Yalda Zamani
Music is not just a reflection of its time —it’s also a means of engaging with it.
I am a German conductor of Iranian descent based in Berlin. My work is deeply rooted in a passion and advocacy for the music of today, but with a constant eye on the past. For me, contemporary music is not just a reflection of our current world, but a key to understanding where we have come from and how we relate to it.
In January 2024, I have been appointed as Assistant Conductor with the Ensemble Intercontemporain at the Philharmonie de Paris, under the direction of Pierre Bleuse. It’s a position I embrace with great respect, as it allows me to engage directly with some of the most innovative and challenging music of our time.
Yalda Zamani : Envisager la direction d’orchestre comme un tout.
Interview with Jéremie Szpirglas, Ensemble Intercontemporain
Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, 2021 @VedranMetelko I have had the privilege of collaborating with some of the finest orchestras and ensembles, such as the RSO Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Klangforum Wien, Croatian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, Athelas Sinfonietta Denmark, Boulez Ensemble, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and Ensemble Musikfabrik among others.
I’ve been trusted with numerous world premieres and brought fresh interpretations to festivals and stages such as Darmstadt New Music Festival, Wien Modern, Warsaw Autumn, Berlin Ultraschall, Music Biennale Zagreb, Musikprotokoll Festival, Klangspuren Schwaz, Ruhrtriennale Festival, IMPULS Graz Festival, Gaudeamus Festival, Time of Music Festival, St George's Hall in Liverpool, Royaumont Abbey in France, ZKM | Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, The Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Krakow, Vienna Konzerthaus, and Musikverein in Austria, among others.
Chamber Orchestra Elbe
In December 2023, with the support of the City of Hamburg and Musikstadtfonds, I founded the Chamber Orchestra Elbe, which made its debut with the award-winning harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg to great acclaim. This vibrant chamber soloists group was met with enthusiastic reviews, praising its fresh approach and a dynamic performance.
“Ein starkes Debütkonzert für das Kammerorchester Elbe und seine Dirigentin, denen man fürs nächste Mal ein größeres Publikum wünscht.”
Marcus Stäbler, Hamburger Abendblatt
I established the Chamber Orchestra Elbe as a platform to bring my vision to life—creating musical experiences that bridge the gap between the past and the present. My goal was to challenge both musicians and audiences by offering a space where the familiar and the avant-garde can coexist. My dream is to secure the resources needed to expand the ensemble and bring artistically bold, challenging programs to Europe's most prestigious stages and festivals. I aspire to collaborate with some of the finest composers of our time, forging new connections between their work and the masterpieces of past centuries.
@ClaudiaHöhneVideo: Nazgol Kashani
@ClaudiaHöhne“[…] a performance on an enviably high level of virtuosity.”
Norman Lebrecht, Slippedisc
Video: Nazgol Kashani
Yalda Zamani: Zeitgenössische Musik als Herzensangelegenheit
Interview with Milad Kuhpai, NDR Kultur
Goat Song Project
A Collaborative Composition commissioned by ORF musikprotokoll Festival, broadcasted by Radio Ö1.
“It is a classic project of questioning—that is, also one of reinventing numerous “Whodentities”: collective versus solo, predetermined versus developed out of a process, global versus local, composed versus improvised, traditional versus experimental, human-oriented versus machine-generated. According to Yalda Zamani, inventor and director of this experimental arrangement called Goat Song Project, a confrontation over rhythm between Karlheinz Stockhausen and Aphex Twin provided the impetus. She was subsequently inspired by Olivier Messiaen’s Mode de valeurs et d'intensités and other specifications of irregular rhythms—also in this regard seeking a radical path out of a dilemma. Ultimately, for a project like this, the combination of personnel is one of the central foci—if not the central focus—of the “compositional” work done in advance. The experimental and the proven, risk-taking and aplomb should all function interactively. Participants should include musicians based in Austria and elsewhere. At the musikprotokoll, this combination is Yalda Zamani, Shiva Feshareki, Jorge Sánchez-Chiong, and Rojin Sharafi, along with the Austrian experimental duo Nimikry—flutist Alessandro Baticci and violinist Rafał Zalech, who play self-developed, “augmented” versions of their instruments—and last but not least, bassist John Eckhardt.” steirischerherbst2022
Concept, coordination, live-coding: Yalda Zamani
Electronics: Rojin Sharafi
Double bass: John Eckhardt
Various instruments: Nimikry
Turntables, electronics: Jorge Sánchez-Chiong
Ambisonics Turntables: Shiva Feshareki
The show is inherently designed to be experienced in person, where the sensory immersion in sound and the immediate proximity to the musicians form an indispensable facet of the overall experience. However, for those interested, here you can watch the full performance.
Stefan Keller, hybrid gaits
Ensemble Ascolta
Daniel Eichholz, Drumset
Florian Hölscher, Piano
Yalda Zamani, conductor
Released by WERGO on October 6 2023
WER74102
Supported by Villa Massimo
Feel free to contact me directly for more videos.
„In Iran zu dirigieren, das ist mein Traum“
Interview with Iris Mencke, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)