Saman Samadi

Saman Samadi (born 1984) is a Persian-American composer, performer, musicologist with a significant body of work spanning nearly twenty years. He earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Biography
Saman Samadi's compositional repertoire includes orchestral, chamber, solo, and electroacoustic pieces, which have gained international exposure through performances across various regions, including the Middle East, the Far East, Europe, and the United States. Samadi's compositional approach is characterized by a melding of complexity and expressive depth. His musical creations draw inspiration from notable figures like Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Finnissy, James Dillon, and Chris Dench, showcasing a multifaceted landscape that blends complexity with poetic elements. Samadi's compositions incorporate influences from Persian Classical music, poetry, language, visual arts, and postmodern philosophy. Employing innovative notational methods and a flexible interpretive approach, his compositions effectively capture the complexities of linguistic discourse. By incorporating microtonal modes derived from Persian classical music, he establishes a fresh pitch space that infuses his pieces with detailed layers of heterophonic texture, polyrhythms, and polymeters, conveyed through a refined system of notation.

Samadi's inventive integration of Persian calligraphic letterforms further enriches his compositions, functioning both as a visual concept and a structural foundation. This innovative approach informs the sonic texture, instrumentation, and temporal aspects of his works. By applying Persian calligraphy in Augenmusik scores, Samadi establishes a mutually beneficial connection between music and calligraphy, creating a multi-dimensional experience that surpasses conventional boundaries and echoes with philosophical and poetic qualities, thus enhancing his artistic expression.

Samadi's artistic pursuits reflect a multidisciplinary approach, bridging diverse artistic disciplines while expanding the horizons of both Persian classical music and contemporary Western art music. As a music scholar, his research interests span a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary areas, including ethnomusicology, composition, poststructuralism, semiotics, music and identity, linguistics, aesthetics of modernism and postmodernism, conceptual history, continental philosophy, Deleuze and Guattari, complexity, music notation, experimental music, and contemporary performance.

Saman Samadi's intellectual journey commenced at NODET, a renowned institution for mathematical prodigies in Iran, where he obtained a degree in Mathematics and Physics. He continued his studies in Philosophy and Critical Thinking at the University of Queensland, and Artistic Research at the Orpheus Institute and Leuven University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance and a Master of Arts in Composition from the University of Tehran, studying under the tutelage of composer Alireza Mashayekhi. Samadi directed the Concentus Orchestra from 2006 to 2009, an ensemble composed of musicians from the Tehran Music Conservatory and the University of Tehran. He received recognition by winning the first prize at the 2012 Counterpoint-Italy International Composition Competition. In 2014, his work was selected for premiere at the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. 

From 2013 to 2020, Samadi actively participated in New York City's vibrant experimental music scene. In 2018, he founded the Saman Samadi Quintet, bringing together accomplished alumni from the Manhattan School of Music. He also led two other ensembles based in New York City: the Apām Napāt Trio and the Aži Trio. In recognition of his contributions to the performing arts, particularly as an experimental music improviser, the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) awarded him an Artist Diploma in 2015. Samadi has served as a faculty member at the Music School of New York City and the Piano School of NYC, contributing to music education in these positions. 

Samadi conducted his doctoral research from 2020 to 2023 at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Richard Causton and Peter McMurray. He served as the Editorial Officer for the Wolfson Research Event in 2020-21. Additionally, he established and leads the Cambridge University Experimental Music Ensemble, providing a platform for sonic exploration within the Faculty of Music at Cambridge. His academic achievements resulted in him being appointed as a Grantham Scholar and the President of the Wolfson College Music Society at the University of Cambridge.

