Malek Jandali (b. 1972)
Composed in the spring of 2025 while completing his full-length opera The Square, Malek Jandali’s Rhapsody is a deeply personal new orchestral work, commissioned by the Ravinia Festival and Maestro Marin Alsop. “Jandali belongs among the superb composer-poets of our time,” says Alsop, who has long championed his work. “He is a meaningful voice of quite astonishing, almost unearthly beauty.” Jandali is known for weaving the rich musical traditions of his Syrian heritage into powerful symphonic compositions. Written in New York City yet inspired by ancient Syria, Rhapsody is a testament to Jandali’s lifelong artistic mission: to preserve and elevate the rich musical heritage of the Arab world through the language of Western classical music.
In Rhapsody, Jandali creates what he calls a “vivid dialogue between civilizations,” resulting in a work that intertwines cultural memory with contemporary expression. Drawing on centuries-old Arabic musical forms, the piece features two traditional Syrian themes: the first in the maqam Hijaz Kar Kurd, taken from the muwashah Ya bahjata rooh (Oh, Joy to the Soul), and the second in the maqam Hijaz, featured in the wasla of Ya maila al ghosoon (O You Who Leans on the Branches). These themes, rich in emotional and historical depth, are skillfully reimagined in a meaningful and timely symphonic context.
Scored specifically with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in mind, the work gives special prominence to the orchestra’s commanding brass section, whose sonority adds both grandeur and gravity to the score. “I was especially interested in trying to obtain all the colors of the orchestra using a palette of instruments that on the surface seem to present a similar timbre,” the composer explains. From delicate woodwind textures to bold brass fanfares, Rhapsody unfolds as a mosaic of sound, reflecting the musical complexity of a culture often overlooked in the Western classical canon.
Beyond its musical richness, Rhapsody carries an urgent cultural message. In echoing UNESCO’s call to safeguard the endangered heritage of Mesopotamia and the broader Arab world, Jandali uses his music to advocate for preservation through creation. “As an American composer and a musician with a mission, it is my duty to preserve and present this rich heritage of my beloved homeland,” he states, “to tell the world that we are part of you and contributing to the modernity of classical music.”
Jandali’s prolific output includes eight symphonies, seven concertos, a full opera, and a variety of tone poems and symphonic dances. His recent album Concertos, featuring the Clarinet Concerto written for New York Philharmonic principal clarinetist Anthony McGill, was selected among the “Best of Classical Music of 2024” by The Washington Post.
Ultimately, Rhapsody is both a celebration and a plea—a celebration of unity through art, and a plea for memory, peace, and the shared humanity that music so powerfully expresses. “We must be light when the world is dark,” Jandali reminds us, “and it is always better to be together in a symphony for peace.”
—Jane Vial Jaffe