Levantine Symphony No. 1 Ibrahim Maalouf

• 1 Prelude 00:58
• 2 Overture 05:20
• 3 Theme 1 00:55
• 4 Movement I 05:38
• 5 Theme 2 00:56
• 6 Movement II 04:29
• 7 Movement III 03:12
• 8 Theme 3 00:57
• 9 Movement IV 04:33
• 10 Movement V 03:41
• 11 Theme 4 01:19
• 12 Movement VI 06:25
• 13 Theme 5 00:55
• 14 Movement VII 02:35
• 15 Epilogue 01:28
• 16 Final 01:50
• Total Runtime 45:11

Info for Levantine Symphony No. 1

Heralded by The New York Times as a "virtuoso of the quarter-tone trumpet," Maalouf gracefully marries musical traditions from his native Lebanon and his adopted France, blending Levantine melodies with modern jazz improvisations. In 2016, he performed at the Lincoln Center, alongside pianist Frank Woeste, saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Clarence Penn, in an unforgettable tribute to Oum Kalthoum, the legendary Egyptian vocalist.

Performing with Maalouf this evening is the Free Spirit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Rossi, the National Children's Chorus, and the pianist Ji.

The New Levant Initiative commissioned Levantine Symphony N°1 to celebrate the vibrant and shared identity of the Levant. Maalouf describes this musical composition as an ode to the Levant. With his new work, Maalouf weaves together the threads that bind the people of the Levant together not only in music and poetry, but also in a shared collective identity and memory, with the hope that a progressive and integrated new Levant will thrive once again.

Ibrahim Maalouf, trumpets, piano, keyboards

François Delporte, guitar
Frank Woeste, Fender Rhodes
Stéphane Galland, drums
Sarah Nemtanu, violin
La Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine
Paris Symphonic Orchestra
Ibrahim Maalouf, conductor

Ibrahim Maalouf
born on 5 December 1980, is a trumpeter, composer, arranger, and trumpet instructor. He was born in Beirut in a family of intellectuals and artists and he now resides in France. Ibrahim is the son of trumpeter Nasime Maalouf and pianist Nada Maalouf, nephew of the writer Amine Maalouf and grandson of journalist, poet and musicologist Rushdi Maalouf. He is currently the only trumpet player in the world to play Arabic music with the trumpet in quarter tones, which his father invented in the 1960s.

Between 2000 and 2007, Ibrahim performed with many internationally famous singers and musicians, such as Amadou & Mariam, Matthieu Chedid, Lhasa de Sela, Angel Parra, Jeanne Cherhal, Arthur H, Marcel Khalifé and toured in America and Europe performing in the most prestigious venues.

Ibrahim released his 1st album, Diasporas, in October 2007 produced by his own label: Mis'ter Productions. His 2nd album, DIACHRONISM, was launched in October 2009. It’s a double album consisting of: DISORIENTAL & PARADOXIDENTAL produced by his label too. He released his 3rd album "Diagnostic" in September 2011.

Ibrahim was also featured in many artists’ albums such as Sting, Vanessa Paradis, Vincent Delerm and others. He won many prizes in the major classical trumpet competitions in the world. In July 2010, he was awarded the Instrumental Revelation of the Year Victory Prize at the “Victoires du Jazz” competition.

Booklet for Levantine Symphony No. 1