Famous Iranians - Mohammad Reza Lotfi
- 1947 - born in Gorgan Province
- 1964 - won first prize in Iran's Young Musicians Festival
- 1978 - appointed head of Tehran University School of Music
- 1978 - founded Chavoosh Institute with Hossien Alizadeh and Parviz Meshkatian
Renowned as a great composer, master of the traditional Persian radif, and player of the tar and setar, Mohammad Reza Lotfi is the father of a new aesthetic in Persian music.
He has combined classical and folk techniques to inject new vitality into an old tradition. He's famous for the deep-rooted emotional quality of his playing and for performing with Iran's most famous singers including Mohammad Reza Shajarian.
Lotfi started his studies at the National Conservatory in Tehran under Habibollah Salehi and Master Ali Akbar Shahnazi. He also studied under great masters of the older generation such as Davami, Hormozi, and Boroumand and later played a critical role in teaching those who would go on to become the most famous musicians of today.
While he was still in his twenties, Lotfi began collaborating Iran National Radio and Television and founded the Shayda Ensemble. He composed and performed many beautiful pieces which attracted the youth and made Persian classical music popular among the younger generation.
Since then Mohammad Reza Lotfi has lived in the United States and Europe and performed widely throughout the world. He now lives in Iran and teaches at his Avaye Shayda music school.
Key Recordings
Sepideh
Mystery of Love
Website
Aryan Rahmanian