Discussion on Innovation in Culture at Mahmoud Khoshnameh's Gathering

Host: Mahmoud Khoshnameh Guests: Ali Naqi Vaziri, Ruhollah Khaleghi, Nader Naderpour, Morteza Memarzadeh, and Hossein Alizadeh Music: From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland Dinner Menu: Baghali Polo The host of this program is Mahmoud Khoshnameh, one of the most renowned researchers and experts in Iranian music. Before the revolution, he was the editor of the monthly Rudaki magazine for five years, which was one of the influential publications in the field of music, art, and literature at that time, and prior to that, he was also the editor of another music magazine called Music Magazine. Mr. Khoshnameh also served as the cultural deputy and head of public relations for Rudaki Hall, which was established fifty years ago for music, ballet, and opera performances in Tehran, and after the revolution, its name was changed to Vahdat Hall. He has published hundreds of research articles in various fields of Iranian music, from traditional and folklore to pop, some of which are included in a book titled "In the Realm of Music." Since migrating to Germany in 1980, Mr. Khoshnameh has produced and hosted numerous radio programs for foreign media on various aspects of music. He studied political science at the University of Tehran and went to Europe before the revolution, obtaining a doctorate in the sociology of art. Mr. Khoshnameh lives in Bonn, Germany, and I spoke with him over the phone. Discussion on Innovation in Culture at Mahmoud Khoshnameh's Gathering From Radio Farda About Mahmoud Khoshnameh The host of this program, Mahmoud Khoshnameh, is one of the most renowned researchers and experts in Iranian music who was the editor of the influential monthly Rudaki before the revolution. He has published hundreds of research articles in various fields of Iranian music. Mr. Mahmoud Khoshnameh, welcome to the program. Please start by telling us which five personalities you would like to invite for dinner? I would like to remember a great musician of Iran who hasn't been spoken of as he should be. Mr. Ali Naqi Vaziri. For the second guest, let’s stay in the same field of Iranian music, Ruhollah Khaleghi. For the third guest, I want to step outside of music, as I am also very interested in poetry, and I think it is appropriate to mention Nader Naderpour. For the fourth, I thought about someone who has not been talked about much in the field of design, and that is the great designer Morteza Memarzadeh, who passed away a few years ago. The last guest again returns us to music, and I choose Hossein Alizadeh. Very well, Mr. Khoshnameh. Your guests have been identified. You will certainly explain to our audience later why you are interested in these guests. But before that, if possible, please tell us what music you would like to play for them. Perhaps for you, as a music expert, choosing a piece of music is not an easy task. Mahmoud Khoshnameh: From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland Selected Music: From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland by Mohammad Reza Shajarian, a work by Aref Qazvini. Among the various pieces of global music, if we want to search, it becomes a bit more difficult. So we limit it to Iranian music and return to Aref Qazvini. He was actually the first revolutionary in Iranian music, and the music of today’s Iran is the result of his valuable efforts for modernization. I think "From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland" is his best song, and we choose it with Shajarian's voice. Now we return to the guests you selected. You mentioned Ali Naqi Vaziri as your first guest. What significance does Master Vaziri have in Iranian music that you want him to be at your gathering? Guests of Mahmoud Khoshnameh: Ali Naqi Vaziri Ali Naqi Vaziri (1265-1358 SH): Iranian musician and renowned tar player Works: Tar solos, harmonizations, Language of Love, Hopeless, and other written and musical works Reason for invitation: Vaziri was actually the first innovation that appeared in Iranian music. He not only revived Iranian music but also brought it to life. The importance of Ali Naqi Vaziri lies in the fact that he was indeed the first innovation that appeared in Iranian music. I use the word emergence because it is for those who carry out a mission. Vaziri was one of those people. He not only revived Iranian music but brought it to life. During the Qajar period, Iranian music was in a terrible state of destruction and decline. There was nothing. The traditional music we hear now was a collection of scattered pieces that Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Farahani and his two