TEHRAN -- The veteran tonbak player Mohammad Esmaeili and master of tonbak the late Hossein Tehrani were honored during a ceremony named “Song of a Friend” which was held at the Honar Cultural Center on Wednesday evening.

Many musicians and music enthusiasts attended the ceremony in which various aspects of the lives of Tehrani and his student Esmaeili were reviewed.
Director of the Naghmeh-Shahr Art and Cultural Institute made an opening speech, mentioning “Esmaeili was one of the late master Hossein Tehrani’s best students. He was the first person to write music scores for the tonbak with the help of musicians Hossein Dehlavi, Mostafa-Kamal Purtorab and Hushang Zarif.
Afterwards, there was a stage performance by a group of tonbak players led by Esmaeili.
This was followed by a speech made by Tar virtuoso Hossein Alizadeh on the style and techniques used by Tehrani and Esmaeili.
“Some great names evoke certain artistic or historical associations. For example, on hearing the name of the late setar virtuoso Abolhassan Saba, we remember the history of Iran’s music. Tehrani has the same characteristic. He created immense changes in the rhythm of traditional percussion through his work on this instrument, and every tonbak player considers himself/herself to be a student of Tehrani.
“Masters like Tehrani were essential in the history of Iran’s music. Tehrani appeared at a time when Iran’s music was seeking to find its place in society.
“After Tehrani, it was Mohammad Esmaeili who took up his style. Esmaeili also made some great changes in the technique of tonbak playing.”
Alizadeh later expounded on the culture of tonbak playing in Iran, saying, “The tonbak is an Iranian instrument which is played in various styles using diverse techniques to suit different occasions. For example, the method of tonbak playing used in zurkhanehs (traditional sports clubs) is different from that used in stage performances. The main point is that rhythm is a major factor in Iranian music and the tonbak is one of the major sources of this rhythmic element.
He expressed hope that in the future students of Tehrani and Esmaeili will carve a better position for tonbak music within the society.
Alizadeh and Esmaeili later gave a duet performance on the tar and tonbak winning great applause from the guests.
At the end of the proceedings a biopic of Esmaeili was screened and tribute was paid to santur player Dariush Salari, sound recorder Mohammadreza Saber, researcher Alireza Puromid, producer of music programs Reza Malakuti and Mohammad Esmaeili.
Caption: Tonbak virtuoso Mohammad Esmaeili (L) calls the audience to applaud Hossein Alizadeh, after their duet performance at a ceremony held to honor him at Tehran’s Honar Cultural Center on November 15. (Mehr/Sara Sassani