President Rouhani said in an address to an economic conference in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Tuesday that Iran is serious and determined in the nuclear negotiations, but the world needs to know that the opportunity offered by the Islamic Republic is not everlasting.
The Iranian president also stated that a final nuclear deal over Iran’s nuclear energy program would serve the interests of all parties.
Also commenting on the US-led sanctions on the Islamic Republic, Rouhani said Iran has taken major steps to counter the bans. “We have weakened the sanctions… the lifting of the sanctions is in the interest of everyone.”
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany agreed on the extension of nuclear talks until November 24 with a view to achieving a permanent deal that would end the decade-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear energy program.
The two sides sealed an interim deal in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2013, for a six-month period. The deal, which took effect on January 20, expired on July 20.
Under the deal, dubbed the Geneva Joint Plan of Action, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities.
A 40th issue of Ofogh Bina Publication that belongs to Tehran’s Jewish Community reported in July that the Martyrs’ Foundation had renovated the graves of Jewish martyrs. The following is the translation of the short report by the magazine on the project:
Recent years have seen the Martyrs’ Foundation of the Islamic Revolution implement a project to renovate the graves of the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution and those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the imposed war [Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s].
The project to renovate Tehran’s Beheshtiyeh Cemetery, where followers of the Jewish faith are laid to rest, got underway in late March 2014. As part of the project the tombstones of Jewish martyrs were replaced and a martyrs’ symbol – Monument of Peace – jointly designed by Juliet Lalehzarian and Farzad Tubian was erected in the graveyard. The Martyrs’ Foundation of the Islamic Revolution has picked the up tab of the renovation project.
It should be noted that six Jewish martyrs, namely Shahram Zarrini, Salar Roshani, Azizeh Roshani, Yodyod Zion, Jacob Bakhaj, and Hamid Nahavandi have been laid to rest at the cemetery.
Nahavandi fell a martyr on the same day the Islamic Revolution was declared triumphant. He was killed when popular forces overran Tehran’s Eshratabad Garrison. His body was never retrieved.
Remember these bright inquisitive eyes staring into the camera. This is the first time Vulpes Corsac has locked eyes with the camera. This small carnivore is a rare mammal of Iran and until May when this picture was taken near Gonbad Kavus, there was no picture of it available.
Corsac Fox is smaller than the common fox. Besides the petite body and stretched eyes, what sets it apart from other foxes is cinnamon patches behind its ears, its black muzzle and short tail.
Addressing a gathering of Iranian ambassadors and envoys overseas in Tehran on Monday, President Rouhani said Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people were so atrocious that even some of its supporters fell short of backing the regime.
The Israeli war on the Gaza Strip began on July 8. According to Palestinian health officials, the overall Palestinian death toll has reached nearly 1,940, with most of the fatalities being civilians. Nearly 10,000 others have also been wounded in the attacks.
The Israeli military says 3 Israeli civilians and 64 soldiers have been killed in the conflict, but Palestinian resistance movement Hamas puts the fatalities at more than 150.
Rouhani also referred to the nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and said Tehran is open to constructive interaction.
The Iranian chief executive, however, reiterated that Iran will not retreat from its legitimate rights, underscoring that the country’s national interests are the “red line” in the negotiations.
“We seek closer relations with the world; however, we defend our rights, interests and national security,” he said.
Iran and its six negotiating partners are holding talks to reach a final agreement aimed at resolving the standoff over Tehran’s civilian nuclear work.
The two sides signed a historic interim deal in Geneva last November. The agreement came into force on January 20 and expired six months later on July 20.
In July, Tehran and the six states agreed to extend their discussions until November 24 in a bid to work out a final accord.
“In the negotiations for selling oil, we do not restrict ourselves to anything, but rumors about the signature of a contract with Russia for selling Iran’s oil are not true,” Zanganeh said.
He said during his meeting with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, a memorandum was signed for development of economic, technical and trade ties between the two countries.
“During this trip [last week], an agreement was also signed for facilitating banking operations between Iranian and Russian banks with the objective of accelerating business operations in the two countries,” said the minister.
Zanganeh said Iran plans to raise its oil production by 700,000 b/d over the coming three years as part of the government plan to push the country out of recession.
The minister also said that Iran plans to increase production from the massive South Pars gas field by 300 mcm/d by March 2016.
He said that Iran will start developing Phase 11 of the offshore field, shared with Qatar, even if the Western governments do not lift sanctions to allow foreign companies to return to Iran.
