Mohammad Reza Shajarian

About Mohammad Reza Shajarian

The defining voice of Persian classical music for half a century, and a national figure far beyond it. He recorded Rabbana in 1979, a Ramadan prayer broadcast every year on state radio until it was pulled in 2009 after he sided with protesters and asked that his voice not be used by the state. He refused to perform in Iran for years afterwards and his concerts abroad sold out regardless. His death in 2020 brought crowds into the street.