Ostad Nasrollah Nasehpour
Ostad Nasrollah Nasehpour
Master of Persian vocal radif repertoire Ostad Nasrollah Nasehpour
A recognized master of the vocal radif repertoire of Persian art music, Maestro Nasrollah Nassehpour, was born in Ardabil, Iran, in 1940. Since his father, the late Agha Shakour, was garman (Azerbaijani organ similar to European accordion) player and his mother, the late Huriyeh Khanum was Azeri dayereh (also known as ghaval, Azerbaijani frame drum) player, he was acquainted with Azerbaijani music through his childhood.
When he moved to Tehran, he studied vocal radif with the late Maestro Mahmoud Karimi for about seven years. He also studied instrumental radif repertoire of Persian art music at the National Music Institute with the late Maestro Ali Akbar Khan Shahnazi (a very skillful tar player).
In the class of the late Maestro Soleiman Amir Ghasemi (vocalist and a student of Isa Agha Bashi), he got in touch with the late Maestro Saeed Hormozi (a very skillful setar player) and he learned many important points of Persian art music.
At last, he worked with the great master of vocal radif repertoire, the late Maestro Abdollah Davami, who had a great influence on his musical development.
The unique timbre of Ostad Nasehpour's vocals, coupled with his creative talent and rich Azerbaijani musical background, made him an outstanding performer. He researched, taught, and performed for more than 50 years and trained thousands of students. Some of those students are, now, famous vocalists in Iran and abroad.
As a member of the chief committee board for the biggest Iranian NGO of music, i.e., Iran House of Music, he was socially very active in defending the rights of musicians and also promoting Persian classical music. Also, as a professor at the Art University of Tehran, his books on the old theoretical music of Persia was published by the Iranian Academy of the Arts Publication.
He passed away on Sunday, June 18, 2023, after years of illness.
For a detailed biography of maestro Nasehpour, see Peyman Nasehpour's article at ResearchGate:
The life of Maestro Nasrollah Nasehpour and his contributions to Persian and Azerbaijani music