sons, Mirza Abdollah and Aqa Hossein Qoli, arranged together into something based on personal taste. Although it is unclear what connection these pieces have with the music before them or with ancient music during the time of Khosrow Parviz. But when Vaziri came, he defined the scope of work in defining national music and also tried to use all global possibilities to make this music more vibrant while adhering to Iranian music and making it understandable to the world. In this regard, both nationally and internationally, Ali Naqi Vaziri is a prominent and distinguished figure. One of his great students is Abolhasan Saba, right? Yes, Saba is one of his distinguished students. Of course, Saba was also a student of someone else. Iranian violinists were usually students of Ismail Kamancheh-kash as well. Saba was also a student of Mirza Ismail Khan. Vaziri himself had also learned Iranian music to some extent from Mirza Ismail Khan. But from 1300 onwards, he is the only one who is the teacher of all the great musicians that followed. Saba learned the Vaziri school and based on that became one of Vaziri's grateful followers. Now we move on to your second guest, who is also one of our great musicians, Ruhollah Khaleghi. Please tell us about the importance of Mr. Khaleghi for us. Guests of Mahmoud Khoshnameh: Ruhollah Khaleghi Ruhollah Khaleghi (1285-1344 SH): Iranian composer and musician Famous works: The History of Iranian Music, A Look at Music, Ey Iran, many pieces from Golha programs, and other works Reason for invitation: Khaleghi established a special chair for music in the National Music Conservatory and authored numerous books to honor music. The importance of Khaleghi is directly related to the importance of Vaziri. In the sense that if Vaziri did this work as an innovator, there was no one else to continue this work. Many people rejected Vaziri's views and opposed any kind of innovation. The only two people who championed this innovation and did not let Vaziri's efforts fall to the ground were Saba, whom you mentioned, and before him, Ruhollah Khaleghi. He was a student of Vaziri and studied at Vaziri's music school from the age of thirteen or fourteen, and after finishing school, he became so prominent that he became a colleague of Vaziri and managed the classes of Vaziri's music school. And this continued until the establishment of the National Music Conservatory through his efforts. The conservatory we had mostly taught Western music. Khaleghi established a special chair for Iranian music in the conservatory and authored numerous books to honor music. One of Khaleghi's famous works is the anthem "Ey Iran." The story of it, you surely know. Hossein Gol Golab, a university professor and friend of Vaziri, was passing through an alley to come to the Vaziri school, which Khaleghi managed. On the way, he sees a group of American soldiers, part of the Allied forces in Iran, assaulting some Iranians and beating them. He is deeply upset by this scene. When he arrives at Khaleghi's class and Khaleghi asks what happened that he is so upset, he recounts the incident. Khaleghi is also affected and the anthem "Ey Iran" is created there with the lyrics of Hossein Gol Golab and the music of Ruhollah Khaleghi, which has now actually become the national anthem. This is while both during the previous regime they prevented its broadcast and during the current regime, they are absolutely hostile towards it. Despite all these actions, every concert you attend has two demanding pieces. One is the anthem "Ey Iran" by Khaleghi and the other is "Morgh-e Sahar" by Morteza Khan Neydavood. Every concert must end with these pieces. Your third guest is Nader Naderpour, who, unlike the other two guests, is a poet. Why do you like Naderpour? Guests of Mahmoud Khoshnameh: Nader Naderpour Nader Naderpour (1308-1378 SH): Iranian poet, writer, and social-political activist Works: Plant and Stone, Not Fire, Daughter of Jam, Surma of the Sun, and other works Reason for invitation: Naderpour is one of the best Iranian poets in terms of poetic sense and has no equal in the delicacy of poetry and poetic essence. He was actually a ghazal poet of modern poetry. Naderpour is one of the best Iranian poets in terms of poetic sense. Even those who disagree with his social and political methods admit that he has no equal in the delicacy of poetry and poetic essence. He was a ghazal poet of modern poetry. But more importantly, he had a stance against the methods of committed poets. Committed poets, in short, believed that poetry must necessarily be committed, meaning intertwined with political and social issues. There was a lot of debate and discussion about this. The