Parham Nassehpoor, Persian Tar and Kamanche Player

Parham Nassehpoor on Persian Tar

Parham Nassehpoor, multi-instrumentalist, but mainly known as a Persian Tar player, was born in Tehran, Iran, 1976. He is the youngest child of Nasrollah Nassehpoor, vocalist and Persian vocal professor. In 1983 he took the course, Music for Children/Carl Orff, with Mohammad Reza Darvishi, ethnomusicologist and composer. After finishing the course, at the age of 8, he started learning Persian Tar and the Radif repertoire of Mirza Abdollah with Zeydollah Tolui. Then he studied Persian Tar with Hossein Alizadeh, the Radif repertoire of Ali Akbar Shahnazi with Dariush Talai and took a master course with Mohammad Reza Lotfi. In order to continue his musical studies, he had a course with his father, Nasrollah Nassehpoor for vocal Radif repertoire of Persian Classical Music. For studying theoretical old Persian music he studied with Prof. Seyyed Abdollah Anwar. Then he studied the Radif repertoire of Mirza Hossein Gholi with Reza Lotfi Larijani.
Besides his first and main Instrument, Persian Tar, he has learnt some other instruments like Kamanche, Barbat, Setar and Azeri Tar by himself, but amoung these instruments, Kamanche is no more a hobbyinstrument, but instead an Instrument, on witch he has reached his own style. Because of his Azerbaijani origin, Azerbaijani Classical Music influences his style of Kamanche playing.

He teaches Persian Tar and plays as a Persian Tar solist since 1996. He lives in Halle, Germany since 2005 and studies Musicology at Martin-Luther University of Halle. 

Nasrollah Nassehpoor, Persian Vocal Master

NASROLLAH NASSEHPOOR

A recognized master of the vocal Radif repertoire of Persian Classical Music, Maestro Nasrollah Nassehpoor, was born in Ardebil, Iran, 1940. Since his father was Garmon (Azerbaijani organ similar to European accordion) player, so he was acquainted with Azeri music through his childhood.

When he moved to Tehran, he studied under the late Mahmood Karimi for many years. He also studied instrumental Radif repertoire of Persian Classical Music at the National Music Institute with the late Maestro Ali Akbar Khan Shahnazi, Persian Tar Virtuoso. In the class of the late Soleiman Amir Ghasemi (vocalist), he got in touch with the late Maestro Saeed Hormozi (A very skillful setar player) and he learnt many important points of Persian Classical Music. At last he worked with the great master of Vocal Radif repertoire, the late Ostad Abdollah Davami, who had a great influence on his musical development.

Maestro Nassehpoor's vocal's unique timbre, which has coupled with his creative talent and his rich Azeri musical background, makes him an outstanding performer. He has researched, taught and performed about 40 years.
 

MOHAMMAD MOLLA AGHAI

One of the best vocal pupils of Nasrollah Nassehpoor, who for ten years drived the long way between Tehran and Borujerd, his home town, in order to learn Persian Classical Vocal.

Reza Lotfi Larijani, Persian Tar Player

REZA LOTFI LARIJANI

The master of Persian Tar and Radif repertoire of Persian Classical Music, Reza Lotfi-Larijani was born in Najaf (the center of Islamic theology and studies) while his father was studying there Islamic theology (religious jurisprudence). Then after coming to Teheran, he became interested in Persian Tar, but his practicing was secret and his father did not know anything about it, until a day the sound of Persian Tar from the underground attracted him, so he understood that his son, Reza was playing Persian Tar and therefore he thought it was better to learn by a master and since Kamalolmolk (the very famous painter of Iran) was also one the encouragers of young Lotfi, his father decided to introduce him the well-known master Darvish Khan and after some lessons Darvish Khan said that he had so much intelligence and he suggested him to go to the class of Musa Ma'rufi (one of the famous Darvish khan's students who knew the Western notation well) and learn basic theory of music, then he would be able to learn Radif by himself (the Radif that Mr. Musaa Ma'rufi had collected), after that he started to learn that Radif, and finally finished it, but in his mind he was searching for another thing that has impressed him before and that was the playing of great Master Mirza Hossein Gholi and since unfortunately at that time he had passed away and he searched and found his eldest son great Mastar Ali Akbar Shahnazi, who was only the one that he had all of his father's Radif in his mind and he requested Master Shahnazi to learn and then notate the melodies and this was their start and took 7 years and another 3 years for comparing the melody then Master Shahnazi confirmed accuracy of the written notations and write a certificate for it that it allowed Master Reza Lotfi-Larijaani to pulish this wonderful work, though this never published. By the way he has studied Law in the University of Paris, also researched about Persian Classical Music of many centuries ago. He wrote some books which we hope they will be published with the help of his family.
 
He passed away in September, 2003, in Teheran, Shemiran. The biography of the late Reza Lotfi-Larijani comes from the personal interview of Parham Nassehpoor with him. Parham was his student from 1997 to 2003.

Parham Nassehpoor, Persian Tar and Kamanche Player, Halle/Saale, Germany