Donemus Webwinkel — Hosseini, Mehdi

Mehdi Hosseini was born in 1979 in Tehran. Hosseini began his musical training in Iran, studying Persian music and the fundaments of composition under the guidance of Farhad Fakhreddini.
Following his studies in Iran, Hosseini received his Masters degree and Doctor of Music degree (DMA) in Composition from the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, where his professors included Sergei Slonimsky, Tatiana Bershadskaya, Gennady Belov, Vladimir Tsitovich and Alexander Minatsakanian. Hosseini also completed a composition course from the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, in the summer of 2007 in Mürzzuschlag, Austria; here he studied with composer Nigel Osborne.
His music and style has demonstrated his creative capabilities as a composer and his research abilities as a ethnomusicologist and theorist. Hosseini has written symphonic music and chamber orchestra pieces for ensembles and soloists in various compositional genres. At its core, his music reflects his on-going research into the astonishing variety of Persian regional folk music and, in particular, the structure of Dastgah music. Mehdi Hosseini’s works show a strong monodic music influence, originally interpreted and incorporated into a personal style.

In the last few years, Mehdi Hosseini has been actively participating in contemporary music projects local to St. Petersburg, the “Cultural Capital of Russia.” His music is regularly performed in such festivals as Sound Ways, St. Petersburg Musical Spring, Contemporary East and West, Contemporary Past, Moscow Autumn, Moscow Actual Music Festival “Another Space” and others. His music has been performed by orchestras and ensembles such as the St. Petersburg State Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of the Opera and Ballet Theatre of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory, North-Ossetian State Symphony Orchestra, Studio for New Music Ensemble, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble and more. His music is played in Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, etc. Works of Hosseini have been published by the Compozitor Publishing House Saint-Petersburg.

Mehdi Hosseini made an invaluable contribution to the development of the St. Petersburg cultural scene in 2011 when he opened the St. Petersburg Contemporary Music Center ‘reMusik.org’. In 2013, he has initiated the Saint Petersburg International New Music Festival .

In 2013, for his album “Monodies“, Mehdi Hosseini was awarded “The Best Album of the Year” from the Iranian House of Music.