TEHRAN – Iran’s Rudaki Foundation announced on Sunday that it has released the music video “Restless for Balqis” recorded in sympathy with Lebanon on the disastrous blast in Beirut in August.

Earlier last week, the foundation introduced the music video during a special meeting held at Tehran’s Rudaki Hall.

Iran’s National Orchestra under the baton of Lebanese maestro Andre AlHaj along with prominent vocalist Hamidreza Nurbakhsh has performed the piece composed by Fardin Khalatbari with lyrics from Ahura Iman.

“There has been a close relationship between Iran and Lebanon, and this helps implement the cultural task,” Rudaki Foundation Managing director Mehdi Afzali said during the meeting.    

Hussein al-Ajami, an advisor at the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, conductor AlHaj, Iran’s Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs, Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini and dozens of Iranian cultural figures also attended the meeting.

In a short speech, Al-Ajami praised the collaboration between Iranian and Lebanese musicians in the project “Restless for Balqis” and noted, “We shout out that Beirut neither burns nor sinks, Beirut stands and conveys the message of peace and friendship to the entire world.”

AlHaj also praised Khalatbari for his compositions and added, “This video is the one project that I will never forget.”

The National Orchestra was founded in 1998 by maestro Farhad Fakhreddini who has attracted a huge number of musicians, including legendary vocalist Mohammadreza Shajarian, to collaborate with the orchestra.  

Photo: Hussein al-Ajami, an advisor at the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, speaks during a meeting held at Tehran’s Radaki Hall on September 22, 2020 to introduce the music video “Restless for Balqis”. (Honaronline/Gata Ziatabari)

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