About 

Biography

Fariborz Azizi is a Los Angeles-based tar and setar player, composer, music educator and researcher.

Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1961, Azizi has studied under the tutelage of some of the most highly acclaimed masters of Persian classical music, including Hossein Alizadeh, Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Dariush Talai, Arshad Tahmasbi, Massoud Shaari and Hamid Motebassem.

In a career spanning over three decades, Azizi has been recognized as one of the most influential music educators of our time. He has instructed and mentored hundreds of students of varying ages and nationalities on the tar and setar, privately and in classroom settings, at Art University in Karaj, University of Applied Sciences and Technology in Tehran, Tehran Music Conservatory and  Mazandaran Academy of Arts.

Azizi believes that to be truly accomplished, a musician must not only master the melodies, rhythms and techniques that comprise the musical repertoire under study but also value the music as an embodiment and representation of a culture. Thus, he urges his students to go beyond learning the fundamentals of Persian classical music and the Radif and become more familiar with ancient and contemporary Iranian art history and poetry as well as the diverse styles used in regional Persian music. Utilizing this holistic approach to music education in conjunction with recognizing each student’s abilities and goals, Azizi has been able to train some of the most prominent young musicians inside and outside of Iran.

As a performer, Azizi has introduced Persian classical music to a broad array of audiences through numerous concerts in Iran, Europe and the United States. In addition to various solo performances, he has collaborated with such iconic master musicians as Hossein Alizadeh, Kayhan Kalhor and Hossein Dehlavi at The Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Zellerbach Hall and Vahdat Hall.

In terms of research, Azizi has participated in a number of seminars and has contributed to various types of publications on Persian classical music. He is a recurring guest lecturer at multiple UCLA ethnomusicology graduate seminars. His article “The Flexibility of Radif in the Process of Time” was published in the September 1998 issue of Mahoor Music Quarterly, a leading journal of music scholarship that publishes articles on the most recent achievements in ethnomusicological research and Iranian music studies. Azizi has also contributed to Hossein Alizadeh’s book Tar and Setar Teaching Method: An Intermediate Course as a technical editor.

As a composer, Azizi has written a number of solo and chamber works for various Persian instruments. His piece “Tasnif-e Abu-Ata” was recently released on the album Of String’s Song and Reed’s Cry by RUMI Records.