Rami Khalifé
Encyclopedia
Rami Khalifé is a Lebanese
composer
, pianist
and artist
. A musical shape-shifter, Khalifé’s body of work is as eclectic as it is bold.
He is the son of legendary Oud
player, composer and UNESCO Artist for Peace
, Marcel Khalife
. Heralded as “a musician of extreme calibre and pure expression…a welcome experimental detour from the norm of today and in the relatively conformist world of classical composition…he is positively brand new”, by the Daily Star (Lebanon)
, it’s no wonder that Rami Khalifé has emerged as one of the most exciting young composers of the 21st century.
Born September 25, 1981 in Beirut
, Lebanon, he furthered his home grown musical training in Paris
, France
at the Conservatoire National de Région ßde Boulogne Billancourt under the direction of Alfred Herzog who described Rami Khalifé as a prodigious talent, “one is struck by the contrast between the attenuated silhouette on the one hand, and the rich and coloured sound on the other. His musical imagination and his extraordinary improvisations are a joy to those who listen to him.” Rami Khalifé studied under the likes of Louis Claude Thirion and Marie Paule Siruguet, with private tutelage at the hand of pianist Abd El Rahman El Bacha.
Rami Khalifé pursued his higher education at the Juilliard School of Music
in New York
, there Hungarian pianist György Sándor
, Béla Bartók
’s protégée, mentored the young student. It was at Juilliard that he acquired a taste for live improvised performances.
A sought after composer of film music, Rami Khalifé has scored a number of short and feature-length films, working with the likes of Wael Noureddine and Hala Abdullah. Together with his brother, musician Bachar Khalifé, he scored, and performed a live soundtrack to the 1920s German film ‘Faust’, by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
.
Rami Khalifé received several awards, most notable among them the Radio France
, UFAM and Claude Kahn piano competitions. In 2009 he honored with a plaque of recognition by the Lebanese Social Ministry for his efforts in raising the profile of de-mining initiatives and his advocacy for peace through music.
An active performer alongside composer and Oud player Marcel Khalife, Rami has performed classical Arab music in the U.S
, South America
, Asia
, Canada
, Europe
, Australia
, in such venues as the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.
, USA), the Sydney Opera House
(Sydney
, Australia), Opera House (Doha
, Qatar
), Place des Arts
(Montreal
, Canada), Dar el Opera (Damascus
, Syria
), Queen Elizabeth Hall
(London
), Salle Pleyel
(Paris
, France
) UNESCO Palace (Beirut
, Lebanon).
Rami Khalifé has featured as soloist alongside some of the worlds most prized orchestras, including, a solo recital the Gaveau Music Hall, on a tour of the Middle East
with the Boulogne Billancourt Orchestra where he performed Sergei Rachmaninoff
's ‘Piano Concerto No. 4
’ and Maurice Ravel
's ‘Piano Concerto in G’, ‘Prokofiev
Concerto No. 5’ with Globalis Orchestra and Rachmaninoff “Piano Concerto no. 4 and Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue
with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. He performed Abdullah Al Masri piano concerto with both Liverpool Orchestra and the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.
As part of electro-classic group Aufgang, Rami Khalifé, Francesco Tristano
and Aymeric Westrich, have featured at prominent festivals and venues, including the likes of, Sonar (Barcelona
), L.E.V. Festival (Gijón
, Spain
), Berghain
(Germany
), La Roque D’antheron (Southern France
). Aufgang performed live for Radio France and ARTE., celebrated Aufgang's unique merger of classic-electro, "if you've ever listened to Bach's
Goldberg Variations
and thought, "Pretty cool; could use some hot beats," then you're going to love Aufgang. They blend pianos, live drums, and techno-inspired electronics into invigorating displays of virtuosity, which evoke the club and the conservatory without really belonging to either one. (Their name is German for "stairway"-- an intermediate place, neither here nor there.) Given to singing out ecstatically, Aufgang's self-titled debut highlights the emotional extravagance these two different worlds have in common. It sounds kind of posh on paper, but it's actually really buoyant and fun."
