Search

(1929-2003) renowned pop singer and performer on the guitar. DARARIĀN, Vigen, (b. Hamadan, 1308 Š./1929; d.Los Angeles, 1382 Š./2003) renowned pop singer and performer on the guitar. Vigen possessed a very tender (exquisite, silky) and pleasant voice, and during his long artistic career of more than half a century, he performed some 600 songs, many of which became lasting contemporary pieces of Persian music. His joyous, moving songs became so popular in Iran that Vigen was nicknamed ‘the sultan of Iranian pop music.’ Vigen was in love with music and singing from childhood, an…

(1912-1995) composer and prominent performer of the Ud (lute). MO ḤSENI, Akbar, (b. Tehran, 1291 Š./1912; d. Tehran, 1374 Š./ 1995) composer and prominent performer of the Ud (lute). Moḥseni’s father was an artillery officer who did not care much for music. Akbar, however, was a music enthusiast from childhood, and after the death of his father joined the military conservatory (madresa-ye musiqi-e neẓām) where he studied the fundamentals of music. The first instrument Moḥseni studied was the viola; he then studied the trump…

(1931-2003), composer, vocalist, and flute player. RAM, EMAD (ʿEmād Rām, b. Sāri, Māzandarān, 11 Esfand 1309 Š./3 March 1931; d. Germany, 3 Ḵordād 1382 Š./24 May 2003), composer, vocalist, and flute player. Ram started playing the flute in elementary school. By age 12 he was able to play the folk songs of Māzandarān as well as the music he had heard on the radio. His experiments with various reed instruments enabled him to learn and play Persian folk songs on the flute at an early age, which astonished his audiences. Upon graduation from the Sāri School of Agriculture, he was employe…

(1898-1954) composer and violinist, brother of Morteżā. MAḤJUBI, Reżā (b. Tehran, 1277 Š./1898, d. Tehran, 1333 Š./ 1954) composer and well-known player of the violin. Reżā’s parents were both familiar with music and Reżā, like his brother, Morteżā Maḥjubi, became interested in music from early childhood. His first teacher in music was Ḥosayn Hangāfarin (q.v.), a noted music master of the time. He then continued his music education with Ebrāhim Āžang, but since he did not have much interest in learning musical notation …

(1905-1948) musician and performer of the tār (a plucked long-necked lute). ŠAHNĀZI, ʿAbd-al- Ḥosayn, (b. Tehran, 1284 Š./1905; d. Tehran, 1327 Š./1948) musician and performer of the tār (a plucked long-necked lute). He was the younger son of Āqā Ḥosayn Qoli (q.v.), the master musician and player of the tār. ʿAbd-al-Ḥosayn received his tār training from his elder brother ʿAli-Akbar Šahnāzi, and learned the Persian repertoires (radifs) from his brother-in-law, Bāqer Khan Rāmešgar, the celebrated performer of …

(1911-1973) well-known master performer of the tonbak. TEHRĀNI, ḤOSAYN (b. Tehran, 1290 S3./1911, d. Tehran 1362 S3./1973) well-known master performer of the tonbak (Persian drum, also called tombak, dombak, and żarb). Ḥosayn’s father was an enthusiast of music and had close association with many musicians. Ḥosayn was thus fostered in an artistic environment and developed an interest in playing the tonbak. As a child, he made himself a toy drum and began practicing with it. Since playing the tonbak was…

(1900-1965), composer and pianist, noted for his use of the piano to perform traditional Iranian music. MAḤJUBI, MORTEŻĀ (b. Tehran, 1279 Š./1900; d. Tehran, 1 Farvardin 1344 Š./21 March 1965), celebrated composer and performer of the piano. He was a self-educated and innovative piano player who was renowned for his masterful utilization of the piano in performing traditional Iranian music. Maḥjubi’s father, ʿAbbās-ʿAli Nāẓer, had artistic talent and played the Ney (an end-blown flute); and his mother, Faḵr-al-Sādāt, knew how to play the piano. This very…

(1900-1990), celebrated composer of music and performer and instructor of the tār (a plucked, long-necked lute). NEY-DĀWUD, Morteżā (b. Tehran, 1279 Š./1900; d. San Francisco, 10 Mordād 1369 Š./31 July 1990), celebrated composer of music and performer and instructor of the tār (a plucked long-necked lute, q.v.). He is most fondly remembered for training a number of outstanding musicians, particularly Qamar-al-Moluk Waziri, and gratefully praised for his endeavors to produce recordings of the entire repertoire of traditional Persian music. Morteżā Ney-Dāwud was born into a …

