Born in 1940 in Mashhad, Iran, Mohammad Reza Shajarian began learning Qur’an recitation from his father at the age of five. At the age of 12 he started studying the melodic corpus (radif) of Persian classical music while simultaneously learning to play the santur (struck zither) in order to gain a deeper understanding of the traditional repertoire. Ostad Shajarian began his career as a singer in 1959 at Radio Khorasan and rose to prominence in the 1960s with his distinct vocal style shaped by great singers of earlier generations, in particular, Qamar, Eqbal Soltan, Taher-zade and Esma’il Mehrtash. From these masters, Ostad Shajarian gained a deep understanding of avaz, the classical style of unmetered singing in the melodic modes of the classical dastgah system that has become his hallmark, as well as a broad knowledge of Persian poetry.