Rami Khalifé’s studio album projects are available all over the world, his discography includes, Live in Beirut, Piano Concertos, Scene from Hellek, Pop Art (in collaboration with Francesco Tristano), Chaos, Aufgang, Air on Fire (Aufgang). Rami Khalifé has contributed to the works of Bachar Khalifé’s ‘Oil Slick’ and Francesco Tristano’s ‘Not for Piano’. His classic electro styling has also appeared on the remixes compilation albums of Carl Craig
and Agoria
.
Discography:
Rami Khalifé released…
Air on Fire (Aufgang | 2010)
Aufgang (Aufgang | 2010)
Chaos (2009)
Pop Art (Rami Khalifé & Francesco Tristano | 2008)
Scene from Hellek (2005)
Live in Beirut (2002)
And featured on...
Concerto Al Andalus (Marcel Khalifé | 2002)
Caress (Marcel Khalifé | 2004)
Damascus Festival Chamber Players (2008)
Aah (Yolla Khalifé | 2011)
Oil Slick (Bachar Khalifé | 2010)
No for Piano (Francesco Tristano)
The Green Armchair (Agoria | 2006)
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
. A musical shape-shifter, Khalifé’s body of work is as eclectic as it is bold.
He is the son of legendary Oud
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
player, composer and UNESCO Artist for Peace
UNESCO Artist for Peace
UNESCO Artists for Peace are international celebrity advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. This category of advocate is intended to heighten public awareness in addition to the categories UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, UNESCO Special Envoy and UNESCO Champion for Sport...
, Marcel Khalife
Marcel Khalife
Marcel Khalife is a Lebanese composer, singer and oud player. From 1970 to 1975, he taught at the conservatory in Beirut. In 1976, he created Al Mayadeen Ensemble and became famous all over the world for songs like Ummi , Rita w'al-Bunduqiya and Jawaz al-Safar , based on Mahmoud Darwish's...
. Heralded as “a musician of extreme calibre and pure expression…a welcome experimental detour from the norm of today and in the relatively conformist world of classical composition…he is positively brand new”, by the Daily Star (Lebanon)
Daily Star (Lebanon)
The Daily Star is a pan-Middle East English language newspaper edited in Beirut. It was founded in 1952 by Kamel Mrowa, the publisher of the Arabic daily Al-Hayat to serve the growing number of expatriates brought by the oil industry...
, it’s no wonder that Rami Khalifé has emerged as one of the most exciting young composers of the 21st century.
Born September 25, 1981 in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon, he furthered his home grown musical training in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the Conservatoire National de Région ßde Boulogne Billancourt under the direction of Alfred Herzog who described Rami Khalifé as a prodigious talent, “one is struck by the contrast between the attenuated silhouette on the one hand, and the rich and coloured sound on the other. His musical imagination and his extraordinary improvisations are a joy to those who listen to him.” Rami Khalifé studied under the likes of Louis Claude Thirion and Marie Paule Siruguet, with private tutelage at the hand of pianist Abd El Rahman El Bacha.
Rami Khalifé pursued his higher education at the Juilliard School of Music
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, there Hungarian pianist György Sándor
György Sándor
György Sándor was a Hungarian pianist, writer, student and friend of Béla Bartók, and champion of his music.- Early years :...
, Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
’s protégée, mentored the young student. It was at Juilliard that he acquired a taste for live improvised performances.
A sought after composer of film music, Rami Khalifé has scored a number of short and feature-length films, working with the likes of Wael Noureddine and Hala Abdullah. Together with his brother, musician Bachar Khalifé, he scored, and performed a live soundtrack to the 1920s German film ‘Faust’, by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Friedrich Wilhelm "F. W." Murnau was one of the most influential German film directors of the silent era, and a prominent figure in the expressionist movement in German cinema during the 1920s...
.
Rami Khalifé received several awards, most notable among them the Radio France
Radio France
Radio France is a French public service radio broadcaster.-Mission:Radio France's two principal missions are:* To create and expand the programming on all of their stations; and...
, UFAM and Claude Kahn piano competitions. In 2009 he honored with a plaque of recognition by the Lebanese Social Ministry for his efforts in raising the profile of de-mining initiatives and his advocacy for peace through music.
