Tar : Hooshang Zarif
Tombak : Siamak Banai
Hushang Zarif was born in 1938 in Tehran. After completing his early studies in primary school he continued studying music at National Iranian Conservatoire under Ruhollah Khaleqi.
He chose tar as his first instrument and began to study with Musa Ma'rufi, the great Iranian musician. His other masters were Ruhollah Khaleqi, Javad Ma'rufi, Hoseyn Tehrani and other teachers at the Conservatoire. He was always a top student in music lessons and he benefited for 4 years from Ostad Ali-Akbar Shahnazi during his advanced studies in the conservatoire. He graduated in 1958 and was employed by the Ministry of Culture and Arts. At the same time he began to play in different ensembles and orchestras. He played as a concert musician and also as a soloist in the National Orchestra under A.-M. Khadem-Misaq and A. Haq-Kerdar, then in Orchestra of Saba under H. Dehlavi and the Great Orchestra of the national Instruments under M. Meftah. Invited by Dehlavi, then the director of the Conservatoire, he bagan a process of teaching that lasted more than 17 years during which he managed to train many prominent musicians.
He has played in the Payvar Ensemble for more than one decade and has toured in Asian, European and North American countries; Among his major achievements are a concert tour in 20 universities of the United States to present Persian classical music to the American audience; followed by a participation in Shankar Laal Music Festival (India, 1975) and then Insburg Music Festival (Austria, 1985).
Zarif also plays setar and tombak with exceptional dexterity and for a while he cooperated with the ensemble of tombak-players led by Hoseyn Tehrani. He also cooperated in note-setting of the first method of tombak playing supervised by Dehlavi, and in Vocal Radif, the Version of Mahmud Karimi edited by M.-T. Massoudieh.
Many of his performances are with Payvar Ensemble. He has also recorded solo tar in Dashti/Esfahan, and some gushehs of the Radif of Musa Ma'rufi. His performances of the complete studies of Primary Tar Lessons (1st and 2nd Books of Conservatoire), Dastgah-e Rast-o-Panjgah (Ostad A.-A. Shahnazi), Chaharmezrabs of Ostad Jalil Shahnaz, and Pieces Composed by Ostad Farhang Sharif have been published. A collection of his own compositions is going to be released. He has received a first Degree of Arts and now he teaches tar at the Music Faculty of Art University and in the Girls' Conservatoire of Music in Tehran.
Published [06/05/2002]