Masoud Shaari Information

Massoud Shaari (born January 12, 1962, Tehran) is an Iranian composer, renowned Sitar player, and researcher of traditional Persian music. He is considered one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Sitar performance and has made significant contributions to the revival and reinterpretation of classical Persian music traditions.

 Life and Training

Massoud Shaari was born in 1962 in Tehran. He began his musical journey in childhood by learning the Sitar under Manizheh Alipour. He later studied the Sitar with Dariush Talaei and Hossein Alizadeh, and from 1982 onward, he received instruction in the radif of Persian music and tār performance under Mohammad Reza Lotfi. He also learned numerous pieces from the old masters directly from Master Asghar Bahari. With guidance from teachers such as Mehdi Kamalian and Mahmoud Hashemi, Shaari engaged in extensive research and reconstruction of the historical Sitar schools of masters such as Abolhasan Saba, Sa’id Hormozi, Yousef Foroutan, and others.

 Artistic Career

Shaari’s early career included participation in the Sheyda and Aref ensembles. His work on reconstructing and performing classical pieces resulted in two landmark albums: Shabahang and Karvan-e Saba. In Shabahang, he arranged and performed pieces in Segāh and Esfahān by masters such as Asghar Bahari, Roknoddin Mokhtari, Yousef Foroutan, and Sa’id Hormozi. In Karvan-e Saba, he adapted Abolhasan Saba’s pieces specifically for the Sitar and performed them himself.

In addition to traditional performance, Shaari has explored fusion and contemporary music, producing four notable albums: Seyr, Entezar, Dar Sāye-ye Bād, and Rahāb. These works create a dialogue between the Sitar and non-Iranian instruments.

He founded the Hamsaz educational center, where he has trained numerous students in Sitar performance and Persian music. Shaari has also authored several important books on Sitar playing and the structure of dastgāh music.

 Albums (Selected)

– Rāz o Niāz (1988) – with Sheyda and Aref ensembles

– Karvan-e Saba (1995) – arrangements and performance of Abolhasan Saba’s pieces for Sitar

– Yādvāre-ye Ostād Nur-Ali Borumand (1995) – with Sheyda ensemble

– Neyāyesh (2000) – with Asl-e Entekhāb ensemble

– Seyr (2001) – fusion music with Christophe Rezai

– Entezar (2005) – Sitar and tabla duet with Darshan Anand

– Dar Sāye-ye Bād (2007) – with Arash Minouei and Darshan Anand

– Shabahang (2010) – Sitar in the style of the old masters, with Koushan Yaghmaei

– Ghorub (2010) – with Hamsaz ensemble

– Rahāb (2011) – with Rahāb ensemble

– Neyavaran Concert (2011) – with Sina Shaari and Darshan Anand

– Sāye-vār (2017) – with Pejman Hadadi

– Afsāne-ye Rouzgār (2018) – with Hamsaz ensemble

 Books

– Ganjine-ye Setār – Reconstruction and arrangement of old masters’ pieces for Sitar, Sarā-ye Ahl-e Honar Institute

– Karvan-e Saba – Arrangements of Abolhasan Saba’s pieces for Sitar, Soroush Publications

– Seyr – Collection of pieces for Sitar

– From Seyr to Sunset: Contemporary Sitar Playing, edited by Jafar Salehi, Honar-e Musighi Publications

– Analysis, Notation and Perspective on the Structure of Persian Modal Music (1) – Dastgāh-e Māhur, Aref Publications

– Analysis, Notation and Perspective on the Structure of Persian Modal Music (2) – Dastgāh-e Chahārgāh, Honar-e Musighi Publications