“Chinese companies are ready to cooperate with this province in the construction of the second phase of the monorail as well as the telecommunication networks, airport and highway construction projects and they intend to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard,” Top Adviser of China’s Gansu Governor General Oyang Jian said in Qom today.
He pointed to the activities of Gansu province in recent years, and said, “Gansu province is the first Chinese province that has set up a trade delegation.”
The Chinese official noted that the value of Gansu-Qom export/import has exceeded $100 million, and said since Gansu and Qom are sister provinces their cooperation should further increase.
He expressed the hope that Gansu and Qom provinces would increase their cooperation in the agriculture and energy sectors.
Gansu is a province of the People’s Republic of China, located in the Northwest of the country.
Last month, Chinese officials held talks with their Iranian counterparts to finalize a deal on financing railway development projects in Iran.
“Our priority is the development of railway through attracting finance and recently we have reached an understanding with China, which is being finalized now,” Deputy Director of Construction and Development of Infrastructures Transportation Company (CDITC) Seyed Massoud Nasr Azadani told FNA after the talks.
He, meantime, said that proper conditions are also ready for the Iranian companies to invest in building railway lines in the country.
Earlier today, Iran’s Ambassador to China Mehdi Safari underlined Tehran’s resolve to utilize every possible capacity to pave the ground for widening and deepening all-out relations with China.
Addressing the Iranian China-based Businessmen Council members, Safari said senior officials, in both Tehran and Beijing, have always underlined expansion of mutual cooperation between the two friendly countries.
He went on to say that the two countries’ trade stood at $39.5bln last year, of which $25.393bln pertained to China’s imports from Iran and $14.387bln to its exports to Iran.
Describing Iran as a reliable partner to China in the region, he further noted that China is well aware of Iran’s influential role in the strategic regions of West Asia, Middle-East and the Persian Gulf.
Recalling Iran’s very suitable situation for the Chinese investors, he further noted that a group of Chinese experts will visit Iran to study the location and infrastructure of Bandar Jask on rims of the Persian Gulf for investment and establishing industrial townships.
He called on the Iranian traders and economic activists to enter China’s great market and raise non-oil exports to the country.
Iran is currently China’s third largest supplier of crude, providing Beijing with roughly 12 percent of its total annual oil consumption.
In a cabinet meeting on Sunday, the president ordered that all Iran-140 passenger jets be banned from flying until full investigation is conducted into the cause of the crash.
He also expressed deep sadness over the incident and expressed condolences to the families of the victims and the entire Iranian nation.
During the cabinet session, ministers of road and urban development and defense presented reports on the tragic plane crash.
The Antonov An-140 (Iran-140) aircraft belonging to a domestic airlines fatally crashed in a residential area in the west of the capital, Tehran, on Sunday morning.
It was scheduled to travel from Tehran to the northeastern city of Tabas when the incident occurred.
At least 38 passengers have been killed so far. No information is available on the cause of the crash.
The Antonov An-140 commercial passenger airplane is a twin-engine turbojet aircraft, which can accommodate up to 100 passengers
After purchasing the production license for the An-140 from Ukraine in 2000, Iran built its first Iran-140 passenger plane in 2003.
Zanan-e Emrouz (Today’s Women) Magazine has run an interview, conducted by Maryam Omrani, with Parviz Tanavoli, an internationally acclaimed sculptor, in its second issue out in July 2014. The interview looks into the development of Parviz Tanavoli’s artistic works with a focus on Saqqa Khaneh school of thought. It also focuses on his entry into jewelry and ornament production, analyzing the sociological aspects of the decorative objects. The following is an excerpt of the interview and its lead:
It is 6:00 p.m. June 5, 2014. I had an appointment with Parviz Tanavoli at his workshop located in his house in northern Tehran. I found a red-brick house with a yard awash with plants and sculptures which represent various periods of their creator’s artistic life. […]
It is stormy out there and the sculptures in the yard are covered with dust and dried leaves. A sculpture dubbed Heech (Nothing) which has sneaked its bust out of the cage in a southern corner of the garden leaning against the wall draws my attention more than other sculptures that sit far from the workshop. The master and I sit on dust-covered chairs in the workshop and continue our chat for hours thanks to his warm and good temper. […]
Tanavoli is part of Iran’s contemporary art history. He is a member of a generation of artists who tried – back in the 1960s and 1970s – to incorporate the qualities of modern art into Iranian art. Tanavoli is among the pioneers of the Saqqa Khaneh School, an artistic current he and his fellow artist masters of the time founded. They integrated the symbols of Iran’s traditional art and indigenous culture with global artistic standards of the time and created a new style; in other words, they tried their best to offer a modern definition of traditional and national aesthetics.
