39th Fajr International Music Festival to honor three veteran musicians

TEHRAN-Three veteran Iranian musicians will be honored at the closing ceremony of the 39th Fajr International Music Festival (FIMF) on February 17.

Fazlollah Tavakol, Darvish Reza Monazami, and Ali Rahimian are the Iranian artists who will be commemorated at a ceremony on the last day of the festival, Honaronline reported.

Born in Tehran, Tavakol, 81, is a master of violin and santur - an Iranian instrument similar to the hammered dulcimer - and a famous composer of Persian traditional music. He holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Cambridge; however, music has been his only occupation throughout his life.

He started learning music at the age of six. His father bought him a santur when he was 8 years and he learned Persian music under the tutorship of Master Ali Tajvidi (1919-2006). Tavakol’s genius in playing santur convinced his master to invite him to the radio orchestra when he was only 14.

At the age of 16, he joined the famous radio program Golha (flowers), which broadcast the finest classical Persian music by the best singers and musicians of the time (1956-1979) and performed as a soloist accompanying many well-known singers including Mahmoud Mahmoudi Khansari and Akbar Golpayegani.

Later he expanded his cooperation with radio as a composer as well. His production of new melodies saw many other singers keen to work with him.

In 1993 he established a new orchestra at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) together with violin virtuoso Asadollah Malek (1941-2002) and recorded several solo and duet performances.

His music is pleasant, popular, and up-to-date so his compositions are welcomed by different generations. Tavakol collaborated with Golpayegani again in 1993 in two albums and four years later his first album with the renowned traditional singer Alireza Eftekhari was released and was followed by more albums in later years.

In 2016, Tavakol received a first-class degree in art, which is equivalent to a doctoral degree.

Monazami, 84, is a kamancheh virtuoso, composer, and kamancheh and violin instructor. One of Hossein Yahaghi's students, He first learned how to play kamancheh by himself and then practiced with masters such as Yahaghi and Ali Asghar Bahari.

After being admitted to the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, he learned the basics of dastgah - the standard musical system in Persian music - with Nur-Ali Borumand and Dariush Safvat. Later his cooperation with Mohammad Reza Lotfi played a key role in the formation of Sheyda Ensemble.

In the 1990s, at the invitation of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Monazami became a member of the academic staff of the faculty. In the same decade, he collaborated with Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Parviz Meshkatian on some albums. He later served as the vice-chancellor of the Faculty of Fine Arts and also became the head of the faculty as well.

Ali Rahimian, also known by the artistic name Homayoun Rahimian, is the permanent conductor of Iran's National Orchestra.

Rahimian, 69, is a musician, conductor, and composer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Arts and has received a first-class artistic degree from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

He was the first musician of the Chamber Orchestra of the Radio and Television of Iran. He has also served as the senior member of the Expert Council of the Music Unit and the High Music Council of the Radio and Television Organization.

Being a prominent violinist, during his professional career as a composer and musician, Rahimian has composed over 100 pieces of music.

The 39th edition of FIMF will be held from February 12 to 17 in Tehran and other provinces. Organized by the Music Office of the Deputy for Artistic Affairs of Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the festival encompasses various sections such as the competitive (Barbad Award), non-competitive, and research sessions.

Courtesy of Tehran Times