Ostad
Ustād or ostād (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian ) is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages such as Persian, , Azerbaijani, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Marath ...
(“Master”) Mahmoud Zoufonoun (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: محمود ذوالفنون, sometimes pronounced "Zolfonoon" or "Zolfonun"; 1 January 1920 – 19 October 2013) was an Iranian-born American musician accomplished in the art of
Persian traditional music
Persian traditional music or Iranian traditional music, also known as Persian classical music or Iranian classical music, refers to the classical music of Iran (also known as ''Persia''). It consists of characteristics developed through the cou ...
.
Life and career
Zoufonoun's interest in music began after he secretly listened to his father (Habib Zoufonoun
) playing and teaching the
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscosity, viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic matter, organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. ...
.
Habib began teaching his son the instrument at age 8. Aged twelve, already having become a local teacher for tar, Zoufonoun became interested in the
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
. Since he was unable to obtain an instrument of his own he designed and made his own instrument.
In the 1930s Zoufonoun moved to
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 ...
where he learned musical notes from a clarinet teacher and took lessons in the violin.
In 1936 (aged 16) Zoufonoun, at the prompting of his first violin teacher Mr. Vaziritabar, moved to
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...
where he took lessons from Rouben Gregorian.
In the early 1940s Zoufonoun began playing solo's on Radio Iran. In 1942 he helped form ''Anjomane Mooseeghee Melli'' where he met
Rouhollah Khaleghi
Ruhollâh Xâleqi ( fa, , born 1906 in Kerman, Iran – 12 November 1965 in Salzburg, Austria), also spelled as ''Khaleqi'', was a prominent Iranian musician, composer, conductor and author.
He was the father of the first Persian women conducto ...
(who conducted the orchestra).
Zoufonoun worked as a
soloist,
composer,
arranger
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...
and
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Music
* Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra.
* ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas
* Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...
at the National Radio and Television.
He was a member of the “
Golha orchestra”.
Over the course of his career he has made efforts to compile, transcribe a compilation of regional folk songs, modes, and styles to date. The work is currently uncompleted.
Following his retirement in 1976 from the National Radio and Television, Mahmoud and his family emigrated to the US. He continued to teach and compose and perform traditional Persian music, usually with his sons as the
Zoufonoun Ensemble
The Zoufonoun Ensemble was an American Persian classical music group, consisting of Mahmoud Zoufonoun (violin) and his four sons Amir Zoufonoun (vocals, setar), Ramin Zoufonoun (tar, Persian-tuned piano), Amin Zoufonoun (setar), and Omid Zoufono ...
.
Image:Habib Zoufonoun1 (Medium).jpg, Photograph of Habib Zoufonoun (Mahmoud's father) making his own tar
Teaching
Zoufonoun also taught violin. Until his death, he gave lessons in his private studio and previously taught at the National School for Iranian Music (of which he was a founding member), The Shabaneh Adult Art School, Institute for the Arts, The
University of Tehran
The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...
, and The Danesh-e Sarah-e Honar.
Honors
On January 20, 2007, Z Venue, an arts
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
located in
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together f ...
, presented "A Tribute to Mahmoud Zoufonoun" in the
Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...
Theatre,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
Notable compositions
* Concerto Dashti for Symphony Orchestra
* Tareneh Bayateh Tork (Golha Orchestra; Banan singing)
* Taraneh Mahour: "Gol-o-Zaari" (Lyrics by
Hafez
Khwāje Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shiraz, Shīrāzī ( fa, خواجه شمسالدین محمّد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen name Hafez (, ''Ḥāfeẓ'', 'the memorizer; the (safe) keeper'; 1325–1390) and as "H ...
)
* Naghd-e-Sufi: Suite in Rastpanjgah, including several original Taranehs ("Bovad-aya", "Naghd-e-Sufi", "Baba Taher")
* Faash-Mee-Gooyam: Suite in Chahargah, including original Taranehs ("Sheydaee", "Narm Narmak", "Faash-Mee-Gooyam")
* Heelat-Raha-Kon: Suite in Oshagh, including original Taraneh "Heelat-Raha-Kon"
* Anthem in Chahargah: "Vatan" (Lyrics by
Simin Behbahani
Simin Behbahani, her surname also appears as Bihbahani (née Siminbar Khalili; fa, سیمین بهبهانی; 20 July 1927 – 19 August 2014) was a prominent Iranian contemporary poet, lyricist and activist. She is known for her poems in a ghaz ...
)
See also
*
Jalal Zolfonun (Zoufonoun)
Jalaal Zulfonun ( fa, جلال ذوالفنون, Jalâl Zolfonun, ) was an Iranian musician, setaar player, and a prominent composer and teacher of Persian music.
Collaboration with Maurice Béjart
He has also collaborated with Maurice Béjart ...
*
Composers of Traditional Persian Music
References
External links
*
Mahmoud Zoufonoun's recorded music: Naghde SufiArticle in Persian on Mahmoud ZoufonounMahmoud Zoufonoun playing "Harbi" from his album, "Naghde Sufi"Mahmoud Zoufonoun solo intro; Zoufonoun ensemble playing "Boyad Aya" from "Naghde Sufi"Mahmoud Zoufonoun playing "Mavalian" from his album, "Naghde Sufi"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoufonoun, Mahmoud
People from Abadeh
1920 births
2013 deaths
20th-century Iranian musicians
Iranian violinists
Deaths from dementia in California
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
20th-century violinists
Iranian emigrants to the United States