Commissions to Alexander Khubeev and Golnaz Shariatzadeh

Nadar Ensemble is developing a concert program titled Don’t Leave the Room, inspired by Joseph Brodsky’s poem. The poem reflects on a flu outbreak and critiques society’s failure to act against oppression. Composer Alexander Khubeev has already created a piece incorporating the poem through sign language. Now, Nadar Ensemble is commissioning a second part of Khubeev’s Don’t Leave the Room, which will further explore the musicality of gestures and interactive performance, delving deeper into the social subtext of Brodsky’s work.

Additionally, Nadar Ensemble has commissioned composer Golnaz Shariatzadeh to create a new piece, Blue Womb, combining music, animation, and themes from the 2022 protests in Iran. The piece follows two sibling-creatures in a post-apocalyptic city, using an imagined umbilical cord to explore memory, trauma, and rebuilding. Shariatzadeh’s work brings together haunting visuals and soundscapes, reflecting the political landscape and hope for renewal.

The program will also feature Galina Ustvolskaya’s Piano Sonata No. 6, a radical work censored under the Soviet regime, and Abbas Kiarostami’s short film The Chorus, symbolizing the silenced voices of youth in Iran.

The project aims to support artists from politically unstable regions, reflecting on the shared struggles of artists across time. The program will also foster cross-cultural dialogue, offering a platform for composers whose works resist political oppression.

Further Information:
nadarensemble.be

Dates

September 13, 2025
Gaudeamus, Utrecht

September 16, 2025
Ultima, Oslo

October 9, 2025
De Singel, Antwerp

September 30, 2025
Musica Strasbourg

March 12, 2026
De Bijloke, Gent

October 8, 2026
Theater im Pumpenhaus, Münster