Dariush Safvat
{{Infobox person
| name = Dariush Safvat
| image = Dariush Safvat.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Safvat in 1970s
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|11|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = Shiraz, Pahlavi Iran
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|04|17|1928|11|28|df=y}}
| other_names = Daryush Safvat
| occupation = Persian traditional musician, teacher, ethnomusicologist
| education = University of Tehran,
Faculty of Law of Paris
| years_active =
| known_for = founder of the Center for the Preservation and Research of Music
| notable_works =
| awards = Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2005)
}}
Dariush Safvat ({{langx|fa|داريوش صفوت}}; 28 November 1928 – 17 April 2013) also spelled as Daryush Safvat,{{Cite web |date=2004 |title=Biography |url=http://persianartmusic.com/English/biography_s.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502100420/http://persianartmusic.com/English/biography_s.html |archive-date=May 2, 2006 |website=Persian Art Music}} was an Iranian master Persian traditional musician, teacher, and ethnomusicologist.{{Cite web |title=At the World Sacred Spirit Festival 2019, finding the spirit of India in a medieval fort |url=https://www.firstpost.com/long-reads/at-the-world-sacred-spirit-festival-2019-finding-the-spirit-of-india-in-a-medieval-fort-6148861.html |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Firstpost |date=26 February 2019 |language=en}} Safvat is best known for his mastery of setar and santur instruments.{{Cite book |last1=Bowman |first1=Wayne D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNQZBa20bjsC |title=The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy in Music Education |last2=Frega |first2=Ana Lucía |date=2012-05-25 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-539473-3 |pages=187 |language=en}} Safvat was the founding director of the {{III|Center for the Preservation and Research of Music|fa|مرکز حفظ و اشاعه موسیقی}} in Tehran; and some credit Safvat with saving traditional music from obliteration in the 1970s.
Early life and education
Dariush Safvat was born on 28 November 1928 in Shiraz, Iran. He began learning to play the setar at an early age from his father, Ali Asghar Safvat, who also played the ancient instrument.[http://www.irannewspaper.ir/1382/820908/html/music.htm Iran Newspaper (No. 2652)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310130410/http://www.irannewspaper.ir/1382/820908/html/music.htm|date=2007-03-10}} Among others, Safvat studied with two other Masters of Persian classical music, Abolhasan Saba and Haji Agha Mohammad Irani Mojarrad.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzLYAAAAMAAJ |title=Asian Music: Journal of the Society for Asian Music, Volumes 25-26 |date=1994 |publisher=Society for Asian Music |pages=274 |language=en}}[http://www.iran-newspaper.com/1382/820908/html/music.htm www.iran-newspaper.com, No. 2652, Sat, Nov 29, 2003] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012030607/http://www.iran-newspaper.com/1382/820908/html/music.htm|date=2007-10-12}} However, Safvat claims the person who had the most influence on his life and music was Ostad Elahi, a Persian judge, philosopher, theologian and master musician.
He received a B.A. degree in law from the University of Tehran in 1953; and a Ph.D. in International Law from the Faculty of Law of Paris in 1965.{{Cite web |last= |date=2013-04-21 |title=Traditional music maestro Dariush Safvat dies at 85 |url=http://www.taghribnews.com/en/news/128553/traditional-music-maestro-dariush-safvat-dies-at-85 |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=Taghrib News Agency (TNA) |language=en}} He also studied at the Institute of Musicology in Paris.
Career and music
Over the course of his distinguished career, he held many key posts in academia and the music scene, among them a Fellow at the Academy of Sciences, of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[http://www.ias.ac.ir/cv/safvat.htm The Academy of Sciences, the Islamic Republic of Iran] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070327124605/http://www.ias.ac.ir/cv/safvat.htm|date=2007-03-27}}
The Center for the Preservation and Research of Music (formally known as the Center for Preservation and Propagation of Iranian Music, and the Center for the Preservation and Dissemination of Music) was founded in 1968 in Tehran by Safvat, a school specializing in traditional Iranian music. He is credited with having taught some of the most talented Iranian musicians of the 20th century in Iran, including well-known santur players Parviz Meshkatian and Majid Kiani, and master setar player, Jalal Zolfonoun.[https://www.manoto1.com/news/news1397/news9460 استاد داریوش صفوت در گذشت] The Center counts among its graduates some of the most prolific and admired masters of classical Persian music, including Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Hossein Alizadeh, Hossein Omoumi, Parisa, the late Nasser Farhangfar, Dariush Talai, Majid Kiani and Mahmoud Farahmand.{{Cite web |url=http://www.pendar.net/main1.asp?a_id=3947 |title=Pendar.net |access-date=2006-04-07 |archive-date=2007-03-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310154209/http://www.pendar.net/main1.asp?a_id=3947 |url-status=usurped }}
Safvat has published a number of books and articles in Persian, French and English, and has produced a large number of recordings, but what is most remarkable is the degree to which his humanity, piety and integrity have made him popular among both the music elite and the masses alike.[http://www.sharghnewspaper.com/830126/art.htm Sharq Newspaper (يك مدير موسيقايي)]
Late life and death
In March 2005, he received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres award, granted by the French government.
Safvat died on 17 April 2013 in Karaj, Iran from natural causes.
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last1=During |first1=Jean |author-link1=Jean During |last2=Mirabdolbaghi |first2=Zia |last3=Safvat |first3=Dariush |year=1991 |title=The Art of Persian Music |publisher=Mage Publishers |location=Washington D.C. |isbn=978-0-934211-22-2 |ref=no}}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20161009012717/http://www.darioushsafvat.com/ Official website (archived)]}}
- [http://www.ias.ac.ir The Academy of Sciences of IR Iran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126150834/http://www.ias.ac.ir/ |date=2020-11-26 }}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Iranian ethnomusicologists
Category:20th-century Iranian musicians
Category:Musicians from Tehran
Category:Iranian classical musicians
Category:University of Tehran alumni