In addition to his main career as a sculptor, Tanavoli has always showed much interest in designing other items such as jewelry and decorative stuff. He has also brought together various collections of items from the country’s indigenous culture which merit attention from an anesthetic aspect. Drawing on the collections in question, he has put out some books, chief among them, the collections of Iran’s locks, surma holders, scales, scale weight stones, gravestones, charms and magic spells, etc.
The interview turned out to be more of a friendly chat than a specialized one-on-one meeting. It centered on feminine curiosities on the works Tanavoli has produced in the form of decorative items, among them the minimized sculptors used as pendants [hanging on bracelets]. Our chat also shifted to the history of non-traditional jewelries and decorative items and the way they were designed in Iran. He opened the conversation himself and here is what he said:
The other day when you talked to me about the link between decorative items and gender, I wondered why women like these ornaments but men don’t. Why is that women are interested in grooming themselves? Is it an internal need for them or they do so because men want them to? Anytime I thinking over this, I come to the conclusion that only men have run the affairs of societies over time and they have taken possession of everything in the world. Women too have been part of their possessions. One seems likely to decorate a thing the way they like when they have it in their possession. Perhaps, the balance would have been tipped and women would have decorated the men and bought them decorative materials if they had been in power, calling the shots and controlling the armies. Of course women’s desire to collect precious jewelry and decorative items could be somehow attributed to a lack of economic security on their part. A woman, with no business or job to earn her living, remained concerned about the uncertain future, especially if her husband had abandoned her.
Parviz Tanavoli-Iranian Sculptor
In Iran’s public culture, or in the East by and large, there is a general tendency toward ornaments and embellishments. If you look at Iran’s traditional art, you would come across many tiny and dense designs which have been made merely for decorative purposes. Traditional jewelries, hand-woven materials and other practical items designed for daily use seem to have served such a purpose. Today, people’s taste has changed to some extent.
Yes, you’re right. It is so if we talk about jewelries independently. What has remained from different treasures such as those from ancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Iran, China and India does share common designing qualities. In eastern societies, decoration and makeup have mattered much and are still important. The reason behind this is perhaps the fact that women did not frequently go out so in order not to feel depressed they used to both wear decorative accessories and fill the house walls with different decorations and ornaments. They would hang carpets, tableau and calligraphy items on the wall. They would apply mirrors and mirror artworks inside the house. A careful look at their household items shows that the cooking pots, carpets and fabrics they used enjoyed an aesthetic style of production. It is true that men used to build these tools but it seems that they too wanted to see their wives amused, develop interest in their lives and the interior atmosphere of the house, and thus not miss the outdoors.
Now that you are talking about the aesthetic aspects the Iranians have employed in their items I remembered your collection of surma holders the photos of which have been released in a book together with their history. Are you saying that those surma holders were feminine devices?
No. They were not devices used only by women. The fact is that surma was not applied exclusively by women. Afghan and Baluch men still wear surma. In the past, surma was said to come with medicinal effects. According to an ancient Iranian text which has survived the passage of time, Cyrus the Great would instruct his soldiers to wear surma and blacken the areas around their eyes. The application of surma slightly differs from that of makeup. The people who lived in desert areas where the sunlight was direct and intense would put on surma to handle the light.
The ornaments remaining from the ancient times, for instance from the Achaemenid and Sassanid periods or later times, show that men too used ornaments for decoration. Is there any difference between these ornaments when it comes to designing patterns?
