surprisingly, musicians in their 20s and 30s perform for overwhelmingly young audiences.

Last week, the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, including female musicians in burgundy headscarves on cello, horn and harp, played works by 19th-century Russian composers for an enraptured crowd in the capital's main concert venue, Vahdat Hall.

A major draw is Shahrdad Rohani, 65, the orchestra's charismatic music director. The Iranian-American composer, musician and conductor who has led orchestras in the United States and Europe, said he is proud of his homegrown crop of young musicians.

Classical music may not have mass appeal, but Rohani said in a backstage interview that there's potential for growth, citing a large turnout during a stadium concert last year in Abadan, a provincial city in southwestern Iran.

"Classical music is growing, and as you see, the audience, they are really supporting the arts and classical music," he told The Associated Press during the intermission of the July 3 sold-out concert.

In four decades of conservative Islamic rule, the space for artistic expression in Iran has expanded or contracted, depending on whether political hard-liners or moderates prevail.

In the first decade after the Islamic Revolution, including the eight-year war with Iraq, pop music disappeared from the public sphere, said Nima Mina of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.

The Tehran Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1933, continued its work after 1979, he said. Live performances were initially rare, but have increased in number since the 1990s.

Even during periods of eased controls, red lines are enforced.

This includes a ban on female singers performing for mixed audiences, considered "haram," or religiously forbidden. In February, female guitarist Negin Parsa sang a solo during a concert by pop singer Hamid Askari. The authorities cut her microphone, and Askari's permission to perform was briefly suspended.

A music cafe in downtown Tehran complies with the ban on female singers during live shows, but not when playing records. On a recent afternoon, a blues recording featuring a soulful female vocalist played in the background, as customers sipped coffee and smoked cigarettes.

"Authorities rarely challenge the playing of recorded music in the cafe, and mainly argue about the hijab issue," said waitress Nillofar Dailami, 29, referring to the headscarf all Iranian women are required to wear. Dailami also professed a love for classical music as a result of her study of guitar.

These days, the influence of hard-liners appears on the upswing again as moderates find themselves on the defensive because of the seeming collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal they negotiated with world powers.

The U.S. walked away from the deal a year ago, instead embarking on a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, including unprecedented economic sanctions.

The sanctions have hurt ordinary Iranians, sending prices for staples and consumer goods soaring and weakening the local currency, while raising the specter of war with the U.S.

For Tehran music lovers, events like Wednesday's concert on the main national stage next to the Russian Embassy offers a momentary escape from reality.

"It is little moments that build up your life in the end," said Shafa Sabeti, a 36-year-old architect whose business has suffered as the result of the economic downturn linked to the U.S. sanctions. "Public spaces have gotten more crowded recently. People are just living the moment — maybe it's some coping mechanism."

Yet tensions and fear of escalation are a "major big black cloud hovering over the country," he said.

Wednesday's concert featured works by Russian composers Alexander Borodin, Sergey Rachmaninov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

The audience was entranced.

There was no fidgeting or coughing. A young couple in the balcony held hands. A woman nearby recorded the concert on her iPhone. Rohani, the conductor, was greeted by loud applause and addressed the crowd several times, including announcing details about an upcoming concert.

"I love the work of Rohani," said concert-goer Ali Reza, 26, who was introduced to classical music by learning to play the piano. He said most of his friends prefer other styles of music, including rock and pop.

Some said there's a generational divide, with older people tending to prefer traditional Iranian music.

"There is a lot of interest in Western culture among the young urban middle class population," said Mina, portraying it as pushback against the lifestyle and artistic expression promoted by the authorities.

He said that since the 1940s, Tehran's music conservatory has provided a steady supply of musicians, including those who later join the Tehran Symphony Orchestra.

One of the graduates of the conservatory, violinist Ed Nekoo, spent 10 years in the Los Angeles area but returned home to care for his mother.

He said he misses the exchange with peers abroad and complained of the lack of foreign music teachers.

"We have to learn the music by ourselves," said Nekoo, 44.

Still, he's optimistic.