(1906-1945), singer. He had a clear voice with wide range, which his distinct, beautiful yodeling (taḥrir) made especially enchanting. His singing is an example of the Tehran singing school. He died of tuberculosis. ẒELLI, REŻĀQOLI MIRZĀ (b. Tehran, 1906; d. Tehran, 1945), singer. Ẓelli lost his father, Aḥmad Mirzā, in childhood and was brought up by his elder brother. He got a job in the telephone company after finishing middle school. He become a teacher later and was finally employed by Bank Melli Iran. He studied the repertoire ( radif) of Persian music with Āref Qazvini for a w…

violinist, pianist, and conductor (1907-1978). MINBĀŠIĀN, ḠOLĀM-ḤOSAYN, violinist, pianist, and conductor of orchestra (b. Tehran, 5 Ābān 1286 Š/25 Nov. 1907; d. Tehran, Ābān 1357 Š /Nov. 1978). He was the son of Ḡolām-Reżā Minbāšiān Sālār Moʿazzaz and is known for his contemptuous disregard for traditional Persian music and his attempts to restructure and, to some extent, replace it with Western music. Minbāšiān left Persia for Europe after finishing the music school of Dār al-Fonun to study music at the Geneva Conservatory. There he studied the violin an…

Persian composer and pianist (1915-1993). MAʿRUFI, Jawād, a renowned Persian music composer and pianist (b. Tehran, 1294 Š/1915; d. Tehran, 1372 Š/1993). Maʿrufi’s father, Musā Maʿrufi, was a master musician and an imposing player of the tār (a plucked long-necked lute), who wrote down the repertoires ( radifs) of Persian music in Western notation and thus helped make it recorded and lasting. Jawād, after finishing primary school, entered the music school (Masdrasa-ye ʿāli-e musiqi) founded by ʿAli-Naqi Vaziri. There he first studied the tār for several years before joining th…

tār player known for his brilliant virtuosity and distinctive style (1917-1978). MAJD, Loṭf-Allāh, the celebrated tār (a plucked long-necked lute) performer known for his brilliant virtuosity and distinctive style (b. Sāri, Māzandarān, 1296/1917; d. Tehran, 1357 Š./1978). Majd was fascinated with music from his early childhood, spending most of his time fiddling around with a battered old tār that he had found in the storage room of their house at the expense of attending to his school assignments. This caused his father to take the instrument away fr…

(1906-1958) musician and prominent performer of the qaranei (clarinet). VAZIRITABĀR, Ḥosayn-ʿAli (b. Tehran, 1285 Š./1906; d. Tehran, 1337 Š./1958) musician and prominent performer of the qaranei (clarinet). Because of the technical structure of the clarinet, which is a Western musical instrument, it is very difficult to use it to play Persian melodies. Vaziritabār was the first person to do so. Vaziritabār was a music enthusiast from childhood. He entered the military music conservatory (Madrasa-ye musiqi-e neẓām), joining the military music band (Dasta…

(1897-1984), master musician, renowned teacher, and composer of Persian classical music. ŠAHNĀZI, ʿ Ali Akbar, (b. Tehran, 1276 Š./1897, d. Tehran, 1363 Š./1984) master musician, renowned teacher, and composer of Persian classical music. ʿAli Akbar was the eldest son of Āqā Ḥosayn-qoli (q.v.) the celebrated master musician and performer of the tār (a plucked long-necked lute). His father and his uncle, Mirzā ʿAbdallāh, also a master musician, ran a school of music in Tehran. They maintained close ties with many music students, …

(1903-1968) renowned composer and performer of the violin and the kamānča (spiked fiddle) and instructor of music. YĀḤAQQI, ḤOSAYN (b. Tehran, 1282 Š./1903, d. Tehran, 1347 Š./1968) renowned composer and performer of the violin and the kamānča (spiked fiddle) and instructor of music. His last name ‘Yāhaggi‘ is derived from his catch phrase “Yā Ḥaaq,” a phrase frequently used by dervishes meaning ‘God Almighty’. Ḥosayn was deeply interested in music from his childhood, and because he had a melodious and high-pitched voice, he participated in ta‘zia (the Shi‘i…

(O Iran, O bejeweled land), the title of an ardently patriotic hymn of praise to the land of Iran. EY IRĀN, EY MARZ-E POR GOHAR (O Iran, O bejeweled land), the title of an ardently patriotic hymn of praise to the land of Iran. Its lyrics were written by Ḥosayn Gol-golāb (q.v.) and were set to music by Ruḥ-Allāh Ḵāleqi (q.v.). First performed in 1944, its stirring music and emotionally charged lyrics ensured its immediate and continuing popularity. The hymn, especially its first stanza, is still recited and held in grea…