KINAN AZMEH
Clarinet, Composer
Hailed by The New York Times as an “Intensely soulful…Virtuoso”, and by The Times, London for his “brilliant liquidity and meltingly beautiful tone”, clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh has gained international recognition for his distinctive voice across diverse musical genres. Originally from Damascus, Syria, Kinan brings his music to all corners of the world as a soloist, composer, collaborator, and improviser.
Kinan’s notable appearances include the Opera Bastille, Paris; Tchaikovsky Grand Hall, Moscow; Carnegie Hall and the UN General Assembly, New York; Royal Albert Hall, London; Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires; Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin; and in his native Syria at the opening concert of the Damascus Opera House. He has appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Azerbaijan State Symphony, Qatar Philharmonic, and the Syrian Symphony Orchestra among many others and has shared the stage with such musical luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, Marcel Khalife, Francois Rabbath, Aynur and Jivan Gasparian. His album Uneven Sky with the Deutsches Symphony Orchestra won an OPUS KLASSIK Award in 2019.
Acclaimed by both audiences and critics alike, Kinan is renowned for his diverse portfolio of compositions spanning solo, chamber, and orchestral music, as well as film scores, live illustration, and electronic music. His recent commissions include the New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, The Knights, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Elbphilharmonie, Brooklyn Rider, Cello Octet Amsterdam, the Aizuri Quartet, and Robert Wilson. In addition to his own Arab-Jazz quartet, CityBand, and his Hewar trio, Kinan performs with the Silkroad Ensemble, whose Grammy Award-winning album Sing Me Home features Kinan as a clarinetist and composer. He has served as a member of the US National Council for the Arts since 2022.
Kinan’s first opera Songs for Days to Come, fully sung in Arabic, was premiered in Osnabruck, Germany in June 2022 to a great acclaim. A champion of contemporary music, he has been honored with dedications of several clarinet concertos by composer colleagues including Kareem Roustom, Dia Succari, Dinuk Wijeratne, Zaid Jabri, Saad Haddad, Kyle Sanna, and Guss Janssen. Additionally, he has been the inspiration behind a multitude of chamber music compositions.
Kinan’s Socials: