Muhammad Heydari (1937-)
Santur instrumentalist and composer and among the last group of students who attended Abu’l-Hasan Saba's santur classes. He began his career at the Conservatory of National Music and other orchestras in 1957 and made a name for himself from 1960-1970 as a talented solo instrumentalist and creative composer. A number of his powerful performances accompanied by Khatirih Parvanih and Hushang Zarif were recorded by UNESCO. In the Gulha-yi Taza programs his powerful and pleasant performances can be heard in programs nos. 99, 111, and 129. His peculiar lifestyle and inclination toward non-classical musical genres deprived Persian music of a flourishing of an almost unparalleled talent. Due to restrictions on music in Iran, none of his compositions of performances in the last thirty years have been released in Iran. He has resided in the United States from 1979 onward and he is still pressing his musical career there.