Ostad Sa'id Hormozi (1898–1976) was an Iranian musician who is remembered for his efforts to "promote authentic Iranian music" and pass it to modern musicians. He was born in one of the old neighborhoods of Tehran called Sangalaj. He was a prominent radif master and virtuoso tar and setar player. He was a student of Darvish Khan (student of Mirza Hossein-Qoli, "one of the pioneers of Iranian music"), who awarded Hormozi with the medal of the "Golden Hatchet". That prize was given only to Khan's best students. He also studied musical color and rhythm with Haj Ali Akbar Khan Shahnaz (son of that same Mirza Hossein-Qoli). He was friends and regularly played with Soleiman Khan Amir Ghasemi, a "famous professors of Iranian song and music." In 1928 Hormozi founded a music school in Shapur street in Tehran. Later he cooperated with the "Center for preservation and propagation of Persian music" as a master teacher (Ostad) of setar, teaching musicians who were already professors of music. On October 30, 1976 he died after a long illness.

Legacy

Some invaluable recordings have been preserved of him, as a legacy. His music allows hints to modern students of other Iranian musical masters. In terms of performance techniques one can find traces of his ostad Darvish Khan in Hormozi's peculiar style. His phrasing is mostly influenced by that of Aqa Hossein-Qoli. Three prominent musicians who were his students include Mohammad Reza Lotfi and ostad Hossein Alizadeh and Dariush Talai.

Recordings

Sources