Men used decorative items as well, but I think the kind of ornaments they used was different. Men sought to highlight their masculinity and manly power through the jewelries they wore. They used to display their muscular upper arms by a metal ring [around them], or they would tie heavy metal rings around their wrists and necks. They would use much simpler decorative items. No precious stones can be spotted in their jewelries and ornaments. Generally speaking though, except for old stones such as emerald, ruby and the like, no other precious stone can be found in the ancient jewelries or those of the following periods. Stones and their use (in ornaments) are a new phenomenon. The application of stones such as diamond goes back to one hundred years ago. Decoration of engagement and marriage rings with gemstones like brilliant was first planned and introduced by British companies, and this suddenly sent the price of valueless gems like brilliant skyrocketing. But I think stones are soulless and lifeless and they are not very much different from glass, aesthetically speaking. Think about it. For example, imagine in China which is home to over one billion people, everyone decides to have brilliants in their marriage rings. This explains why this gem went global all of a sudden, something which saw these companies reap staggering profits. […]
Taking a look at the history of jewelries, we get to realize that it has been for long an issue for traditional artists or handicraft creators and that the jewelry making art has at times been regarded as an independent artistic field. Exactly when did people interested in visual arts as well as sculptors and painters start to design jewelries?
Well, some jewelries are attributed to certain artists of the Renaissance and post-Renaissance periods. Artists in general and painters in particular had and do have the talent to design jewelries but they had never been the producers of these items. Another guild would produce the jewelry, those who had mastery and had special tools at their disposal. In Iran too jewelry producing was a separate occupation. Traditional jewelry makers would design and produce their items all by themselves. At some point in time, jewelry designing became a mix of foreign jewelry and Iranian traditions. In the Qajar era, the import of French and Belgian jewelry was on the increase in Iran where [domestic] jewelry makers copied the imported items from time to time. At times the imitations were produced so delicately and skillfully that they looked even more beautiful and attractive than the real thing. And in another period industrial jewelries made their debut on the market.
As for my designs, I have no idea whether such a name is suitable or not. In our culture, “jewelry” is referred to a mixture of valuable gemstones and gold. These handmade items are too delicate and ornately rich to match my sculpture-like bronze and silver designs, unless we take into account their dimensions and functions in the form of rings, bracelets and necklaces. I have always showed strong interest in the sculptures which were made of stone, bronze and other materials in different areas in Iran in the first millennium BC, or the very tiny stone weights, horse gear or fittings or, let’s say, the designs which were not meant to be used as jewelry but their beauty was by no means less than jewels. I didn’t want to repeat or copy the ornate richness of traditional jewelry. Maybe I wanted to produce my works in a very tiny size ….
[…] Over the last 50 years we have seen practical designing by the world’s modern and post-modern artists who have created the items not related to their main profession such as sculpting and architecture. For instance, Zaha Hadid, who is known for her architectural works, does designing for decorative items and other tools such as house stuff, clothing items as well as shoes and footwear. What about Iran? How is it in Iran?
I dare to say that many people across the world who are active in visual arts are currently designing jewels as well. But I do not remember any in Iran. At first, it was only me who showed such an interest, I suppose. I started to make jewelry in the early 1960s. I don’t know of any other artists who have designed jewels on top of their main profession, for example sculpting. Back then I wanted to make the Heech sculpture in different sizes ranging from one spacious enough to accommodate one person to the size which could wrap around a wrist or a finger. Back then a woman who was a public office holder asked me to design jewelry for her. She wanted it because she had to take part in an official gathering in which ranking officials including ambassadors from foreign countries were also in attendance and she liked to have some unique jewelry on with Iranian designing, and not a Cartier design necklace or something with other European designs. The same lady gave some semi-precious gemstones to me. I did some designing and it marked the beginning of my job. I did some of those designing patterns for my wife and some other people. One of them is the very “Heech” ring which was widely welcomed. […]
Do the materials you use for making jewelry differ from those used for producing sculptures? Do you make use of more expensive metals such as gold and silver as well?
I do use bronze instead of gold. I seek to get my message across by using such primary materials. I want to say what matters is the work of the artist and not the materials he or she uses. […]
Parviz Tanavoli
Do you know anything about your customers? Do you have a special audience in mind when you work on your designs? I mean a special social group.
No. I don’t think about any special group of people while working, but instead I think about making my items in a way which everybody can easily use, for example different sizes of rings and necklaces and this does not cover a special group of people in society. I don’t have any information on the exact number of those who buy my works, but they are usually top earners or high-income groups in society. Compared with sculptures, the price of decorative items is much lower. The upside of the jewelries is that they look as if they are friends with people. They are close to us since they are on our fingers. They go from place to place with the person who carries them. They even go on trips with their owners. On the other hand, you need a vast space to hold a sculpture, whether it is placed in the garden, inside the house or in any other place. It cannot accompany you wherever you go and you cannot take it on a trip with yourself.
