Famous Iranian Composer Faramarz Payvar dead at 77

Veteran Iranian Composer Faramarz Payvar has died at the age of 77 in Tehran after struggling with brain damage for a long period of time.

Faramarz Payvar, an Iranian composer and Santour player, died on Wednesday at 77 after struggling with brain damage for a long time, according to Press TV. Payvar has been playing music since the young age of 17 under the influence of Iranian master Abol-Hasan Saba. While receiving a scholarship from Iran’s National Music Conservatory, he majored in English at Cambridge University and graduated in 1965. Payvar toured all over the world from China to Sweden to the UK to the United States. Payvand reports that his father was an artist and a professor at the University of Iran. His mother was always interested in arts and music and encouraged her son to play an instrument after realizing that he had a talent. Payvar founded the Art and Culture Orchestra in Iran, which has included musicians as Houshang Zarif, Hossein Tehrani and a long list of others. In 1996, he published a book on Tar and Setar. He also lectured at the Royal Academy of Music in London after studying Western music there.