Album Notes

Rahmatollah Badiyi, a living treasure of Classical Persian music, was born in 1936 in Kashan, Iran. At the age of five he began to play the nei, a Persian flute. From age seven he demonstrated extraordinary musical talent as he would listen to the radio and then replicate the Persian music that he had heard on a violin.

He entered the Teheran Conservatory at age eleven when he began to study classical music. At the same time he began studying Persian music with the famous Abol-Hasan Saba who would work with him for the next five years. After graduating from the Tehran Conservatory, he collaborated with various national orchestras as a concertmaster and soloist for more than twenty-three years. At that same time he worked as a professor in the National Conservatory of Music in Tehran. He traveled to countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas to perform classical Persian music.

Among his many venues in the United States was Carnegie Hall. Those tours he was successful in introducing Persian music to many diverse peoples. In addition to the violin, he plays the kamancheh and ghichak, both traditional stringed instruments of Iran. He received an honorary doctorate from the Ministry of Art and Culture of Iran, the highest possible recognition for his work in music.

In 1979 Badiyi and his family moved to Holland where he worked in the Symphony Orchestra of the Northern States. During his time in Holland he participated in art festivals organized by various European radio and television stations. He continued there until his retirement from the orchestra in 1999.

Since his retirement he has been teaching violin classes in Europe. He has also begun collaborating with his nephew, the international violinist and composer, Farzad, and his own daughter, Parisa. In the final months of 2001 this trio completed a tour of the United States where their music was very well received. Badiyi is also planning to produce a complete audio and video record of the work of his first teacher, Saba.

Sounds of the Violin and Kamancheh

This is a recording of Persian music with violin, kamancheh, a traditional Persian stringed instrument, and tunbak, a Persian drum. These selections include Segah, Zabol, Mouyeh, and Shushtari. It features the legendary Persian musician, Rahmatollah Badiyi. These pure classical Persian solo instruments not only are pleasant to the listener, but also may be used for meditation and educational classes and workshops. Farzad produced this album.