The Ziryab* Duo brings together Aykut DURSEN , an internationally trained double bass player who is also co-soloist with the Antwerp Philharmonic Orchestra and performer of traditional Turkish music, and Riad ABDEL-GAWAD , a violinist and composer trained at Harvard University who spent ten years in Cairo as a student, friend and transcriber of Abdu DAGHER, whose new Sufi music they perform.
The Ziryab* Duo can be accompanied by Peter BORCSOK, a percussionist of Hungarian origin specializing in the darbouka, the riqq and the bendir.
They also feature recent original compositions by Riad ABDEL-GAWAD and others from the albums: El Tarab El Aseel, Egypt, Mother of the World and Words of Peace as well as traditional compositions from the Ottoman musical era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries according to the Arab-Egyptian tuning and interpretation style including taqaseem or melodic improvisation influenced by the Egyptian Sufi sacred song called ibtihalat.
They accompany the show Vastitude by the choreographer Béatrice Grognard and her Compagnie Tarab which will perform at the Danse en Fête Festival in Brussels on April 27 and 28, 2024.
Ziryab duet with Aykut Dursen
and Riad Abdel-Gawad, 2023
Aykut DURSEN : contrebasse
Double bassist of Turkish origin, Aykut conducted his musical studies for many years at the Ankara Conservatory, the Geneva Conservatory, the Vienna Conservatory and finally at the Brussels Conservatory. He also attended the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Conservatory in Paris for ten years.
He was part of major classical orchestras, notably, as co-soloist, the Antwerp Philharmonic Orchestra, and as soloist, the Ballet des Flanders and has given numerous concerts as a soloist, chamber musician and musician on the international scene. After a very classical career, he composed and performed, in 2006, Anatolian tunes for the Antwerp Philharmonic Orchestra. He continues to develop a multidisciplinary approach through Turkish music and the study of certain traditional musical instruments (lute, tambûr, saz) which have always accompanied him.
Riad ABDEL-GAWAD : violon
Based in Brussels since 2022 where he brings together the current ensemble, Riad Abdel-Gawad, violinist, composer and teacher, was born in Cairo in 1965 in Egypt and grew up in the USA. After training in musical composition at Harvard University, Riad was for more than ten years a student, colleague and friend of Abdu Dagher, whose music he transcribed. He also studied for a year with Frédéric Rzewski at the Royal Conservatory of Liège in Belgium. While performing internationally, he has produced three albums: El Tarab El Aseel – “Autochthonic Enchantment” (Incognito Records, 2006), Egypt – Mother Of The World (City Hall Records, 2010) and Words of Peace (Medan Elmusica, 2019). His compositions fall into three very distinct styles that he calls: “contemporary and avant-garde”, “polystylistic postmodern” and “traditional authentic international” with influences from classical, jazz, Arabic and contemporary music (see extracts from his records) . It fuses a variety of Western and Eastern genres and canons, but otherwise perpetuates the new Sufi music and the teaching of Abdu Dagher, legendary accompanist of Oum Kalsoum. He says that his work is located “at the probable frontiers that music will cross in the 21st century”. His virtuosity is remarkable, particularly in improvisation.
* Zyriâb ("Black Bird") was an exceptional singer and musician at the court of Baghdad which he had to leave for Andalusia. Thus, in 822, in Cordoba, he was at the origin of Arab-Andalusian music. He introduced the oud, created the first music conservatory and also revolutionized the art of living.