List of works
 Shattering in Seven Pieces for Dream and Wedding and Death, for string quartet — 2022
 Avec Boulez, Mallarmé, et Foucault, for ensemble — 2022
 Through a Veil, for wind quintet and fixed media — 2021
 Thus Spoke Earth, for violin and piano and fixed media — 2021
 Vāyuvēra, for Piano Trio — 2021
 Ānam Ārezust, for Ensemble — 2020
 Aša, for Flute — 2020
 The Gāthās for Piano — 2018–2019
 Ahunavaiti Gāthā no.1, stanza I
 Ahunavaiti Gāthā no.1, stanza II
 Ahunavaiti Gāthā no.1, stanza III
 Mira, for Violin and Electronics — 2015–2019
 Scheherazade, Saxophone Quartet No.2 — 2017
 Nostalgia, An electroacoustic album including five pieces – Samadis’ Records  Released: November 7, 2016 
 Ghorbat
 Berceuses
 Vāyu
 Retroception
 Hura
 Chamrosh, Works for Saxophone – Samadis’ Records  Released: April 1, 2016  
 Chamrosh, for Tenor Saxophone
 I-V-complex No.1, for Alto Saxophone and Piano
 I-V-complex No.2, for Saxophone Quartet
 Before Your Very Eyes, for Saxophone and Piano
 Apām Napāt, An electroacoustic album including sixteen pieces – piano, reeds, buchla – Samadis’ Records  Released: February 27, 2016
 Ap
 Asha
 Daeva
 Yima
 Ariyāramna
 Vivanhant
 Haoma
 Verethragna
 Yasna
 Apām Napāt
 Anahita
 Hauruuatāt
 Ahura
 Manu
 Zahhak
 Mithra
  Shekasteh Mouyeh, An electroacoustic album including nine pieces, Samadis’ Records  Released: February 23, 2015 
 Frenzied
 Shattered Mourning
 Injustice
 Desolation
 Ramkali
 Zenith
 Dissident
 Dashtestani
 Satori
 U-Turn, An electroacoustic album including five pieces, Samadis’ Records  Released: March 14, 2015  
 Safhe-ye Nakhl (Palm Plate), for Dozaleh, Piano, Tape and Live Electronics (2014)
 Amiri, for Electronics (2012)
 Ghatar-e Arvah (Ghosts' Train), for Electronics (2010)
 Magnapinna in Abdomen of a Newborn, for Electronics and video (2012)
 U-Turn, for Electronics and video (2011)
 Microtonal Piano Solos, An album including eleven pieces as a set, Samadis’ Records  Released: January 7, 2015
 Oracle
 Solitude
 Sisyphus
 Annica
 Perception
 Madman
 Satire
 Existence
 Deprivation
 Magnetic
 Subjectivity 
 Teryan, for Violin and Piano — 2014 
 Persia 1909, for Chamber Ensemble — 2014 
 Panj, for Orchestra — 2013 
 Gulhannai, for Piano — 2013 
 Tears' Scratch, for Violin duo — 2012 
 La Nausée, for Piano — 2012 
 Sound and Fury, for Chamber Orchestra — 2012 
 Paj, for Flute and Piano — 2011 
 Bazzad, for Violin and Symphony Orchestra — 2011 
 Symphony in Three Movements, for Large Orchestra — 2009 
 Impromptu, for Piano — 2008 
 Wine, for Piano — 2008 
 Eastern Rhapsody, for Piano — 2008 
 Sonatina, for Piano — 2008 
 Fog & Fugue, for Guitar — 2007  
 Camisado, for Chamber Orchestra — 2007 
 Is This the World We Created...?, for Alto, Baritone, Choir, and Orchestra — 2007  Duet for Horn and Piano, for Horn and Piano — 2007 
 Nausea, for Orchestra — 2007 
 A Piece for Violin and Orchestra — 2007 
 Two Nights, for Oboe, Horn, Violin, Cello, and Piano — 2007 
 Sheyda, for String Orchestra — 2006

References

University of Cambridge, Faculty of Music

Research Catalogue - an international database for artistic research

External links 
Saman Samadi's website
Cambridge University Experimental Music Ensemble
Wolfson College Music Society, Cambridge
Steinway Teachers
The New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival
New York Foundation for the Arts
Payvand News
The Journal of Music
New Complexity – Think:Listen

1984 births
21st-century classical composers
20th-century classical composers
Living people
Iranian composers
Male classical composers
20th-century male musicians
21st-century male musicians
American composers
Academics of the University of Cambridge