Flaming Acoustics: Bridging borders through music
From Vivaldi to Lalon, an evening of strings aims to show how Western classical forms can breathe alongside Bangladesh’s own musical heritage
For most people in Dhaka, Western classical music sits somewhere between a distant rumour and a faint echo.
It does not live in the city the way pop songs or Tagore, Nazrul, or folk melodies do. The scene is thin, almost fragile. Yet it is not quite absent. It breathes through people like Iftekhar Anwar — and his team — the Flaming Acoustics Orchestra.
Anwar, the founder of Classical Music Academy Bangladesh, has spent nearly fifteen years trying to plant this music into the city's soil.
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The journey has not been smooth. His academy saw early enthusiasm, but struggled to stage consistent performances. Despite that, he continued to teach, gather artistes, and build a community.
"In India, there are many renowned artistes who focus only on recordings, and that creates a whole separate world. In Bangladesh, such a situation cannot really develop, so we are trying to overcome that gap"
This week, that persistence takes the stage again.
Flaming Acoustics, the ensemble he directs, returns to Alliance Française de Dhaka with 'An Evening of Music and Harmony' tomorrow evening.
The aim of the programme is high: to move through centuries and across borders. It will begin with Western classical standards and then glide into film themes, popular classics and beloved Bangladeshi melodies.
"Five pieces will form the quartet music. That means three violins and one cello. And I want to do one additional piece to encourage the students. The style is similar to Vivaldi," said Iftekhar.
"When a programme like this is performed live, it becomes very different from a recording. In a recording, we never hear the full thing. Many techniques can be applied there," he added.
"But when we hear something live, the ambience and the resonance reach our ears directly. That is why we enjoy it much more."
The upcoming programme leans on that belief. The evening will open with Rieding's B minor Violin Concerto, followed by Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in A minor and the Allegro from Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
Saint-Saëns' The Swan will carry the familiar shape of romanticism. Then the tone will shift to the soft pull of Parla Piu Piano from The Godfather (which is also known as the theme song of the movie), A Time for Us, La Vie En Rose, and What a Wonderful World.
The final section will return home, with Tagore, Jasimuddin and Lalon rounding out the night.
"Many of us who enjoy Western classical music tend to hear only the well-known masterpieces," Iftekhar said. "We want to try something different. We want to place our own melodies beside them in a Western style."
The orchestra group will perform Jasimuddin's famous song Haar Kala, Rabindranath Tagore's Amar Nishith Raater Badol Dhara, and finally — the concluding piece — Lalon's Barir Pashe Arshi Nagar.
Throughout our conversation, Iftekhar kept returning to the question of culture. "We are trying to develop this culture so that more people come to live programmes and enjoy music in person," he said.
"Many listeners may know these pieces, but they have never heard them in front of them. We have been rehearsing the songs over and over for the last few weeks."
Iftekhar speaks of his commitment as part of a long effort to build a place for Western classical music within the city's cultural life.
He also sees Bangladesh's position in a wider regional pattern. "In India, there are many renowned artistes who focus only on recordings, and that creates a whole separate world. In Bangladesh, such a situation cannot really develop, so we are trying to overcome that gap," he added. "And this is a continuous process. Students who keep learning well will gradually join us and carry the work forward."
A city that barely has room for Western classical music will have, at least for an evening, the sound of strings filling a hall.