only one who opposed this and said that poetry should be poetry itself and that commitment is an internal and spiritual matter that cannot be injected from outside was Nader Naderpour. After the revolution, we saw what impact he had. Indeed, the pure and flowing poetry of Naderpour stood against what the clerics called the onslaught of committed poets who believed that Naderpour was a poet of self-narration and not a social poet. But we saw that in that self-narration, he showed remarkable points even in confronting the regime and the revolution. His greatest poem, I forgot its name (the poem "Blood and Ashes"), is a poem that says, "That earthquake that shook the house / Cannot be said what it did to my heart," this is one of Naderpour's committed poems, and in summary, Naderpour accepted commitment when it truly mattered, and when it did not, he remained true to his love and self-narration. But at the same time, he was very active in the Writers' Association during the previous regime and fought for freedom of expression. This is also true, and it was good that you reminded me. Your fourth guest is Morteza Memarzadeh, a designer and graphic artist. Guests of Mahmoud Khoshnameh: Morteza Memarzadeh Morteza Memarzadeh (1315-1384 SH): Iranian graphic designer and illustrator Works: Signs, Words of Experience, Half a Century of Work, and other works Reason for invitation: I got to know Memarzadeh through work and collaboration. When we published the monthly Rudaki, he reluctantly accepted to collaborate with us, and we published all 66 issues of Rudaki with his designs. Designs that were better, higher, and more beautiful than each other. I got to know Memarzadeh through work and collaboration. When we were publishing the monthly Rudaki, we were looking for a prominent designer and saw that everyone was talking about Memarzadeh. He reluctantly accepted to collaborate with us because he was very busy and perhaps was not hopeful that we could produce a good magazine. But he accepted, and we published all 66 issues of Rudaki with his designs. Designs that were better, higher, and more beautiful than each other. Furthermore, Memarzadeh designed all the posters for music, painting, and other festivals. He created beautiful posters and received numerous awards from international references. Memarzadeh's designs should be recognized. In the years before the revolution, newspapers and magazines had three prominent designers. One was Qobad Shiva, one was Morteza Memarzadeh, and one worked with the Tamasha magazine, whose name I cannot recall right now. These three designers carried the entire burden of designing Iranian publications, and among them, Morteza Memarzadeh shone the most. Mr. Memarzadeh, in addition to working in the press, also designed logos and signs for many companies, factories, and organizations, such as the Fire Department... Yes, that is correct, but I limited myself to his work for the press. You are right; he did many other works as well. He had an untimely death. He was not very old, but illness did not allow him to continue. Now we move on to your last guest, Hossein Alizadeh, a tar player and composer. Guests of Mahmoud Khoshnameh: Hossein Alizadeh Hossein Alizadeh (1330 SH): Renowned Iranian composer, researcher, and musician Works: Ney-Nava, Turkmen, Shourangiz, Nobang-e Kohan, Hejrani, Be Tamashaye Abhaye Sepid, and other works Reason for invitation: In my opinion, Alizadeh plays the same role in post-revolutionary Iranian music that Ali Naqi Vaziri played in the years after the Constitutional Revolution. He saves Iranian music from destruction and decay. Alizadeh's name will be inscribed on the tablet of the future music. In my opinion, Alizadeh plays the same role in post-revolutionary Iranian music that Ali Naqi Vaziri played in the years after the Constitutional Revolution. He saves Iranian music from destruction and decay. If you remember, when the revolution happened, everyone said that Iranian music was actually being executed. This is a phrase that Iraj Janati Ataei always said. But a decade after the revolution, the need for music in society increased, and the presence of a young force that could not ignore music caused some openings to emerge, allowing a breeze to enter the suffocating atmosphere of Iran. Alizadeh found ways, without facing obstacles, to make the most of these openings to establish a new music, and he truly did this. For example, in the face of the prohibition of women's voices in Iranian music, he found a way to counter it by forming the Hamavayan group. In the Hamavayan group, since broadcasting women's voices in a gathering was not an issue, he utilized women's voices in this group.