Photographs and reports from the era show police officers proudly standing beside newly equipped vehicles, symbols of a nation racing toward modernity.
Yet this modernization came at a cost: increased state control, reduced political freedoms, and the silencing of alternative voices—tensions that would later shape Iran’s cultural resistance.
Mohammad Reza Shajarian was born on October 1, 1939, in Mashhad, a city steeped in religious tradition and Persian culture. His father, a respected Quran reciter, played a decisive role in shaping his son’s early relationship with sound, rhythm, and spiritual expression.
From childhood, Shajarian’s voice was trained not for performance but for devotion. The precision required in Quranic recitation—control of breath, emotional restraint, melodic discipline—would later become the foundation of his mastery in Persian classical music.
First Public Appearances
In 1952, his Quran recitation was broadcast for the first time on Radio Khorasan, marking his initial entry into the public auditory sphere. By 1955, while attending elementary school in Mashhad, he encountered formal music education for the first time.
Despite his growing musical inclination, Shajarian followed a conventional path initially, graduating from higher education and working as a teacher. During this period, he learned the santoor under Jalal Akhbari, expanding his musical literacy beyond the human voice.