An active performer alongside composer and Oud player Marcel Khalife, Rami has performed classical Arab music in the U.S
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in such venues as the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, USA), the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
(Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia), Opera House (Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
), Place des Arts
Place des Arts
right|frame|View of the Place des Arts esplanade. The Musée d'art contemporain is on the left; behind it is the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, with the Théâtre Maisonneuve on the rightPlace des Arts is a major performing arts centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
(Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada), Dar el Opera (Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
), Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
(London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
), Salle Pleyel
Salle Pleyel
The Salle Pleyel is a concert hall in Paris, France. The resident ensembles are the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.-History and Design:...
(Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) UNESCO Palace (Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon).
Rami Khalifé has featured as soloist alongside some of the worlds most prized orchestras, including, a solo recital the Gaveau Music Hall, on a tour of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
with the Boulogne Billancourt Orchestra where he performed Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's ‘Piano Concerto No. 4
Piano Concerto No. 4 (Rachmaninoff)
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 is a music piece by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, completed in 1926. The work currently exists in three versions. Following its unsuccessful premiere he made cuts and other amendments before publishing it in 1928. With continued lack of success, he...
’ and Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's ‘Piano Concerto in G’, ‘Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
Concerto No. 5’ with Globalis Orchestra and Rachmaninoff “Piano Concerto no. 4 and Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. He performed Abdullah Al Masri piano concerto with both Liverpool Orchestra and the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.
As part of electro-classic group Aufgang, Rami Khalifé, Francesco Tristano
Francesco Tristano Schlimé
Francesco Tristano Schlimé is a Luxembourg classical and modern jazz pianist who also plays the clarinet. He composes both classical music and jazz.-Education:...
and Aymeric Westrich, have featured at prominent festivals and venues, including the likes of, Sonar (Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
), L.E.V. Festival (Gijón
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
), Berghain
Berghain
Berghain is a Berlin nightclub, named after its location on the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. Philip Sherburne described it in 2007 as "quite possibly the current world capital of techno, much as E-Werk or Tresor were in their respective heydays." -Overview:The club is located in a...
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
), La Roque D’antheron (Southern France
Southern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...
). Aufgang performed live for Radio France and ARTE., celebrated Aufgang's unique merger of classic-electro, "if you've ever listened to Bach's
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Goldberg Variations
Goldberg Variations
The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a work for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of the most important examples of variation form...
and thought, "Pretty cool; could use some hot beats," then you're going to love Aufgang. They blend pianos, live drums, and techno-inspired electronics into invigorating displays of virtuosity, which evoke the club and the conservatory without really belonging to either one. (Their name is German for "stairway"-- an intermediate place, neither here nor there.) Given to singing out ecstatically, Aufgang's self-titled debut highlights the emotional extravagance these two different worlds have in common. It sounds kind of posh on paper, but it's actually really buoyant and fun."
Rami Khalifé’s studio album projects are available all over the world, his discography includes, Live in Beirut, Piano Concertos, Scene from Hellek, Pop Art (in collaboration with Francesco Tristano), Chaos, Aufgang, Air on Fire (Aufgang). Rami Khalifé has contributed to the works of Bachar Khalifé’s ‘Oil Slick’ and Francesco Tristano’s ‘Not for Piano’. His classic electro styling has also appeared on the remixes compilation albums of Carl Craig
Carl Craig
Carl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music, and is considered to be one of the most important names in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs...
and Agoria
Agoria
Agoria is Belgium's largest employers' organisation and trade association. The companies represented by Agoria are active in 13 branches of the technology industry: aerospace, automotive, construction products, contracting & maintenance, electrical engineering, industrial automation, ICT,...
.
Discography:
Rami Khalifé released…
Air on Fire (Aufgang | 2010)
Aufgang (Aufgang | 2010)
Chaos (2009)
Pop Art (Rami Khalifé & Francesco Tristano | 2008)
Scene from Hellek (2005)
Live in Beirut (2002)
And featured on...
Concerto Al Andalus (Marcel Khalifé | 2002)
Caress (Marcel Khalifé | 2004)
Damascus Festival Chamber Players (2008)
Aah (Yolla Khalifé | 2011)
Oil Slick (Bachar Khalifé | 2010)
No for Piano (Francesco Tristano)
The Green Armchair (Agoria | 2006)