The Wisdom of Zarathustra and Rumi

This evening is an opportunity to experience the meeting of two ancient cultures: Persian Sufi poetry and music, and the depth of Indian classical music. The event is dedicated to Rumi's birthday – a day worth remembering him and his teachings on the inner journey. The short introduction to the evening will reveal the subtle connection between Zarathustra and Rumi – teachers who lived at different times but expressed inner light in a similar way.

In the concert, Persian classical music master Dariush Rasouli (Iran) will play the tar and ney, chant Zarathustra's mantras, and read Rumi's poems in Persian, accompanied by a translation into Lithuanian. He will be joined by the bansuri flute of Indian classical music, with colorful melodies performed by Adomas Šimkūnas, who has been studying and performing traditional Indian classical music for many years.

The musical dialogue between Dariush Rasouli and Adomas Šimkūnas will be further colored by the subtle, constant resonance of the tanpura and the percussion of Ehsan Vaseghi. We will enjoy music that maintains the forms of both Indian and Persian classical traditions, which Rumi called "the music of the heart."

About the performers:

Dariush Rasouli – An Iranian-born Persian flute (ney) performer who studied at the Tehran University of Art and Music and learned from renowned Persian music masters, including Mohammad Ali Kiyaninejad and Hasan Kasai. Since 2004, he has lived in Warsaw, actively performing in Europe as a soloist and collaborating with various musicians and ensembles. Rasouli is the founder of the Persian-Polish ensemble PersoPolish, has played at numerous international festivals, recorded music for albums and films, and has appeared as a soloist with various European philharmonic orchestras.

Adomas Šimkūnas – An Indian classical music performer, a practitioner of the bansuri flute and the Dhrupad tradition. Since 2016, he has been studying Dhrupad, the oldest vocal tradition of North Indian classical music, and continues his vocal and bansuri flute studies under Professor Pandit Ritwik Sanyal from Varanasi, one of the most famous masters of this tradition. Adomas performs in Lithuania and abroad, and also accompanies Indian classical dance performers.

Ehsan Vaseghi – Has been studying Iranian music and percussion since the age of ten. His main instrument is the tombak, and he also plays the setar and oud.