Connection
«Sarband» means connection. In Mid-Eastern music theory, this term signifies a link between two compositions within a musical suite. Sarband invites most diverse audiences as well as most diverse performers «to come together»; it «binds» them to cultural experiences previously perceived as alien.
Musical director Dr. Vladimir Ivanoff, who founded
Sarband in 1986, connects cultures, people and
epochs, both as a scholar and a musician: His programs unite musicians from widely different
cultures and musical backgrounds and mediate
between past and present, Early Music and living traditions.
The cooperation in the ensemble is not a fashionable
crossover, but conceived as a continuous dialogue
on equal terms. All the artists unrestrictedly contribute their native traditions, their personal histories and their own creativity to the programs, so that Sarband also becomes a musical training ground for communication and tolerance between different cultural identities.
Annual summer workshops with Sarband in Bayreuth connect music students from Germany
and Near Eastern countries.
«… For many years
now, Sarband have
been building
breathtaking bridges
between cultures and
religions … Their performances
count among the most exciting and beautiful concerts in the entire, extensive Early Music scene … Thus ears, eyes, hearts and minds of theenthralled audience were equally touched and
enchanted.» Franz Szabo, Kritisches Journal der Alten Musik (A), 6-12
«The music dances in the ears! … The connecting
semantics of the world language music could not be
pictured more beautifully … it sounded as if heaven
and earth touched, … an island of bliss, where cultures walked hand in hand.» Wolfgang Nussbaumer, Gmünder Tagespost, 20.07.07
1994