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| Mohammad Reza Shajarian | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mohammad Reza Shajarian |
| Native name | محمدرضا شجریان |
| Birth date | 23 September 1940 |
| Birth place | Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran |
| Death date | 8 October 2020 |
| Death place | Tehran, Iran |
| Occupations | Singer, composer, music teacher |
| Years active | 1963–2020 |
Mohammad Reza Shajarian was an Iranian classical vocal music master, composer, and musicologist renowned for revitalizing Persian traditional singing and for his work with radifs and setar. He achieved national and international recognition through performances in venues such as the Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and collaborations with ensembles linked to institutions like the National Iranian Radio and Television and the Honar-Mehr Cultural Center. His career intersected with figures and movements across Tehran, Isfahan, and Mashhad and influenced generations connected to festivals such as the Fajr International Music Festival.
Born in Mashhad to a family with ties to Khorasan musical traditions and the Imam Reza Shrine, he studied early under local masters tied to the Radif of Mirza Abdollah tradition and pedagogues who had links to the Dar ul-Funun milieu. His formal training included study with maestros associated with the Tehran Conservatory of Music and masters from lineages connected to Agha Hossein-Gholi, Mirza Abdollah, Ali Akbar Shahnazi, and teachers who had performed at venues like the Golha radio program. He learned instruments and repertoire associated with the setar and tar and engaged with repertoires performed at cultural institutions such as the National Music Conservatory.
Shajarian’s professional breakthrough came through broadcasts on National Iranian Radio and appearances in ensembles tied to the Golha broadcasts and collaborations with composers active in the post-Pahlavi dynasty cultural scene. Major vocal recordings include renditions of classical pieces from the radif repertoire and contemporary settings by composers connected to the Iranian New Music movement. He recorded albums that voiced poetry by canonical poets like Hafez, Rumi, Saadi, Ferdowsi, and Khaghani and premiered song-cycles composed by figures associated with the Meykhaneh-influenced urban tradition and the Shahnameh interpretive stage. His concerts toured alongside troupes that performed at venues tied to the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, NIRT studios, and international festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival.
Rooted in Persian classical music, his vocal technique combined ornamentation from the radif tradition with innovations informed by collaborations with composers from the Iranian contemporary classical scene. He emphasized interpretation of ghazal and masnavi poetry, drawing on meters and modes linked to Dastgah-e Shur, Dastgah-e Segah, Dastgah-e Homayun, and Dastgah-e Mahur. His approach influenced practitioners at institutions like the University of Tehran and conservatories in Isfahan and affected researchers publishing on modal systems in journals connected to the Iranian Musicological Society and symposia hosted by the UNESCO-affiliated cultural networks.
Throughout his career he collaborated with prominent musicians and ensembles such as Hossein Alizadeh, Parviz Meshkatian, Kayhan Kalhor, Jalil Shahnaz, and orchestras including the Tehran Symphony Orchestra and ensembles tied to the Center for the Preservation and Propagation of Persian Music. He performed with instrumentalists associated with the Shahnameh ensemble concept and joined composers who had affiliations with the Iranian National Orchestra and international artists connected to stages like Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and festivals in Copenhagen and Munich. His long-term partnerships produced albums and concert programs presented by cultural institutions such as the Ministry of Culture and Art and independent foundations in Los Angeles and Paris.
His recognitions include national prizes awarded by cultural bodies in Iran and international tributes from organizations like UNESCO and festival committees in France, Germany, and the United States. He received lifetime achievement acknowledgments from academies tied to the University of Tehran and honors presented at events organized by the Fajr International Music Festival and music societies in Istanbul and Beirut. He was cited in lists compiled by media outlets and cultural institutions such as the BBC Persian service and was honored in retrospectives at institutions like the Roudaki Hall.
As a teacher he mentored singers and musicians who became figures in Iranian music scenes in Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and diaspora communities in Los Angeles and Toronto. His pedagogical influence is evident in curricula at conservatories affiliated with the University of Tehran and in masterclasses offered at venues like the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and festivals such as the Fajr Music Festival. Scholars and performers cite his interpretations in publications from the Iranian Musicological Research Association and archives hosted by national institutions including the Iranian National Library.
After a prolonged illness involving care at hospitals in Tehran and medical teams connected to institutions such as Shariati Hospital and specialists who had trained at universities including Tehran University of Medical Sciences, he died in October 2020. His death prompted national mourning with ceremonies at sites including the Golestan Palace-adjacent cultural venues and tributes from political and cultural figures linked to the Ministry of Culture and international communities in Paris, London, New York, and Los Angeles. Posthumous commemorations included memorial concerts organized by ensembles affiliated with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra and retrospectives at cultural centers like the Roudaki Hall and museums connected to the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization.
Category:Iranian singers Category:1940 births Category:2020 deaths