TEHRAN -- Musicians and friends are lamenting their great loss after the death
of Iranian santur virtuoso Parviz Meshkatian. Meshkatian died of heart failure
at his home in Tehran on Monday, September 21. He was 54 years old.
Parviz Meshkatian
Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Mohammad-Hossein Imani-Khoshkhu
submitted his message of condolences over the death of Meshkatian.
"Autumn is on its way outside the door, but an early fall has decended upon
Iran's musical arts since Mehskatian has left us forever.
"Master of santur always had serious concerns over preserving and promoting
traditional Iranian music and his heart beat for the art and culture of Iran,"
reads part of the message.
The House of Music Spokesman, musician Dariush Pirniakan expressed his regrets
over the fact that he lost a dear friend like Parviz and stated that their
friendship went back to their childhood when he was 13.
"My sister's house was across from Parviz's father house in Neyshabur. I became
friends with Parviz in those years. He used to play santur and violin and I used
to take his father's tar and we played together," he recalled.
Born in Neyshabur in 1955, Parviz began his musical training at the age of six
with his father Hassan Meshkatian, who was a professional tar and santur player.
Pirniakan noted that he had collaborated with Parviz in several albums some of
which have never been released, adding, "After leaving Chavosh band, Meshkatian
founded Aref Ensemble, and we held our first concert tour in Europe in 1986
accompanied by singer Mohammadreza Shajarian.
"He enjoyed unique abilities and used to play with such intense emotions that no
one could reach his level," he remarked.
Music composer Fardin Khalatbari regarded the death of Meshkatian a great loss
for Iran's world of music and said, "Parviz had an excellent command of
literature and enjoyed superb tastes in music.
He expressed regrets that Parviz was not recognized in his time to the extent
that he deserved.
Khalatbari added that an analysis of Meshakatian's work can be quite instructive
for musicians.
Musician Hushang Kamkar stated that the eternal silence of Meshkatian is
unbelievable, "I wondered why he was not working hard over the past few years.
This was something that bothered those of us who knew him and now his sudden
death is a big shock to us all.
"My brothers and I did several joint performances with Parviz. He was a
sensitive soul and perhaps the current situation of music in the country made
him sad and contributed to his inactivity in recent years.
Musician and member of the board of directors of the House of Music Davud
Ganjeii, also considered Meshkatian one of the most talented musicians in the
country who has created everlasting pieces of music.
"The values of his works are quite obvious for musicians and they will never
lose their value and freshness over the years. His best works were created
during the time he collaborated with Shajarian, revealing his lofty talent for
composing Iranian music that easily communicates with millions of people," he
remarked.
Hamidreza Nurbakhsh, singer in the last concert by Aref Ensemble noted that
Meshkatian was one of the pillars of Iran's music over the past three decades.
"He was not widely known, but his value and position was recognized among the
people of Iran and especially among musicians.
He expressed hope that young musicians would follow his path.
"I believe that today, an artist like Meshkatian can't be found in Iran,"
composer Majid Entezami said, adding his loss is a tremendous disaster.
Meshkatian was a student of Mohammad-Taqi Masudieh, Abdollah Davami, Saeid
Hormozi, and Yusef Forutan, who helped him to refine his skills.
After some years, he became one of Iran's most prominent musicians.
In 1977, Meshkatian founded the Aref Ensemble with Hossein Alizadeh and
Mohammadreza Lotfi. The group performed numerous concerts in Iran, Europe and
the Americas.
He also performed with some of Iran's greatest vocalists including Mohammadreza
Shajarian, Shahram Nazeri and Iraj Bastami.
The collaborations resulted in the creation of the albums "Bidad", "The Court of
the Beloved", "Mystery of Love", "Nava" and "Dastan", which are all very popular
in Iran.
Mehskatian is survived by two children Ava and Aiin from his first marriage with
Afsaneh, the daughter of Shajarian.
His funeral procession will begin Thursday in front of Tehran's Vahdat Hall. It
has not been announced if he will be buried in the Artists Section of Tehran's
Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery or in his hometown of Neyshabur.
Tehran Symphony Orchestra observes moment of
silence for Meshkatian
The Tehran Symphony Orchestra held a moment of
silence on Tuesday night for the late Iranian musician Parviz Meshkatian, who
had passed away 24 hours earlier.
The orchestra, conducted by Majid Entezami, went on stage at Tehran's Vahdat
Hall to perform the Resistance Symphony in commemoration of the 29th anniversary
of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
"Unfortunately, an artist who spent all his life to keep the light of music on,
is no longer among us," Entezami told the audiences before beginning of the
performance.
"We also promised him that we would keep the light on," he added.
Afterwards, he asked the audience to stand and observe a minute of silence for
Meshkatian.
The organizers of the concert, which will be performed until September 26, also
paid tribute to Meshkatian by placing a candle-lit table bearing his photo in
the lobby.
In addition, Iranian vocalist Mohammadreza Shajarian, who is currently in Paris
for a part of his European concert tour, also observed a moment of silence for
Meshkatian prior to beginning his Monday night performances in the city.
Musician and santur virtuoso Meshkatian died of heart failure at the age of 54
on Monday afternoon.