Now that you talked about the friendship between an individual and his or her jewelries and their attachment to human body, it crossed my mind to ask you how the jewelries affect the personal identity and help distinguish between its owner and the others. For example, a woman who wears an expensive piece of jewelry tries, in one way or the other, to show she is different from other people, or the person who has put on the Heech ring regards herself or himself somewhat distinct from other people from a cultural point of view. Both share one thing: they like to be different.
It has been the case in all societies and throughout all historical periods. Suppose, for example, the jewelry an artist like (Alexander) Calder designs is used by some. They must be distinct. Also bear in mind that their price is likely to have risen multifold since their production date. I don’t think a change of taste in using jewelries could be indicative of the change of time and a change in the spirit of those who wear them. With the modern jewelry and decorative items being received warmly, one can come to the conclusion that the mood of the Iranian women has changed from traditional conservatism to adventurism and to acceptance of the challenges of the modern world. Moreover, women display much interest in producing jewelry and decorative items. Girls and women account for 70 percent of my students in Mah Mehr Institute. The figure does not apply to jewelry courses alone. It covers other courses as well.
When did your classes resume in Iran and when did you include jewelry designing in the courses you teach?
Well, for years before the Islamic revolution I had taught in university but after my return to Iran I held a first round of classes in Mah Mehr Institute back in June 2006. If my memory serves me well, about two years later courses on modern jewelry designing were introduced. I’d like to say some words about my students, although they may not find their way to the magazine. Perhaps the magazine decides one day to publish reports on every single of them. Around 100 modern jewelry makers have been trained in my classes. They have been very much successful recently, both in holding exhibitions and in selling their works. Recently, fifteen students of mine held an exhibition in Mashhad which, to my disbelief, was widely welcomed. Incredibly these modern jewelries are widely received by people; most of them were sold out on the opening night. The same group has held exhibitions in Tehran, Kuwait and Paris. I was with them for some of those shows. I’m very happy that a modern jewelry nucleus has been born in Iran and now it is in its teens. These students have gone much beyond where we do stand now and I’m certain that their mother lode of knowledge would grow by the day. […]
Let’s come back to the question of women. Given the public culture and traditions, many Iranian artists, you included, produced some works back in the 1960s and the 1970s that are known as the Saqqa Khaneh School. Is there any trace of femininity in the works you produced back then?
You know, men are the theme of my works and I have usually placed women next to men. My sculptures mostly have a very masculine identity; in other words, a man who always has a desire for women. My works, namely Farhad Koohkan and Poet, show that these men had a desire for women. The men in my works never do without women; they have been always in love with women. Perhaps women have been given no figurative personification or representation in my works, but their traces are seen everywhere (he laughs). I don’t know what you would have done if men weren’t around, but I wouldn’t like to live if women were not in the world.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham in a statement on Sunday underlined Tehran’s support for unity and stability in Yemen, and condemned the recent terrorist attack in the country by the al-Qaeda-affiliated militia.
“Undoubtedly, consultations and partnership of all streams and parties in the political process and the Yemeni people’s vigilance will uproot this ominous phenomenon,” she added.
Fourteen soldiers were executed by al-Qaeda militants in Yemen in an apparent revenge attack after a recent army crackdown in the East of the volatile country.
The soldiers, who were travelling home to Sana’a on a public bus, were ordered off and taken to a market in Seiyoun on Friday. Their bullet-riddled bodies were found on a road near the city about three hours later.
Ansar al-Sharia, the local al-Qaeda offshoot, said its militants had killed the soldiers for taking part in military operations against the group.
The Yemeni army has recently sent extra troops to the Wadi Hadramout region in Northeastern Yemen in an attempt to stop Ansar al-Sharia declaring an Islamic emirate in Seiyoun.
One government official said the killings appeared to be an act of revenge.
Farhad Fakhreddini is a renowned Iranian composer and conductor
Farhad Fakhreddini is a renowned Iranian composer and conductor who led Iran’s Radio and Television Orchestra (1973-1979) and went on to lead Iran’s National Orchestra (1998-2009). He has composed music for several popular TV series such as Sarbedaran, Roozi Roozegari and Imam Ali. Niusha Mazidabadi of Tajrobeh (Experience) has interviewed this prominent musician of late. The following is an excerpt of the interview published in a 30th issue of the monthly out in July 2014:
You have been a conductor both before and after the revolution and have worked with many musicians. How do you think Iranian orchestra is faring?
