About Davoud Pirnia, the founder of “Golha” radio program

Davoud Pirnia (1900 - 1971)

Translated by Mahboube Khalvati
Davoud Pirnia, writer and musicologist was the founder of “Golha” (Flowers of Persian Song and Music) programs on Tehran Radio (1956-1966). He received his early education from his father, Hassan Pirnia (Moshir al-Douleh), and several tutors of the time (Taraghi, interview, July 1989) and continued his studies at Saint Louis School in Tehran and then in Switzerland and graduated in law. While studying law, Pirnia got acquainted with European classical music. Upon returning to Iran, he was employed by the Ministry of Justice and founded the Lawyers’ Guild. Then he was transferred to the Ministry of Finance and established the Department of Statistics in this ministry. Later, he became the head of the state inspection office at the Prime Ministry; he was, then, promoted to the position of the Deputy Prime Minister (Navab Safa, interview, August 1999).

In the early 1950s, Pirnia retired from administrative work and devoted himself to studying Persian literature. Simultaneously, he found his way to the radio organization at the time of the development of technical equipment and planning in radio production (Mallah, interview, January 1989). He proposed a plan to produce a program based on mixing Iranian poetry and music, which was accepted. The first program, entitled “Golhay-e Javedan” (Immortal Flowers), was recorded in collaboration with Abolhasan Saba and Morteza Mahjoubi, which included pieces for a solo instrument, accompanied with vocals (without percussion) and various poems declaimed by one or two presenters. In some programs, the poet’s biography and an opinion about the style and context of his poetry were expressed, and in fact, music was a means for introducing Persian classical poetry and great poets of Iran. Pirnia used the best soloists, composers and singers of the time in producing these programs.
Golha program played an important role in the years which marked the decline of the Iranian music’s ingenuity; moreover, it featured a complete period of Iran’s vocal culture by recording hundreds of tapes of instrumental, orchestral and vocal (Avaz) compositions of great artists. Pirnia was present in all the stages of program production, from the selection of poems to the selection of composers, musicians, and singers and recording; he sought opinions from prominent artists, and each of his programs was prepared with great care, obsession, and painstaking efforts (Taraghi, ibid.). Gradually, the Golha program expanded and a large and regular orchestra was established with the budget Pirnia managed to receive from the Plan Organisation, and which often performed under the batons of Ruhollah Khaleghi and Javad Maroufi.
This orchestra continued to function until 1979. The various branches of the Golha program included: Barg-e Sabz (the Green leaf), a program performed with a solo instrument and solo vocalist on religious and mystical poems, with the intention of getting closer to Mola Ali [the first Shia Imam] (peace be upon him); Yek Shakheh Gol (A Flower Branch), a short program containing a short introduction of a poet and some verses of his poems; Golhay-e Sahraee (Desert Flowers), dedicated to the performance of Iranian folk songs, with a change of accent and style and the so-called “urban performance”; Golhay-e Tazeh (New flowers), which was established after 1970, after the death of Pirnia, and performed the works of the young generation of musicians such as Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Mohammad Reza Shajarian; nonetheless, the latest Golha programs never had the prosperity and brilliance of the works of Pirnia (Negahban, interview , February 1992).
Pirnia also founded the first special program for children on the radio with his son Bijan and gifted children who had learned music, and appointed Dr. Moin Afshar, a teacher at Qolhak Jam School, to lead it. Several artists of the next generation started their career after collaborating this program in the years 1952-1957 (Taraghi, ibid.)

Due to some disagreements with the administrative heads at the time, Pirnia left the radio and resigned from Golha program in 1966 retiring himself; he finally died of a heart attack in Tehran in November 1971.

References:
1- Bijan Taraghi, interview, July 1989;
2- Hossein Ali Mallah, interview, January 1989;
3- Toraj Negahban, interview, February 1992:
4- Ismail Navab Safa, interview, , August 1999.

Post a Comment

Required fields are marked *
*
*
Your email is never shared.

Leading the Charge in Censorship

Davoud Pirnia, writer and musicologist was the founder of “Golha” (Flowers of Persian Song and Music) programs on Tehran Radio (1956-1966). He received his early education from his father, Hassan Pirnia (Moshir al-Douleh), and several tutors of the time (Taraghi, interview, July 1989) and continued his studies at Saint Louis School in Tehran and then in Switzerland and graduated in law. While studying law, Pirnia got acquainted with European classical music. Upon returning to Iran, he was employed by the Ministry of Justice and founded the Lawyers’ Guild. Then he was transferred to the Ministry of Finance and established the Department of Statistics in this ministry. Later, he became the head of the state inspection office at the Prime Ministry; he was, then, promoted to the position of the Deputy Prime Minister (Navab Safa, interview, August 1999)