"Our audience is so young," he said. "That's what I like about classical music."
 

伊朗（Iran）的西方古典樂迷(aficionado)已開拓出一片屬於自己的天地(carve out a niche)。自 1979 年發生伊斯蘭革命（Islamic Revolution）以來，當地人民對文藝的表達就大幅受限於政府強制實行(impose)的嚴格法規。

而或許出人意料的是，前來聆聽這群年約 20、30 多歲的音樂家演奏的聽眾大多數(overwhelmingly)都很年輕。

上週（編按：2019 年 6 月 30 日至 7 月 6 日）德黑蘭交響樂團（the Tehran Symphony Orchestra）在伊朗首都德黑蘭主要的音樂會會場(venue)「瓦赫達特禮堂（Vahdat Hall）」演奏 19 世紀俄羅斯作曲家的音樂作品，在場觀眾聽得如癡如醉(enraptured)。樂團成員包含了頭戴酒紅色(burgundy)頭巾(headscarf)的女性音樂家，她們分別演奏大提琴(cello)、管樂器(horn)和豎琴(harp)。

美籍伊朗裔的夏德．羅哈尼（Shahrdad Rohani）現年 65 歲，是這個交響樂團的音樂總監。他充滿個人魅力的(charismatic)風格在音樂會上總是引人矚目(draw)。羅哈尼身兼作曲家、音樂家及指揮家(conductor)，在美國和歐洲皆帶領過交響樂團演出。他表示，這群(crop)出身於本土的(homegrown)年輕音樂家令他深感驕傲。

古典樂對廣大(mass)群眾來說可能不見得有吸引力(appeal)，不過羅哈尼在幕後訪談中表示，古典樂極具潛力，未來將會有越來越多人喜歡。他以伊朗西南部省(provincial)城阿巴丹（Abadan）為例，指出去年在當地體育場舉辦的音樂會的參與人數(turnout)眾多。

「喜歡古典樂的人數正增加中，就像我們現在看到的，這些觀眾非常支持藝術和古典樂。」他在音樂會中場休息(intermission)時向美國聯合通訊社（Associated Press，AP；簡稱「美聯社」）表示。這場於 7 月 3 號（編按：2019 年）舉辦的音樂會的門票全數售罄(sold-out)。

以伊斯蘭教法保守(conservative)統治(rule)的 40 年期間，伊朗在藝術表現的空間上時而擴大時而縮小，端看政權強硬派(hard-liner)還是溫和派(moderate)何者得勢(prevail)。

在伊斯蘭革命結束後的 10 年期間，伊朗與伊拉克（Iraq）雙方戰爭長達 8 年，流行樂似乎從公眾領域(sphere)消失，英國倫敦大學（University of London）亞非學院（School of Oriental and African Studies，SOAS）的資深講師尼馬．米那（Nima Mina）進一步說明。

他提到，德黑蘭交響樂團於 1933 年創立，在 1979 年之後又繼續演出。直接於現場演奏的表演形式起初較為罕見，但自 1990 年代起場次已逐漸增加。

即使在沒那麼嚴格管制的時期，許多警戒規範(red line)仍強制執行(enforce)。

這些警戒規範包括禁止(ban)女性歌手在男女混和的觀眾前表演，因為這是伊斯蘭教法不允許(haram)或宗教禁止的(forbidden)行為。舉例來說，流行歌手哈米德．阿斯卡里（Hamid Askari）今年（編按：2019 年）二月舉辦的音樂會上，女性吉他手納金．帕薩（Negin Parsa）的獨唱(solo)就遭到有關當局(the authorities)切斷麥克風，並暫時取消(suspend)了阿斯卡里表演的許可資格。

德黑蘭市中心一家音樂咖啡館在有現場表演時會遵守(comply with . . .)規定，禁止女性歌手表演，但如果只是播放唱片就不加限制，比方說最近的一個午後，咖啡館在顧客啜飲(sip)著咖啡、抽著菸的同時，也播放著由女性歌手(vocalist)演唱的充滿情感的(soulful)藍調音樂(blues)。

