Hossein Alizadeh

Hossein Alizadeh stands among Iran’s foremost classical composers and performers. As a masterful interpreter of the six-stringed Persian tar, the four-stringed Persian sehtar and the eleven-stringed Azeri tar, he has sustained and expanded the classical traditions of his native country. Beyond his orchestral compositions—including “Riders of the Plains of Hope,” “Revolt,” “Hey Nava,” “Torkaman,” “Raz-O-Niaz” and “Song of Compassion”—he has documented the complete “Radif” according to the version transmitted by Mirza Abdullah.

Music formed an early and lasting part of his life. His mother, originally from Arak, and his father, originally from Urmia, shared a deep appreciation for the art. In 1962, after first encountering a tar in a Tehran shop, Alizadeh began formal study of the instrument and achieved full command of it by his late teens. Summers spent in Tabriz and Urmiya further broadened his horizons; there, broadcasts from Soviet Azerbaijan introduced him to the distinctive sound of Azeri music.

After completing his studies at a secondary-level conservatory, Alizadeh took a post as composer for Tehran’s Center for the Intellectual Development of Children, pursued additional training at the Center for the Promotion of Classical Persian Music and enrolled in art college. He later received a bachelor’s degree in composition and performance from the University of Tehran’s School of Music and continued graduate work at the University of Fine Arts in Tehran. Following the Islamic revolution of 1979, his interest in Azeri traditions deepened, prompting him to travel to Tabriz for lessons with Ali Salimi.

Alizadeh launched his professional career as a member of the Iranian National Orchestra and eventually served as conductor and soloist with the National Orchestra of Radio and Television of Iran. He advanced Persian classical repertoire through his work with the Aref Ensemble and the Shayda Ensemble. His initial European engagement came with the orchestra of the Bejart Ballet Company during performances of Maurice Bejart’s ballet “Gulistan.” In the early 1980s he undertook further studies in composition and musicology at the University of Berlin. He has held teaching positions at the University of Tehran and the Tehran Music Conservatory; in the fall of 1997 he also taught world music at Cal Arts in Velencia, CA.