In the past what would worry me most was the small number of vocational schools for music in Tehran. When I was a teacher at the National Vocational School for Music, I would tell my colleagues, “I wish we had at least five such schools across Tehran so that students wouldn’t have to travel all the way from faraway neighborhoods of the capital to this school.” That wish was not granted, besides big cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad didn’t have music schools at all and no one seemed to be caring. After the revolution, things changed and the government cared less about music, but that didn’t stop people showing more and more interest in music. One of the reasons for growing interest in music was that parents felt it was safer to entertain their children at home, rather than let them pursue outdoor hobbies. Consequently, a large number of youngsters found their way into the world of music. […]
You think the number of musicians has increased as compared with before the revolution?
The numbers are not comparable. Before the revolution, we wished to have more youngsters signing up for music courses at vocational schools. After the revolution, private institutes cropped up. Famous musicians taught in theses institutes and many of those who took their music courses turned out to be good musicians themselves. I believe Iranian musicians are in good shape today.
Prior to the revolution, the academic aspect of music seemed to be stronger. Quality-wise, do you think musicians today are better than their pre-revolution peers?
I cannot answer that question definitively. What I can say is that the enthusiasm of today was non-existent in the past. I have also conducted orchestras elsewhere in the world, but the warm welcome concerts receive here in Iran is unique. I believe the fact that the Iranian broadcaster does not cover concerts should be credited for the warm welcome music events receive here in Iran. It should be noted that orchestral performances are far from lucrative, given that ticket prices are low and government does not lend financial support to the music industry. Up to 50 percent of what is fetched in a concert is spent on the organization of the event and on the pay of musicians. Let me assure you, in the absence of real fervor, musicians won’t achieve much. What is promising is that young musicians are still in contact with and taught by their older peers. I too belong to a generation of older musicians. I have played music in different orchestras. I don’t want to sound self-complimentary, but I belong in the ranks of musicians who have trained great students. It is an undeniable fact that some of my students have shined in different parts of the world including in Moscow, Vienna, Saint Petersburg, Toronto, etc. Anytime the Symphony Orchestra wanted to bring a new musician on board, the National Orchestra was the first place it would look at.
Let’s shift our focus back to the National Orchestra. Ever since the 11th government came to power, both [Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance] Mr. Jannati and [his deputy Ali] Moradkhani have announced their intention to revive the National Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra. A few months ago when you and Mr. Sahbai were officially named as leaders of the two orchestras, everyone knew something was on the horizon. But most recently, it has been announced that musicians willing to take up position in the orchestra have to take a test. Do you think the test is necessary?
They ran the test by me first. It is designed to identify talented musicians who haven’t been able to find their way into the orchestra. Under new the arrangements those who are capable will be given a chance to be admitted to the orchestra.
As a conductor you have always tried to maintain your independence. Some musicians, though, compose anything someone places an order for. How have you managed to maintain your artistic independence?
I work on things that are close to my beliefs. For instance, I composed the soundtrack of Avicenna TV series because I believed he was a great philosopher who attached importance to music. It is a great pleasure for me to have composed for such a great individual. Although someone had placed an order for the soundtrack, for me it was a labor of love.
What about the soundtrack of Imam Ali TV series?
Well the lyrics of that series were my biggest musical discovery. In my research I found out that those lyrics dated back to the time Prophet Muhammad was still alive. WhenMuawiyah asked the Prophet what made him so elated that his Abaya slipped off his shoulders onto the ground, the Prophet said, “The words conjure up the memory of a friend, and when the memory of a friend is brought up, one should get happy.” The relics date back to 14 or 15 centuries ago and I used them in the music of Imam Ali TV series. That was the result of a very long study involving ancient Iranian songs. Some might suggest that I have walked off the path of the Iranian music. That is not true.
In conclusion, if the NationalOrchestra is reinstated, do you have a repertoire to work on?
If we had enough money, we’d call up as many musicians as we can afford. In the National Orchestra players of Iranian instruments are not going to be a fixture. But if on a certain occasion, we had to play Iranian instruments, we would invite guest musicians and solo performance would be at the center of pieces involving Iranian instruments. Pieces are being composed for the orchestra. We don’t want to be singer-centered so that we can bring different instruments to the attention of the public. That said, we will introduce new singers to the artistic community. We hope to have the budgetary arrangements in place so that we can get the show on the road in a few months.
The original title of the interview which appeared in Tajrobeh Monthly was “Distance from Singer-centeredness”.
