Commentary

The focus of the first session was on a highly significant document: Faramarz Payvar’s handwritten copies of the “Radif of Mousa Maroufi.” In the published edition of Mousa Maroufi’s Radif, the sources of the radif’s various sections are not clearly indicated. Payvar’s manuscript identifies these sources, serving as an intermediary text that links Ma’rufi’s earliest notes to his later published versions.

The very first thing that immediately impresses the readers is the physical quality of the volume, including the details and intricacies that has gone to publish such a phenomenal edition.

Finally, the Radif of Mirza Abdullah, as narrated and penned by Abolhasan Saba, which had been rumored to have been found among the rem...

In the 1920s, when the wave of social transformations and the spirit of modernism had swept across various pillars of society, including its musical life, Shahnazi, like other artists such as Alinaghi Vaziri and Morteza Neydavoud, took steps to establish a music school by developing an educational program. This desire to align with the modern aspects of Iranian society is also reflected in his works and style of performance.