Shahrzad is a part of the answer to a question that has always been on Mashayekhi’s mind. He asks himself, “What would happen if the Iranian music community was not caught in a centuries-old sleep?” So much neglect that we don't even know how long we have been suffering from it. Mashayekhi realized the capacity of evolution and expansion of Iranian music in a hypothetical trip that led to a Five-Composition Collection for piano. The collection includes Short Stories, Op. 106; Letters, Op. 110; A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu, Op. 111; Crystal 1 and 2, Op. 113; and Shahrzad, Op. 115. Shahrzad becomes a reason to search and express his philosophical thoughts. This is not a story about “Shahrzad the storyteller.” Rather, it is an analysis of how and under what circumstance a person becomes Shahrzad. Mashayekhi's polyphonic theory is the foundation of this piece. He begins his journey with a simple and beautiful Kurdish song, and, by passing through Iranian classical music, he reaches the threshold of Atonality.
