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.
Tag Archives: weblog
Latest posts
- Transition to Enlightenment: Six Lectures on Mozart’s String Quartets (5)
- Nasser Masoudi: The Voice of Gilan and a Legacy of Iranian Music
- Farhad Poupel: The Voice of the Shahnameh in the Orchestras Around the World
- Five Major Myths About Mozart’s Life
- Bahma Rajabi Passed Away!
- Reza Vohdani; Unveiling unpublished works, preservation of Iranian classical music
- Ahmad Pejman Passed Away!
- Timeless or Timely: The Role of Historical Context in Defining Artistic Value
- Leading the Charge in Censorship
- The Legacy of Khosrow Jafarzadeh
- Transition to Enlightenment: Six Lectures on Mozart’s String Quartets (4)
- Fereydoun Shahbazian, An Iranian Musical Icon Passed Away
From Past Days…
“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Iranian microtonal compose, has contributed to The Art of Silence is an international project which features unpublished pieces by microtonal composers from Iran, Japan, the United States, and other countries.
The Structure of Kurdistan Daf (IV)
Researcher: Mohammad Tarighat Translator: Fatemeh Alimohammadi Daf Structure The Structure of Daf in different cities of Iran has a great variety in terms of dimensions, components and even appearance; some of which are as follows: – Square Daf, on which the skin was stretched either on one or both sides, with strings installed inside it…
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The Structure of Kurdistan Daf (II)
With its simple physical structure and captivating sound, the Daf never belonged to a particular culture or location, and every nation had different usages for this instrument considering their dominant customs and traditions.
Interview with the Makers of the New Qeychak (III)
In this project, my specialized responsibility was the basic drawings of the desired instrument with the help of engineering and mechanical software. I have also the carried out phases related to engineering designs, related variables, and volume and weight calculations under Mr. Ziaei’s direct supervision from the very beginning. Regarding the challenges of this work, suffice it to say that the set of designs for the instrument lasted more than 9 months in the final stage of the project only.
Journey to Iran Revisited: Celebrating 20 Years of Guity Adjoodani’s Return to Persian Roots
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.
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.
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.
Persian Music: “Mahour the Great” in Austria
In 1990 an Austria-based Persian musician Khosro Soltani, in cooperation with Hossein Alizadeh, put out an album entitled, Ancient Call A New (Nobang-e Kohan). After many years, a few ancient Persian instruments such as Sorna, Karna, Naghareh,etc. have been used, instruments which have been left out of the circle of Persian classical musical instruments for centuries.
“Pledge of Love”
The “Pledge of Love” is the first album in a series composed based on the tasnifs by the renowned Iranian tasnif-maker Mohammad Ali Amir Jahed and recorded by Sahba Kohan Ensemble with Ramin Bahiraie as signer.
Principles of Violin Playing (III)
Violin players should always pay attention to the proper position of the left thumb and other points related to it and to its joining point to the palm.