Tehran
Singer, instrumentalist and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, died on Thursday aged 80. Shajarian embodied traditional and classical Iranian music for more than half a century both at home and abroad. A national treasure in his homeland, Shajarian nevertheless maintained difficult relations with the authorities in Tehran throughout his career, first under the reign of the Shah and then with the Ayatollahs. The Ostad (master), who had been battling cancer for several years, “flew to meet his beloved (God)”, his son Homayoun Shajarian, himself a famous singer, wrote on Instagram. –AFP
