A Podcast Master of Persian Music: Hossein Alizadeh with tar and sitar.
Listen to a podcast from the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian featuring the ancient improvisational tradition of Persian classical music played masterfully by one of Iran’s greatest musical legends. Hossein Alizadeh is a two-time Grammy nominee, once for his solo album Endless Vision and again as a member of the Masters of Persian Music ensemble, with which he has toured internationally.
Also an award-winning composer, Alizadeh wrote the music for such highly regarded Iranian films as Gabbeh, Turtles Can Fly, and A Time for Drunken Horses. This live performance was recorded in the Meyer Auditorium at the Smithsonian on May 30, 2002. You can listen to or download the podcast and see more background information and additional related images from the Freer Gallery of Art here.
This sixteenth-century painting from Iran depicts an allegorical court scene with musicians playing the setar and doira, or frame drum. The image is part of a mystical treatise known as the “Effulgences [radiant splendors] of Light.”
According to legend, the fifth-century king Bahram Gur had seven castles, each painted a different color and housing a different royal mistress. In some Persian paintings, each castle is also provided a different music ensemble for the king and his princess to enjoy. This sixteenth-century painting depicts his turquoise-blue pavilion with a duo of musicians on setar and doira.
