Known as a pianist, artist, and performer for many years, Maxwell Rafeian melts away the weight of expectation with his sensitively expressive, sentimental, and skillful musicianship. This is particularly evident in his stunning yet simplistically wonderful new acoustic classical-crossover “Dream,” which is available now.
Maxwell Rafeian is also a singer, in addition to being a pianist and composer. The Five Stages of Grief, op.1, his debut composition, was released in 2020.
His birth date is May 15, 1987. He was born to a North Carolina family. In 1991, he and his family relocated to Tehran. At the age of 15, he began studying voice, and after a year and a half at the Tehran Conservatoire, he dropped out.
Soon after, he relocated to the United Kingdom, where he achieved his ABRSM grade 8 piano certification. As a result, he accepted a place at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Bachelor’s degree in Bachelor’s he earned honorable mention in 2019. During his fourth year of college, he wrote his op.1 The Five Stages of Grief as part of his compositional portfolio.
Work on Maxwell’s upcoming piece has begun. The south Wales town where he lives, where he is also a piano and music theory teacher.
Melody and the classic whisper of a basic yet intriguing “Dream” create the scene, getting the mind and body in harmony and reflecting from piano-led beginnings.
Then, with strings, rhythm, weight, and drive, we’re immersed in an immediately stunning, multi-layered classical environment. The journey here feels very much like a tale, with scenes and shifts in tone and emotion.
On “Dream,” an epic three minutes and forty-eight-second song that maintains minimalism in setup but goes on to captivate listeners with powerful progressions and moments of intensity and juxtaposed feelings, unpredictable melodies tell the tale of the project.
Profoundly affecting performances shed light on the up and downs of each scene or story of the song.
“Dream” is a massive single that serves as an excellent introduction to the artistry of Maxwell Rafeian for those who have not yet discovered it.
