Tribute to the Late Legendary Iranian Vocalist Mohammad-Reza Shajarian
This is a tribute to the life and art of Moahmmad-Reza Shajarian, one of the greatest vocalists of Iranian (Persian) classical music in the contemporary era. This tribute includes samples of his work throughout his career, handpicked by Homayoon Beigi to portray the diversity of his work and also to depict the variety of styles in which he participated. Special attention has also been paid to the choice of the musical pieces to cover the different modes (dastgah) of Persian Classical music.
About the Artist
Mohammad-Reza Shajarian
Mohammad-Reza Shajarian (Persian: محمدرضا شجريان; Persian pronunciation: [mohæmːæd ɾeˈzɒː ʃædʒæɾiˈɒːn], 23 September 1940 – 8 October 2020) (also known as Siavash) was an Iranian vocalist and master (Ostad) of Persian traditional music. He is widely considered as one of the greatest Iranian artists of all time. Shajarian was also known for his skills in Persian calligraphy and humanitarian activities. Shajarian started his singing career in 1959 at Radio Khorasan, rising to prominence in the 1960s with his distinct style of singing. His main teachers were Ahmad Ebadi, Esmaeil Mehrtash, Abdollah Davami, and Nour-Ali Boroumand. He also learned the vocal styles of singers from previous generations, including Reza Gholi Mirza Zelli, Fariborz Manouchehri, Ghamar Molouk Vaziri, Eghbal Azar, and Taj Isfahani. He has cited legendary Persian tar soloist Jalil Shahnaz as highly influential to his development, indicating that he has often tried to mimic Shahnaz's playing style in his singing. Shajarian had collaborated with musicians such as Parviz Meshkatian, Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Hossein Alizadeh, Faramarz Payvar, Dariush Pirniakan, and Sohrab Pournazeri. He was recognized as a skilled singer in the challenging traditional Dastgah style. In 1999, UNESCO in France presented him with the Picasso Award and in 2006 with the UNESCO Mozart Medal. In 2017, Los Angeles Times cited him as the "Greatest living maestro of Persian classical music". Shajarian was also declared one of 50 greatest international voices by the National Public Radio (NPR) in September of 2010. Main Sources: Wikipedia and NPR