Few musicians of contemporary Iran are as respected as Hossein Alizadeh. He is the leading master of Persian lutes including the tar (the hourglass-shaped lute) and the setar (a long-necked lute with variants across Central Asia and the Middle East), as well as the shurangiz, a hybrid instrument of his own devising.
Born in Tehran in 1950 to mixed Persian-Azeri parentage, Alizadeh quickly became immersed in the tradition of musiqi-e assil – the classical music of Iran that can be traced back many centuries. He became a professional musician aged just 15, and quickly became noted for his powerful yet delicate performance style and his mastery of improvisation within the classical radif structures. Among his achievements in traditional music are his recordings of the entire canonical cycle of radif based on the interpretations of Mirzah Abdullah.
Aside from strict interpretations of classical and traditional music, Alizadeh has been at the forefront of innovative music in Iran, and has expanded the possibilities of what is thinkable within the realms of Persian music. He has been particularly celebrated as a composer, having written many pieces even outside of his own instruments of choice including, famously, a concerto for ney (end-blown reed flute) and string orchestra entitled NayNava from 1983. In addition to many film scores including those for Gabbeh and Turtles Can Fly, he has also expanded into rarely-walked avenues such as in his creation of the Hamavayan Ensemble, a forward-thinking group bringing new directions to Iranian choral singing.
Part of Alizadeh’s importance to Persian music lies in his dedication to the transmission of the musical culture, which he pursues in various ways. As an educator, he has taught regularly at the Tehran Conservatory of Music, as well as at the University of Tehran and the California Institute of the Arts; his pupils have themselves gone on to be respected and boundary-pushing musicians.
Internationally, he spreads the word through his performances. Alizadeh has played concerts all around the world, both solo and as part of many ensembles with other legends of Persian music, such as Aref Ensemble with Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Perviz Meshkatian, and Masters of Persian Music with Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Kayhan Kalhor. Some of his most exciting collaborations have seen him exploring his music’s wider connections. Made together with renowned Armenian duduk player Djivan Gasparyan, the celebrated album Endless Vision earned Alizadeh one of his three Grammy nominations; it was the first time the Persian and Armenian cultures had met in a formal musical space. He has also performed with Dutch baroque-jazz specialists the Rembrandt Frerichs Trio, a collaboration that has resulted in an album to be released later in 2020.
Hossein Alizadeh is without a doubt one of the most important figures in the field of music in Iran and beyond – as an educator, as a composer, as an exponent of old traditions and new talent and, foremost, as a true master in his performance of Persian classical music.
Photo: Hossein Alizadeh (right) plays the tar alongside Madjid Khaladj on tombak.