「政府當局很少對咖啡館裡播放的音樂提出質疑，主要都是對女性頭巾(hijab)有意見。」29 歲的女服務生妮洛法爾．達拉米（Nillofar Dailami）指的是(refer to . . .)所有伊朗女性必須配戴的頭巾。達拉米表示(profess)，由於(as a result of . . .)學吉他，她也很喜歡古典樂。

近期以來，因為和世界強國(world power)在 2015 年達成的核武協議似乎失敗(collapse)了，使得強硬派的影響力再度占上風，溫和派則處於防衛狀態(on the defensive)。

美國於一年前（編按：2018 年）退出協議，取而代之的是開始對伊朗進行(embark on . . .)「高壓」運動，包括施行多項前所未有的(unprecedented)經濟制裁(sanction)政策。

這些制裁對伊朗的平民百姓造成不利的影響：日常主食(staple)和生活消費品(consumer goods)的價格飆升(soar)，削弱了當地貨幣，同時引起人民對於和美國發生戰爭的恐懼(the specter of . . .)。

對德黑蘭的樂迷來說，週三（編按：2019 年 7 月 3 日）在俄國大使館旁國家舞臺舉行的音樂會或是其他類似的活動為他們提供了短暫(momentary)逃離現實的出口。

「大家的生活最終(in the end)就是由這些短暫時光累積而成。」現年 36 歲的建築師沙法．薩貝提（Shafa Sabeti）形容。由美國制裁引起的經濟衰退(economic downturn)使他的事業已困頓許久。「最近外出參與活動的人越來越多了，因為大家就只想活在當下，享受參加活動帶來的小確幸，或許這也是一種應對機制(coping mechanism)吧。」

然而，緊張的局勢以及對情勢惡化的恐懼就像「大片烏雲籠罩在(hover over . . .)伊朗上空。」他描繪道。

週三（編按：2019 年 7 月 3 日）舉辦的音樂會以俄羅斯作曲家亞歷山大．鮑羅定（Alexander Borodin）、謝爾蓋．拉赫曼尼諾夫（Sergey Rachmaninov）和尼可拉．林姆斯基柯沙可夫（Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov）的作品為特色(feature . . .)。

優美的音樂使觀眾深深陶醉(entrance . . .)。

全場沒有人因無聊而煩躁(fidget)或咳嗽，大家都全神貫注。看臺座位(balcony)的一對年輕夫婦牽著手專注聆聽。坐在附近的女士用 iPhone 手機將音樂會錄下來。樂團指揮羅哈尼受到觀眾熱烈掌聲(applause)歡迎，他也多次與觀眾對話(address . . .)，包括宣布一場即將舉行的音樂會細節。

「我很喜歡羅哈尼的作品。」阿里．李查汗（Ali Reza）陳述著。現年 26 歲的李查汗是音樂會的常客(concert-goer)，因為學鋼琴而接觸古典樂。他表示，他的朋友大多喜歡其他類型的音樂，包括搖滾樂和流行樂。

有些人則說，世代之間對音樂的喜好有所分歧(divide)，年長者往往更喜歡伊朗傳統音樂。

「都市中產階級(middle class)的年輕人對西方文化很感興趣。」米那解釋著，同時描述(portray)這種興趣的產生其實是反擊(pushback)政府希望的生活和藝術表達方式。

他指出，德黑蘭的音樂學院(conservatory)自 1940 年代以來已穩定培育出許多音樂家，其中有不少在日後參與了德黑蘭交響樂團的演出。

小提琴家艾德．尼庫（Ed Nekoo）是音樂學院的畢業生之一。他曾在美國洛杉磯（Los Angeles）待了 10 年，不過後來為了照顧母親而回到伊朗。

他說，很想念在國外和同儕(peer)交流的經驗，同時也抱怨伊朗缺乏來自外國的音樂師資。

「我們必須靠自己學音樂。」44 歲的尼庫說道。

不過，他仍樂觀看待。

「來聽音樂會的觀眾都這麼年輕。」他描述著。「這正是我喜愛古典樂的地方。」