Dariush Safvat ( fa, داريوش صفوت‎; 28 November 1928 – 17 April 2013) also spelled as Daryush Safvat, was a master Persian traditional musician, teacher, and ethnomusicologist. Safvat is best known for his mastery of setar and santur instruments. Safvat was the founding director of the in Tehran; and some credit Safvat with saving traditional music from obliteration in the 1970s.

Early life and education

Dariush Safvat was born on 28 November 1928 in

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. He began learning to play the setar at an early age from his father, Ali Asghar Safvat, who also played the ancient instrument. Among others, Safvat studied with two other Masters of Persian classical music,

Abolhasan Saba Abu Al-Hasan ( ar, أبو الحسن, Abū Al-Ḥasan, Father of Hasan), also transliterated Abu'l Hasan, is an Arabic ''kunya'' ('teknonym'). It may refer to: Notable people Politics and military * Ali ibn Abi Talib (600–661), the fourth ...

and Haji Agha Mohammad Irani Mojarrad. However, Safvat claims the person who had the most influence on his life and music was Ostad Elahi, a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

judge, philosopher, theologian and master musician. He received a B.A. degree in law from the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

in 1953; and a Ph.D. in International Law from the

Faculty of Law of Paris The Faculty of Law of Paris (french: Faculté de droit de Paris), called from the late 1950s to 1970 the Faculty of Law and Economics of Paris, is the second-oldest faculty of law in the world and one of the four and eventually five faculties ...

in 1965. He also studied at the Institute of Musicology in Paris.

Career and music

Over the course of his distinguished career, he held many key posts in academia and the music scene, among them a Fellow at the Academy of Sciences, of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Center for the Preservation and Research of Music (formally known as the Center for Preservation and Propagation of Iranian Music, and the Center for the Preservation and Dissemination of Music) was founded in 1968 in Tehran by Safvat, a school specializing in traditional Iranian music. He is credited with having taught some of the most talented Iranian musicians of the 20th century in Iran, including well-known santur players

Parviz Meshkatian Parviz Meshkatian (Persian: پرويز مشكاتيان; May 15, 1955 – September 21, 2009) was an Iranian musician, composer, researcher and university lecturer. Biography Born in Nishapur, Meshkatian entered the Tehran Academy of Ar ...

and

Majid Kiani Majid Kiani is a Master of the Persian Santur. He was the best student of Manoochehr Sadeghi, among others. He teaches traditional Iranian music and his masterpiece is the book named: "Seven Dastgah(s) of Iranian Music". He is a leading figure i ...

, and master setar player,

Jalal Zolfonoun Jalaal Zulfonun ( fa, جلال ذوالفنون, Jalâl Zolfonun, ) was an Iranian musician, setaar player, and a prominent composer and teacher of Persian music. Collaboration with Maurice Béjart He has also collaborated with Maurice Béjart ...

. The Center counts among its graduates some of the most prolific and admired masters of classical Persian music, including

Mohammad Reza Lotfi Mohammad-Reza Lotfi ( fa, محمدرضا لطفی; 1 January 1947 – 2 May 2014) was an Iranian classical musician renowned for his mastery of the tar and setar. He collaborated with singers such as Mohammad-Rezā Shajarian, Hengameh Akhavan, ...

Hossein Alizadeh Hossein Alizadeh ( fa, حسین علیزاده) is an Iranian musician, composer, radif-preserver, researcher, teacher, and tar, shurangiz and setar instrumentalist and improviser. He has performed with such musicians as Shahram Nazeri, Mohamma ...

, Hossein Omoumi, Parisa, the late Nasser Farhangfar,

Dariush Talai Dariush Talai plays both the Tar and Setar. Born in 1953 in Iran, he studied Persian music with masters of the Radif. His teachers include Tar player Ali Akbar Shahnazi, Nur Ali Borumand with whom he studied radio and old compositions, as well as ...

and Mahmoud Farahmand. Safvat has published a number of books and articles in Persian, French and English, and has produced a large number of recordings, but what is most remarkable is the degree to which his humanity, piety and integrity have made him popular among both the music elite and the masses alike.Sharq Newspaper (يك مدير موسيقايي)
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Late life and death

In March 2005, he received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres award, granted by the French government. Safvat died on 17 April 2013 in

Karaj Karaj ( fa, کرج, ) is the capital of Alborz Province, Iran, and effectively a satellite city of Tehran. Although the county hosts a population around 1.97 million, as recorded in the 2016 census, most of the county is rugged mountain. The urb ...

, Iran from natural causes.

Bibliography

Notes

External links

Official website (archived)The Academy of Sciences of IR Iran
{{DEFAULTSORT:Safvat, Dariush 1928 births 2013 deaths Ethnomusicologists 20th-century Iranian musicians Musicians from Tehran Persian classical musicians University of Tehran alumni People from Shiraz University of Paris alumni