Celebrating 20 Years of Harmony Talk’s Journey: Resilience, Evolution, Honoring the Legacy and Navigating Future Growth

In a momentous celebration of two decades, the “Arasbaran Cultural Center” was the stage for the 20th anniversary of “Harmony Talk”, an online journal that has become a cornerstone in the music community. Sadjad Pourghanad, the editor-in-chief, delivered a speech that resonated with gratitude and vision.

Pourghanad began by honoring Kamran Vatanabadi, the founder of Harmony Talk, whose foresight in establishing wireless internet in Iran has been pivotal. Vatanabadi’s legacy is immortalized through Harmony Talk, which continues to thrive under his guidance.

The journey from Vatanabadi’s 100-day music blog to a comprehensive website was a collaborative effort, supported by a dedicated team of writers and translators, and financially backed by Datak internet company.

Pourghannad highlighted the seven years under Kamran Vatanabadi and Babak Arshad’s leadership, as Harmony Talk’s most prosperous period. Despite the content being primarily aimed at the general public at that time, there was a wide range of topics covered.

The first Harmony Talk crisis occurred in 2011 when Datak’s financial support was cut off, but fortunately, all the original writers of the site agreed to continue their collaboration on an honorary basis. However, since then, there has been a noticeable decline in the number of articles “exclusively” written for Harmony Talk.

During this period, the journal gradually moved towards more specialized content because elementary music education articles had mostly been published in the early period and it was necessary to take further steps.

Today, there are university students who have had Harmony Talk in their lives since they were born and have been reading the journal since they started music. Now, Harmony Talk is an integral part of many academic researches, with its articles frequently cited in music theses.

Numerous plans and designs were presented during that period and when Datak’s support was cut off in the last 13 years, very few of them were realized.

The main reason for this was a lack of financial and human resources interested in this field.

Now that the number of active physical and online music magazines in the whole country is less than the digits of one hand and many were closed due to a lack of necessary supervision, this is where the importance of HarmonyTalk and its sustainability becomes more apparent.

The journal’s resilience is further highlighted by its extensive archive of over 70,000 articles.

The loss of two influential writers, Mohsen Ghaane’ Basiri and Khosro Jafarzadeh, is deeply felt, yet their contributions live on through Harmony Talk.

It’s important to recognize the hard work and determination of those involved, but it may also be necessary to explore new avenues for securing funding or attracting more expert staff to accelerate the growth and development of Harmony Talk.

Pourghanad explains: As we celebrate this milestone, we acknowledge the challenges ahead. The financial sustainability of Harmony Talk relies on the personal income of its directors and the voluntary efforts of its staff. This have limited the site’s ability to expand and progress as quickly as desired. Yet, this has not stalled the site’s growth or its commitment to providing valuable content to its readers.

In closing, Pourghanad’s speech was a tribute to Harmony Talk’s past achievements and a hopeful look towards its future.

It is a reminder that while change is inevitable, the essence of Harmony Talk will continue to inspire and inform for years to come.

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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.

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From Past Days…

Harmony in the Iranian Music (II)

One of his works was the translation of Harmony, which was carried out with the help of Mozayyan al-Dowleh, and included a pamphlet based on which he used to teach the subject to the students of the school of music; the pamphlet was never published. It was, in fact, a kind of simple harmony for the piano with no quadriads, it rather featured the engagement of both the right hand and the left hand which was being taught at the music school for the first time. Salar-Mo’azez also composed military marches and hymns for schools, which he harmonized to be performed and piano. Likewise, he used to compose for military orchestras.

Principles of Violin Playing (VII)

4.3.1.3 Regarding the great linear distance and the unusual distance between the first and forth fingers, the first finger while playing the doubles of ninth and tenth interval, can be twisted in the knuckle area and the point mentioned in 3.1.2.5 paragraph in relation to the way first finger is placed indicating that the first joint of this finger in back of hand must be in line with the direction of forearm and left hand is not true here.

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This year marks the 20th anniversary of “Journey to Iran,” an album by Iranian pianist Guity Adjoodani that has resonated with audiences worldwide. Released two decades ago, this album is a beautiful tapestry of twenty Persian folk songs, each carefully selected from the rich musical traditions of various regions in Iran. It also features four notable compositions by the esteemed Javad Maroufi (1915-1992): “Prelude,” “Jila Fantasia,” “Golden Dreams” (Khaab-haa-ye Talaayi), and “Isfahan Rhapsody.” Additionally, the album includes the beloved song “Kiss Me” (Maraa Bebous) by Majid Vafadar (1912-1975), adding depth to an already impressive collection.

Principles of Playing Violin (IV)

Principles of Playing Violin (IV)

Pattern No.3/1 Left hand finger Placement: 3/1/1: Landing Fingers on one String: In preliminary stages of training, an apprentice should pay attention to the principle of keeping fingers while placing them on the fingerboard. Professional violinists pay less attention to this principle. Novice player’s complying with this principle, in preliminary stages of training, has several…
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Following an interview by Mehdi Salem, the director of the Rudaki Foundation, with the “Our Music” website, a response from the dismissed musicians was published in response to this conversation, which you read:

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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.

Ennio Morricone’s music for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight

After watching Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie, The Hateful Eight, everyone was excited by its novel music besides the beautiful scenes of blood and guts.
The Hateful Eight is the first collaboration between the world-famous film music composer, Ennio Morricone, and Quentin Tarantino as a famous director.

A few steps on the “Road to Bach”

The world of music has unparalleled respect for Bach. Bach is considered the spiritual father of classical music; Bach’s great position is due not only to his great achievements in the fields of harmony, counterpoint, and compositional sciences but also to his respect for and adherence to the artistic principles of classical music. In the history of classical music, it is recorded that Bach walked about fifty kilometers to listen to the music played by the great German organist Dieterich Buxtehude, and this is the path that every idealistic classical music student should walk.

ShirMohammad Espandar Passes Away

Shir Mohammad Espandar, one of the veterans of regional music in Iran and a seasoned player of the Doneli (double-ney) instrument, passed away on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at the age of 98. Espandar was active for many years in the field of Baloch music and, through his mastery of the Doneli, was regarded as one of the prominent figures of Iran’s regional folk music.

“The Art of Silence” Project Will be Released

Shaahin Mohajeri, the award-winning Iranian microtonal compose, has contributed to The Art of Silence is an international project which features unpublished pieces by microtonal composers from Iran, Japan, the United States, and other countries.