Spanish flamenco guitarist plays in honor of Tehrani citizens

TEHRAN, Feb. 28 (MNA) -- Renowned Spanish flamenco guitarist Juan Martín honored Tehrani citizens with a composition he composed especially for them.

Martín gave his first performance scheduled for the 25th Fajr International Music Festival here at Tehran’s National Grand Hall on Saturday evening.

Among his selections, the Spanish guitarist played a piece he had composed for the people of Tehran, “when I came to Iran five years ago, I gave a performance at the Niavaran Palace and was highly impressed by the people of Tehran. It was so interesting for me that I decided to compose a piece of music for them.”

It was around 9pm when Martin appeared on stage and began to play one of his flamenco pieces. Before he began to play, he gave some details about the piece in English, but there was no one to translate his words into Persian for the participants.

He continued with several more selections all of which were warmly received by the audience.

Juan Martín was later asked to sing a song and play guitar but he declined, saying that his voice is not good for a solo performance, but then he performed and sang one piece.

Tehrani citizens were expected to flock to Tehran’s National Grand Hall to watch their favorite guitarist’s performance after his first appearance here five years ago, but the balconies on the second floor were mostly empty.

The high ticket price (300,000 rials about $30) could be the main reason, while the organizers aimed to provide facilities for everyone, especially for students and families.

Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Mohammad-Hossein Imani-Khoshkhu, and head of the Iranian Music Association Babak Rezaii were in the audience.

The Fajr International Music Festival was inaugurated in Tehran, Kerman and Shiraz concurrently on Friday and will run until March 4.

Juan Martín’s next performance will be in Shiraz on March 10.