Ghazwan Zirkli

The first time I have ever heard Ghazwan was in 1976 when he presented a concert dedicated to Chopin in the Damascean Hall at the National Museum in Damascus.

I was a beginner in the world of music, and Chopin meant little more to me than a composer of elegant Waltzes.

The concert was an illuminating experience for me: the romantic, lyric, revolutionary, heroic, and discordant music of Chopin found its way to my heart and mind through the powerful and expressive interpretation of Ghazwan Zirkli.

Ghazwan is an accomplished pianist with a sophisticated technique and a strong artistic presence at the stage. He is, probably, the most experienced Syrian pianist.

Having completed his piano studies in the Arab Conservatoire of Music in Damascus, he followed postgraduate courses at the Tchaicovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, and had Master Classes in Germany. Recently, he has played Beethoven’s second Piano Concerto in Germany.

Ghazwan lives and work presently in Germany, with long and frequent visits to Syria. His last concert that was performed in the Assad National Library last Summer was a concert of Spanish piano music. The programme he chose (Falla, Albeniz, Torrega) helped reveal his extraordinary mastery of the keyboard and his highly refined musicianship. He is currently delving deep into the world of Schumann, one of his favourit composers.

My friendship with Ghazwan started when he was asked by the Syrian Ministry of Culture to review the manuscript of a book I wrote on music (which was subsequently published under the title: "The Echoes of Orpheus") in 1980. We spent an evening together discussing the book, which revealed to me a deep understanding of music and art, and a man of serious intellectual capacity. He comes from a family of poets and artists. His brother Aban, and his niece Nihal are both keen musicians and gifted violinists.