Story & Lesson Highlights with Bahman Mehabadi

We recently had the chance to connect with Bahman Mehabadi and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bahman, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Recently I wrote a number of pieces for SOL Ensemble. They are written for solo violin, two violas, and two guitars. I’m very proud of them. This time SOL Ensemble will only be playing my own pieces. The ensemble has started the practicing sessions and I’m truly happy. So far the works include a Valse, a Prelude and Fugue, and Four Variations the second of which is a Romance, followed by a Rondo, and a dance like Tarantella comes as the fourth. As well as two other pieces, a Romance and a Moto Perpetuo. I still have more to write and I’m excited to bring them down on paper. I will be playing the solo violin, Arghavan Sabahi the first viola, Siamak Soltanalizadeh the second viola, Mina Fotuhi the first guitar, and Mina Soltanalizadeh the second guitar. I have worked hard for all that I have built and I am still committed to more dedication. Some people think one can quickly become Beethoven or Van Gogh by just having a musical instrument or colors and canvas. With such assumption they step into the world of art, and soon they leave with disappointment. No field of science or art can be mastered overnight; they require time and dedication. Sadly, we occasionally even face some of these people who don’t stop there and go further by arguing against intellect and expressing their disbelief in the potential of new creations in the world.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
First I bring the translation of a part of a poem of mine:
‘Of course,
Among the colorful bus -stations of the life,
where people
relax in,
The station of searching and finding
and departing again, without any hesitation,
is the most deserted of the places,
where I
get off every day.’

I admire the tough ones who step in and stay consistent in working and practicing. I’m proud to be one of them. SOL Philharmonic gathers such people who resist getting lost in the daily routines, try to bring creativity and beauty into life, and strive for self-cultivation and self-improvement. Friendship with academic art and music is the best way in making one calm, thoughtful, and indifferent to the unnecessary fuss and ordinary concerns. I recommend everyone to play an instrument in order to refresh their brain. They would develop significant improvements when they use both brain halves at the same time, and try to gain skills in coordinating finger movements with mental abilities for reading and interpreting a piece of music. I know some of my students who overcame many of their mental problems by concentrating on music practice over time. In SOL Philharmonic, we also recommend reading books, listening to music, going to concerts, and seeing the performances of different ensembles, symphonic orchestras, and prominent soloists. We are in fact encouraging people to think deeply by changing their lifestyle and enjoying their unique lives.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I chose this way of life from early childhood and I stayed committed to art and music ever since. I entered the music school when I was ten and never regretted my bold decision. I knew I was born to live the life of an artist. I worked hard for years and watched the world with love. I had one goal in mind and went through the difficulties one after the other. Classical music or academic music is the only type that I know and have worked. A movement of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas gives me an emotional strength that nothing else can do. In Vienna, I heard the music of Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, and String Quartets everywhere, and they are playing in my mind all the time. At nights, sometimes I dream Beethoven’s 5th symphony being played over and over again! Sometimes I dream I’m late to a concert! Or having lost a violin bow! Or I dream I’m looking for my bow tie!
I love the music very deeply. Along my way, many stayed with me and many stepped away at the beginning. Hermann Hesse in “Journey to the East” gathers a group of intellectuals to go on a pilgrimage. Soon after, arguments start and everyone finds an excuse for leaving the group. Leo, a simple servant, is the only one who stays and completes the journey. Through my way, I had the same fate as Leo, every one got out of the bus in each stop and I feel the bus is getting empty little by little.

Do you remember a time someone truly listened to you?
I can’t remember anyone ever truly listening to me. Everyone who got close to me thought they want to save me from declining. But they knew nothing of art and music, and were defining it with ordinary affairs. I kept my faith. Later I realized how self-indulgent and impatient people have become, and that escaping from wisdom is becoming pandemic. They do anything to prove that they are important, but since they lack the ability to perceive the fundamental concerns they bring nothing but indignation, annoyance, and helplessness. Such people are far from sense and rationality, and try to expand their wrong perceptions, keeping others in the dark.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
As I pointed before, the masses don’t accept what they see no advantage in it. They only praise power, and are unable to understand the importance of a good character. Often they lack even the average level of intelligence, while their peers call them ingenious as they know how to take the most advantage of everything. In history, you see many examples of enlightenment being known as an unforgivable crime. The history of killing the elite is a proof. There is a story about a man intending to suppress a thoughtful man who was carrying a paper with the word of “snake” on it. He showed a drawing of a snake to the people and asked them to judge which is true: his drawing of snake or the thoughtful man’s word of “snake”? Everyone pointed to the drawing!
I remember the dispute over Galileo’s belief about the earth being round. And I realize that many of the facts should not be disclosed and one should review them in the solitude to decrease their burden, and to boost the strength for protecting oneself, the good music, the good art, and the pioneering thought.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
In SOL Philharmonic, we persistently try to stay loyal to our inner self, and avoid getting distracted by money, power, or flattery. We disappoint those who are anxious to pull us out of our depth. Although we have achieved so much, we don’t stop here. Our path is still calling us to walk it and to go deeper and deeper. A small carelessness is enough to lose every achievement. If my name and possessions are taken, nothing will remain and others will be pulled down by greed and selfishness. Some people are born to make chaos and some are born to walk towards their own goals. I’ve been in the second group and I’m proud of it. In every situation I’ve been seeking excellence and improvement, although I doubt others understand it. It’s the mission that nature defines for you. In “An Enemy of the People” by Henrik Ibsen, Dr. Stockmann has suspicions that the spa baths of the city are contaminated with bacteria, but the mayor intends to ignore it. Ibsen wants to show Dr. Stockmann’s total loneliness and the difficulty of pursuing the truth. I am a human too, but art and music has taught me to stay loyal to and not to betray myself for money or fame. Beethoven says, ‘To do good whenever one can, to love liberty above all else, never to deny the truth, even though it be before the throne.’

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sol-philharmonic.com
• Instagram: sol.philharmonic
• Linkedin: Bahman Mehabadi

Image Credits
Bahman Mehabadi