The Legacy of Khosrow Jafarzadeh

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Khosrow Jafarzadeh (Khosrow Djafar-Zadeh), a distinguished architect and pioneering researcher of Iranian music, whose contributions to the magazine “Harmony Talk” have left an indelible mark on the field. The absence of this remarkable individual has significantly impacted the expansion and advancement of his theories, which are heralded as some of the most progressive in the history of Iranian music

From Past Days…

A Look at Ali Tajvidi’s Manifold Musical Activities (II)

Tajvidi thought of studying harmony and orchestration with Houshang Ostvar (who was eight years younger than him) at a time when he had gained a reputation among musicians. His humbleness, making him willing to kneel before the scholars at any age and position, became the key to his scientific success. After this period, Tajvidi made some of his works polyphonic, the most prominent of which is “Burn” set to a poem by Abdullah Ulfat. However, his ability to make his works polyphonic was not so great to make him self-sufficient; so he depended on musicians such as Farhad Fakhreddini, Fereydoun Naseri, Kambiz Roshanravan, Fereydoun Shahbazian and Morteza Hananeh for the arrangement of his compositions.

A Persian Nocturne for Piano

A Night in a Persian Garden is the name of a Nocturne composed by the Persian (Iranian) contemporary composer Behzad Ranjbaran. This Nocturne, published recently by the Theodore Presser Company in the US, was performed for the first time in 2002 in New York City by the young Persian pianist Soheil Nasseri and has enjoyed many performances by other pianists.

Ali Rahbari & Recording Iranian Symphonic Compositions

In the few days prior to the New Iranian year (March 2015), the news of the revival of Tehran Symphony Orchestra under Ali (Alexander) Rahbari’s conductorship was announced. Ali Rahbari, who served as assistant to Herbert von Karajan in Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at a very young age, was also invited to conduct Tehran Symphony Orchestra in 2005; however, the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government put an end to his collaboration with this Orchestra. Recently, it was announced that Rahbari is invited to conduct an orchestra in the U.S.

Violin’s inner mold, an essential factor in developing the idea of violin

A part of the secrets of the masterpieces from the golden era lies in the special design of the instruments, as a result of a profound insight to and awareness of the significance of the precise calculation of the various components of the object of arts being created, such as making a violin or a bow.

Developments in Iranian Music Since Qajar Era (I)

At the end of the Qajar era and as Iran entered the power transition period, known as the constitutional era, the Iranian music went through a lot of changes. These changes gained momentum as the students and followers of Ali Naqi Vaziri’s entered the musical scene. These changes greatly influenced designs of instruments, playing methods, singing, composing, etc.

Is the Iranian National Anthem a Copy? (I)

The alleged similarity between the Iranian and South Korean National Anthems has been a matter of discussion among musicians in Iran for several years. Earlier in 2021, the issue was taken to the media again with not only claims that the anthem is very similar to another song but also the suggestion that its musical content should draw more on the Iranian national music. Some even went to the extent to suggest replacing it with the song “O, Iran” composed by the late Rouhollah Khaleghi. Before delving more into the main issue, it would not go amiss to consider some technical characteristics of the song “O, Iran” composed in 1944.

Farhad Poupel’s piece, Road to Bach, performed at Suntory Hall

On June 19, 2021 , young Iranian composer and pianist, Farhad Poupel’s piece, Road to Bach, was performed at the prestigious Suntory Hall by the great Japanese pianist, Kotaro Fukuma. The piece was commissioned by Kotaro Fukuma to have its world premiere in Suntory Hall during a concert by the same name.

The 4th Iranian Festival of Music Websites and Weblogs

The 4th Iranian Festival of Music Websites and Weblogs was held in Niavaran Cultural Center, in Tehran, Iran on Feb. 28th, 2015. The initiator of the festival was Sajjad Pourghanad, Iranian music writer, researcher, founder of the festival and Persian setar and tar player.

A combination of technique and musicality in the fingers of a pianist

In the world of classical music, the position of soloist has always been exceptional. Apart from the technical ability that many orchestral musicians also have, the soloist must also have a special power to be able to present a different and unique perspective of a piece. The soloist must maintain its special power of expression not only in solo roles but also when interacting with the orchestra.

Banan: the Artist of the Age

Gholam Hossein Banan was born in 1911 in Tehran. He was born in an affluent art-loving family who were Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1848-1896)’s relative. The Qajar King was his mother’s uncle on her father’s side. He learnt his first lessons in music while his father sang Iranian avaz (improvised rhythmic-free singing), he then attended classes by the renowned Iranian composer, Morteza Neydavoud (1900-1990) along with his sisters; the composer is, therefore, considered as his first teacher. He then learnt Iranian avaz under the supervision of Mirza Taher Zia Resaee (Zia-o Zakerin) and Naser Seif in an oral manner.