In 2010, the United Nations officially proclaimed 21 March as the “International Day of Noruz”, thus coinciding with the spring equinox and, in many regions of Central Asia, with the beginning of the new year. Noruz, whose meaning in Persian can be translated as “new day”, symbolises renewal, the traditional celebration of nature’s rebirth. Currently observed across a vast territory by more than 300 million people, it is customary to include moments of poetry, dance and music. At Gulbenkian Música, the occasion will be marked with a concert intended as an immersion in shared cultures, led by the rubab master Ustad Homayoun Sakhi.

Imagem © Uma festa principesca com gastronomia e música, num jardim de primavera — Kulliyat de Sa’di, Irão, séc. XVI. Museu Calouste Gulbenkian LA174, fol. 218v