Perhaps it’s petty or arrogant of me to take it personally when artists of this stature don’t schedule a New York concert, but I do. What are these? “Bringing culture to the provinces” tours? The National brings Wedekind to Bradford with Urdu supertitles and such? I thought only Europe had (or had had) money for such lavish patronage. I went to see Alizadeh and Kalhor at the Kennedy Center two years ago; it was well worth it, especially their transporting instrumental first set. But I also love D.C. Not going to Boston, sorry, one of my least favorite cities on the planet — not even for the great ustaad. Maybe if his son Homayoun had come along…
But here’s a old video of Shajarian when he was very young:
And an interview with him that can be fond here at Tehran Bureau, the go to site for anything Iranian He talks about his music, the poetry he loves best and, very subtly, about his not-so-passive role in Iranian events since 2009.
And here he is in a pyrotechnic a capella duet with Homayoun, perhaps the most beautiful section for me of their last recording together Faryad (The Cry) performed a few years ago at their concert at BAM. One can only guess at the intensity of a father-and-son relationship like theirs. Many think Homayoun is destined to be an even greater singer than his father, but probably respect and Persian manners keep it from being said too much. To paraphrase Virginia Woolf: ‘…this being Iran, everyone pretended not to notice.’
Comment: nikobakos@gmail.com
Jadde: from Bosnia to Bengal 
Leave a comment