Iraj Passes Away!

1 August 2026 – 1:14 pm Posted in Articles' List, Iranian Classical Music, News

Iraj (Hossein Khajeh-Amiri), Legendary Iranian Vocalist, Passes Away at 94

Iraj (Hossein Khajeh-Amiri), born on January 1, 1933, in Natanz, and one of the most renowned figures in Iranian vocal music, passed away at the age of 94 after several months of illness. He was born into an artistic and cultivated family; his ancestor was a celebrated singer during the era of Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, and his father, who himself possessed a fine voice and was well-versed in the radifs (modal systems) of Persian music, devoted years to training his son’s voice. In his early youth, Iraj also participated in Ta’ziyeh (religious passion plays) and learned the subtleties of vocal performance step by step from Ta’ziyeh performers who had mastered the radifs and modes.

In 1947, he entered the school of Abolhasan Saba and over two consecutive years completed his musical education under this prominent master. With Saba’s introduction, he gained entry to Radio Iran, where he performed with the orchestra of Ebrahim Mansouri. He later entered the Officers’ Academy. Since his simultaneous service in the gendarmerie imposed restrictions on his artistic activities, he adopted the stage name “Iraj” – which was originally his brother’s name – in order to continue his singing while adhering to official regulations.

The year 1957 marked a turning point in his artistic career: at the invitation of Davoud Pirnia, he joined the legendary radio program Golha (Flowers). His first collaboration was on an episode titled Barg-e Sabz-e 43 (Green Leaf 43), alongside Ali Tajvidi, Farhang Sharif, and Amir-Naser Eftekhah. This collaboration initiated a prolific period of his presence across various radio platforms.

In addition to performing a vast number of radio programs, Iraj also excelled in film songs and vocal pieces for cinema, to the extent that many prominent actors of the time, such as Fardin, Manouchehr Vosough, and others, lip-synced to his songs on screen. The first film featuring his work was Rowzaneh-ye Omid (Window of Hope), directed by Sardar Sagar Hindi, with lyrics by Javad Lashgari.

His range of artistic collaborations was remarkably broad and unique. He performed alongside greats such as Ali Tajvidi, Homayoun Khorram, Parviz Yahaghi, Habibollah Badiei, Asadollah Malek, Jalil Shahnaz, Lotfollah Majd, Farhang Sharif, Fereydoun Hafezi, Mehdi Takestani, Masoud Jamali, Akbar Mohseni, Mansour Nariman, Mahmoud Rahmani-Pour, Yousef Kamousi, Simin Agharazi, Emad Ram, Amir-Naser Eftekhah, Jahangir Malek, Abtin Ajlali, Hassan Kassai, Mohammad Mousavi, Hassan Nahid, Reza Varzandeh, Mansour Saremi, Majid Nahjai, Fazlollah Tavakkol, Mohammad Heydari, Ahmad Ebadi, Anoushirvan Rouhani, and many other instrumentalists and singers of his era. This extensive network attests to the deep respect he commanded among musicians, and he was widely praised and validated by his peers. Nevertheless, the greatest title ever recorded for him in the history of Iranian music is “Pahlavān-e Āvāz-e Irān” (The Champion of Iranian Song).

Iraj, who retired with the rank of colonel from the Road Police force, left behind a prolific artistic legacy of over two thousand vocal pieces, including songs, classical vocal renditions (āvāz), and instrumental-vocal compositions (tasnifs), performed across various programs over his career.

A funeral ceremony and farewell for Iraj Khajeh-Amiri, the celebrated vocalist of Iranian music, will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, August 14, 2026, in front of Vahdat Hall. Following the ceremony, his remains will be transferred to the Artists’ Section of Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery for burial.

This entry was written by HarmonyTalk
Tagged: .

Post a Comment


Warning: Undefined variable $user_ID in C:\host-websites\harmonytalk.com\domains\en.harmonytalk.com\www\wp-content\themes\harmonytalk\comments.php on line 93
Required fields are marked *
*
*
Your email is never shared.

Tafazzoli: Monolingualism drives music into obscurity (1)

Between the year 1403 (2024–25) and today, the name of Mohammadreza Tafazzoli—composer and faculty member of the Faculty of Music at the University of Art, Iran—has appeared several times as a composer with various orchestras. In 1403, part of his suite *Dena* was performed by the National Orchestra; in 1404, the same work was performed in full by the Mitra Orchestra, and in the same year, his symphony *Vaghouyeha* (*Murmurings*) was staged with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. Recently, in Mordad of the current year, we witnessed the performance of *Elegy* for string orchestra by the Vivo Orchestra, composed by him. Tafazzoli has tested diverse languages in his works—from the neotonal and at times atonal language of the twentieth century to a fully tonal language. But in most of his works, the combination of Iranian melodies with the neotonal language of the first half of the twentieth century is most visible. Below, on the occasion of the staging of *Elegy* by the Vivo Orchestra, we spoke with him about his activities and the atmosphere of his works. What follows is the text of that conversation.

