Mohammad Reza Lotfi was born on January 17, 1947, in the city of
Gorgan, in a cultured family where both his parents were teachers. Encouraged by his older brother, he learned to play the
tar and showed his talent by winning the first prize in Iran's Young Musicians Festival in 1964. The following year, he started his studies at the Persian National Music Conservatory in
Tehran under
Habibollah Salehi and Master
Ali Akbar Shahnazi. He was a tar player for the Fine Arts Administration Orchestra (
Saba Orchestra) under the direction of
Hossein Dehlavi. Some of his other eminent teachers were
Abdollah Davami, from whom he learned the
Radif, and Master
Sa'id Hormozi, who taught him the
setar. While attending the College of Fine Arts at
Tehran University, Lotfi became the student of Master
Nour-Ali Boroumand. He also worked at the Center for the Preservation and Propagation of Traditional Persian Music, both as a soloist and a conductor. His other accomplishments were teaching at the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents, researching
folk music for
National Radio and Television, and appearing at the
Shiraz Arts Festival. After graduating in 1973, Lotfi joined the faculty of Fine Arts at Tehran University. with
Naser Farhangfar (
first from left) and
Shajarian, 1976 He continued his collaboration with Radio and Television and co-founded the
Shayda Ensemble. Between 1978 and 1980, Lotfi became the Head of the School of Music at
The University of Tehran. He served as the director of the Center for the Preservation and Propagation of Traditional Persian Music and the "Chavosh" Center. In 1984, Lotfi was invited by
Fondazione Cini to participate in a seminar and perform concerts in Italy, where he resided for two years. He lived in the United States from 1986 until his death and performed widely throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. A prolific musician, he made numerous recordings both as a solo artist and with the celebrated Iranian musicians such as
Mohammad Reza Shajarian,
Shahram Nazeri,
Hossein Alizadeh, and
Parviz Meshkatian. Lotfi is one of the greatest contemporary masters of the tar and setar. He is among the major figures who, in the past twenty years, have revolutionized the Persian traditional (classical) music. His innovative approach of combining the classical with folk elements, both in terms of music and technique, has injected a new vitality into a very old tradition. His original creativity and the deep-rooted emotional quality of his playing have made him the father of a new aesthetics in Persian music. ==Selected vocal works==