From the moment of its foundation, Zahir Ensemble immediately attracted the interest of both Spanish and international young and experienced performers, all of them determined to experiment and show the richness of the musical panorama of the 20th and 21st centuries, even addressing large format works for chamber orchestra, thanks to the versatile configuration of the formation. The trajectory of the Sevillian group endorses its commitment with the interpretation of the unlimited repertoire of our time, of great aesthetic variety and greater artistic and historical relevance, and yet generally absent from the usual programming.
Giving an idea of the national and international dimension of the ensemble, beyond the members that form it, it is worth mentioning its participation in festivals and European venues such as the Taschenopern Festival in Salzburg (Austria), Crossroads Festival in Solitär Saal of the University «Mozarteum» (Salzburg), Musique en Cité (s) (Marseille, France), Concert Hall of the Chopin University of Warsaw (Poland), having performed in Spain in the Contemporary Music Cycle of the Seville City Council, Contemporary Music of Córdoba, Arts Festival No Camiño de Lugo, International Music Festival «A orillas del Guadalquivir» of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Guitar Festival of Seville, Mostra Sonora de Sueca in Valencia, Ensems Festival in Valencia, Smash Festival of Salamanca, Ciclo de Música Para el Tercer Milenio of Madrid, Proyecto Rafel Festival (Rafelbunyol, Valencia), among others, and in halls such as Teatro Villamarta of Jerez, Círculo de Bellas Artes of Madrid, Auditorium 400 of the Reina Sofía Museum of Madrid, Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando de Madrid, Juan March Fundation in Madrid, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Conservatory of Bilbao, Alhambra Theater of Granada. Especially noteworthy, for the programs presented
for the number of editions in which the ensemble has participated, has been its presence in the Ciclo de Música Contemporánea of Junta de Andalucía in the Teatro Central of Seville (2007-08 and 2010-19), highlighting the premieres in Spain of works like «The Fall of the House of Usher» by Philip Glass, «In vain» by GF Haas, «ASKO Concerto» by Elliott Carter, «Ballet mécanique» (original version) by G. Antheil, Proverb» by Steve Reich or «Clouds of forgetting, Clouds of unknowing» by John L. Adams. It also
organizes its own Concert Season in the city of Seville (with the support of the University of Seville), of which this year marks its 15th edition. The ensemble also has 7 CDs in the record market, with onographs dedicated to José María Sánchez Verdú (Verso, 2009), chosen «Exceptional Album of March 2010» by
the magazine Scherzo, and another one to Schönberg (Naxos, 2011), and other two CDs of young Spanish composers (2010 and 2011), edited by Injuve. Zahir has recently started a collaboration with the record label IBS Classical, with the monograph «Anatomies» dedicated to Luis de Pablo (2019) and two monographs dedicated to Eneko Vadillo (“Anima”, 2020) and César Camarero (“A liquid Theatre”, 2021). Next features include a DD with piano and ensemble works by Reinhard Febel and Leos Janacek, and finally a recording with vocal and ensemble works by the argentinia composer Alberto Ginastera with Natalia Labourdette (soprano) and Jesús Povedano (baryton).
