Husayn Yahaqqi

Biography

Yahaqqi, Husayn (1901-1948). Violin instrumentalist and composer. He was born into a quite talented family of skilled but mostly amateur musicians. At sixteen years of age whe made a name for himself as the most prominent student of Husayn Khan Isma‘ilzada (d. 1941), who was the most eminent kamancheh instrumentalist of the Qajar period. The kamancheh was Yahaqqi’s chosen instrument, but it was replaced by violin in Persian music during early twentieth century. It was from 1940 onwards that he worked extensively with the Iranian National Radio but performed in only a few of Golha programmes (between 1941-1955). A number of his compositions that were adjusted and performed for orchestra can be classed as being amongs the most beauteous pieces of Persian classical compositions. Husayn Yahaqqi and Abu’l-Hasan Saba were amongst the most prominent violin maestros of their time, and Yahaqqi’s mastery in solo performance is evident in the Gulha-yi javidan no. 96 and the Golha-yi rangarang programmes nos. 174, 183, 175, 176, and 198. He seemingly preferred that his talented student and nephew, Parviz Sadiqi Parsi (Yahaqqi), perform in his stead. He resumed playing the kamancheh during the years 1957-1958 at the suggestion of Ruhu’llah Khaliqi. A rare private collection of his private solo performances and his radifs that exists is still unavailable to the general public forty years after his demise, even though his artistic taste in shaping the culture of solo performance of the violin in the Golha (impressing ‘Ali Tajvidi, for instance) remains unquestionable. From amongst his students, Darvish Riza Munazzami and Shuja‘ al-Din Lashgarlu achieved fame. Musical notes for some of his compositions that were recorded in sixteen of the Golha in which they performed can be found in scattered collections are available.