TEHRAN - The friends and disciples of the santur virtuoso Faramarz Payvar treasured memories of him during a ceremony at the Arasbaran Cultural Center on Tuesday.

At the ceremony, the tonbak virtuoso Mohammad Esmaeili talked about the pleasant memories he recalled of his 40-year friendship with Payvar.

He said that Payvar always asked his disciples to “Be humane first, then be an artist” calling it an important factor which is crucial in the various stages of life.

“Masters like Payvar not only teach santur playing to their disciples but they also teach them about life and social behavior,” he said.

After that, Arfa Otraii, one of the first disciples of Payvar, spoke briefly about Payvar saying that she was his disciple for 54 years.

“I don’t know whether I should be happy or sorry that after the demise of master Payvar 19 months and 10 days ago, this is only the second commemoration ceremony held for him,” she lamented.

Next was another disciple of Payvar, Saeid Sabet who shared his memories about Payvar’s excellent behavior and said that Iranians would understand Payvar’s role in Persian music 150 years from now!

Then musician Milad Kiaii talked about an album made in commemoration of Faramarz Payvar and entitled “Preludes and Memories”, which was unveiled at the ceremony.

He said that he was not a direct disciple of Payvar but he “rubbed shoulders with the master”.

“Something has been stuck in my throat for a long time and I want to disclose it now. Politicians and political activists are the guests of history but artists are its hosts,” he concluded.

Afterward, the album that includes santur recitals composed by Faramarz Payvar was unveiled at the ceremony. Saeid Sabet played the compositions and Mohammad Esmaeili accompanied him on tonbak for some of them.

At the end of the ceremony, Saeid Sabet and Mohammad Esmaeili performed selections from the album for the audience.