Rami Khalifé

Education

He resumed his musical training in Paris, France at the Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt under the direction of Alfred Herzog, who described Rami Khalifé as a prodigious talent, "one is struck by the contrast between the attenuated silhouette on the one hand, and the rich and coloured sound on the other. His musical imagination and his extraordinary improvisations are a joy to those who listen to him."

It was at the conservatoire that Rami Khalifé studied under the likes of Louis Claude Thirion and Marie Paule Siruguet, He enriched his studies with private tutelage at the hand of international pianist Abd El Rahman El Bacha.

Rami Khalifé pursued his higher education at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Hungarian pianist, Gyorgy Sandor, Béla Bartók's disciple, mentored the young student. It was at Juilliard that he acquired a taste for improvised performances. He began to break away from the archetype of a 'classical pianist' and emerge as something more. Rami Khalifé began playing alongside Juilliard alumnus, pianist and fellow renegade Francesco Tristano, forging an enduring collaborative relationship and friendship. Together they performed several improvised concerts for piano-duo, a first in Juilliard's history.

Aufgang

Aufgang blend pianos, live drums, and techno-inspired electronics into invigorating displays of virtuosity, which evoke the club and the conservatory without really belonging to either one. Their name is German for "stairway"—an intermediate place, neither here nor there. Given to singing out ecstatically, Aufgang's self-titled debut highlights the emotional extravagance these two different worlds have in common. Aufgang's dual education, in the nightclub and the academy, shows in the historical and stylistic range of their music. [Pitchfork].

Rami Khalifé has toured Europe and the Middle East as part of electro-classic group Aufgang. The trio- Rami Khalifé, Francesco Tristano Schlimé and Aymeric Westrich, have featured at festivals all over the world, including, Sonar (Barcelona, Spain), L.E.V. Festival (Gijon, Spain), Berghain (Berlin, Germany), La Roque D'antheron (Southern France), Beirut Music & Art Festival (Beirut, Lebanon). Aufgang performed live for Radio France and ARTE.

In early 2014, Aufgang announced that the group was parting ways with Francesco Tristano.

Marcel, Rami & Bachar Khalife

In 2011, a new familial collaboration debuted at the Beirut Music & Art Festival under the banner of 'Marcel, Rami & Bachar Khalife'. The concert showcased a fusion of oriental, electronic, classical and percussion music composed by the trio. The collaboration was critically acclaimed. The father-son trio presented a high-energy intermingling of the oud, piano and percussion, shrouded within the frisson of electronic synthesizers and korg keyboards.

The debut of Marcel, Rami & Bachar Khalife's at the Beirut Music & Art Festival 2011 concert sent shock waves through Beirut, with many commentators championing the collaborative performance as 'a revolution in music'. The 2 hour concert was broadcast on MTV.

"They came together through music. Through their fondness for innovation and their desire to transcend boundaries. They came together through an awareness, surrounded by hazards. They bonded in world's of musicality and humanity, resonating between poles of attraction and contention, between, love and opposition. They are inspired by the freedom to choose and experiment; to travel, carrying their memories, to new places resplendent with the colors of life and humanity. Marcel, Rami, and Bachar Khalifé are engaged today in a new journey of togetherness and joint artistic work that began in the year 2000 when both Rami and Bachar joined Al Mayadine Ensemble that Marcel established in the late 1970s.

It has been a rich journey, one that's allowed both Rami and Bachar to draw, both, inspiration and an artistic identity from this rich musical reservoir. While receiving they gave, both Rami and Bachar have left an indelible imprint on their father's work. Today's work is a distinct creative work marking a milestone along this path, as it bears compositions by Bachar, Rami, and Marcel in a new garb fashioned by all three, who participated in the design, execution, and performance – singing, playing, and artistic expression. The oud, piano, and percussion engage in a conversation of melody, playfulness, noisemaking, or love – elements that the three artists have long explored – traversing their entire range of dynamic extremes, from shouting to whispering, from an outpouring of passion to a diffident reserve . . . to the last note" - Marcel, Rami and Bachar Khalife.

Awards

Rami Khalifé received several awards, most notable among them Radio France, UFAM and Claude Kahn piano competitions. In 2009 the Lebanese Social Ministry honored him with a plaque of recognition for his efforts in raising the profile of de-mining initiatives and his advocacy for peace through music. Rami Khalife's latest work 'Chaos' was sponsored by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture

Soloist

While best known for his re-envisioning of the classics, Rami Khalifé has featured as a soloist alongside world orchestras, including among others, Globalis Orchestra (Russia), the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Liverpool Orchestra (UK) and Pau Bearn Orchestra (France).

Rami Khalifé has performed new repertoire from contemporary composers, the most recent of which was the Lebanese composer Abdullah Al Masri's piano concerto with both the Liverpool Orchestra and the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2011, he performed at the ending ceremony for the international piano festival 'La Roque d'Antheron' alongside Francesco Tristano in Bach double concerto in c-minor. The performance was broadcast live on ARTE France.

An active performer alongside composer and Oud player Marcel Khalifé, Rami Khalifé has performed fusion Arabic music in the North America, South America, Asia, Canada, Europe, Australia, in such venues as, the Kennedy Center (Washington, USA), the Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia), Opera House (Doha, Qatar), Place Des Arts (Montreal, Canada), Dar el Opera (Damascus, Syria), Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), Salle Pleyel (Paris, France) and UNESCO Palace (Beirut, Lebanon).

Discography

Rami Khalifé released:

And featured on: