Lutfu’llah Majd

Majd, Lutfullah (1917-1979)

Tar instrumentalist and one of the three prominent performers of the tar (the two others being Jalil Shahnaz and Farhang Sharif) on the Golha programs. Although in music he was self-taught, he quickly found fame in Tehran from around 1944 onwards due to his immense talent. He performed on Radio Tehran between 1944 and 1976 and also gave many public and private concerts. From the very first days of their establishment, he performed on the Golha programmes and more than 80 solo performances of his were recorded on the Golha-yi javidan, Golha-yi rangarang, Barg-i sabz, Yik shakh-i gol, and Golha-yi taza programmes. He was well-recognized as a solo performer with great abilities, an instrumentalist who created new melodies and was capable of giving proper response to the singer, and whose playing was fervently and passionately expressed. Although he did compose music, few of his compositions brought him any fame, and very few of his solo performances have been released. His published performances include a 33 gramophone record titled Tar-i Majd (Tehran: Ahang-i Ruz 1969). Besides being recognized as a great musician and composer by earlier masters like Adib Khawnsari and Banan, a number of later musicians such as Muhammad Riza Lutfi have also been influenced by his performance style. A number of poets like Isma‘il Navvab Safa have also praised his art as a performer. He died of heart failure caused by a violent confrontation in the street in Tehran at the peak of the 1979 Revolution, and left behind no students to carry on his art.