Parva, Iranian Singer, Passes Away!

Parva, a singer of Iranian music, has passed away after a period of illness. In recent years, she had been residing in both Iran and Austria.

Latest posts

From Past Days…


Warning: Undefined array key 0 in C:\host-websites\harmonytalk.com\domains\en.harmonytalk.com\www\wp-content\themes\harmonytalk\functions.php on line 525

Transition to Enlightenment: Six Lectures on Mozart’s String Quartets (1)

Transition to Enlightenment: Six Lectures on Mozart’s String Quartets* Basic Ideas and General Structure The Enlightenment, an epoch of intellectual fervor marked by reason, individualism, and cultural evolution, indelibly left its imprint on the arts. Mozart, a luminary of this transformative era, intricately wove these ideals into his compositions, particularly his string quartets. This article…
Read More »

Developments in Iranian Music Since Qajar Era (II)

Santour:
Nine-bridge and twelve-bridge Sanours were both used until the early Pahlavi dynasty. However, as Faramarz Payvar devised new methods for playing the nine-bridge Sanour, this variety of the instrument which was hammered by felted sticks became popular.

Homayoun Rahimian & Iran’s National Orchestra

The Roudaki Foundation presented the permanent conductor of the National Orchestra (Orchestr Melli), Homayoun Rahimian, in a ceremony, and finally, after four years, the national orchestra found a permanent conductor. Homayoun Rahimian is the fourth permanent conductor of this orchestra after Farhad Fakhreddini, Bardia Kiaras, and Fereidoun Shahbaziyan. He, who has previously had experience of conducting concerts besides being Meister’s concert of this orchestra, performed the concert “Autumns” on the 20th of Tir, performing works by Rouhollah Khaleqi, Javad Ma’roufi, and Hossein Dehlavi.

Polyphony in Iranian Music (V)

In addition to the above-mentioned, polyphony can be also formed when a melody is performed by several singers in different ambiances or different sound registers according to their physiologic abilities. An example of this has been performed in rituals of Khanqah of Ghaderi darawish of Mahabad[i].

Shaahin Mohajeri Wins UnTwelve Composition Competition

UnTwelve Non-profit Organization announced the results of its 2014/2015 composition competition on January 28, 2015. Shaahin Mohajeri, an Iranian Tonbak player, microtonalist, acoustician and composer, was awarded the second prize for his piece “Castle of Babak.”

“I Will Never Perform Just for Women!”: Golnoush Khaleghi Passes Away in Exile

Golnoush Khaleghi, first Persian woman conductor and daughter of legendary composer Rouhollah Khaleghi, passed away on February 14. She was 80. Golnoush Khaleghi was the conductor of the NIRT (National Iranian Radio & Television) Choir in the 1970s. Shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution Ms. Khaleghi moved to the United States and founded the Rouhollah…
Read More »

From the Last Instrumentalist to the First Composer (II)

Rouhollah Khaleghi was the master of composing beautiful melodies. He was the premier of the course of history which was first established by Ali Naghi Vaziri and which improved the Iranian music from simply a gathering music to the classical music of the country. First efforts to compose independent and instrumental music can be also traced in Khaleghi’s works.

Parva, Iranian Singer, Passes Away!

Parva, a singer of Iranian music, has passed away after a period of illness. In recent years, she had been residing in both Iran and Austria.

Call for papers SIMF 1396

The Association of Iranian Contemporary Music Composers (ACIMC) and SHAHREAFTAB Art & Cultural Association are pleased to announce a call for papers for SIMF 1396.

Gholam Reza Khan Minbashian: a pioneer in Iranian music (I)

Gholam Reza Khan Minbashian, a.k.a Salar-Mo’azez, was a pioneer in several domains in the history of the Iranian music. He is recognized as the first Iranian musician who was educated in classical music. He is also the first Iranian the score of whose works were published in Europe. He is the first Iranian to have launched courses on Western classical music and was also the first Iranian teacher of classical music. Moreover, he is the first founder of a string orchestra in Iran, the first author of the Iranian Radif which was available in oral form. Minbashian is also the first Iranian who studied music in Europe.