and i shared a concerto with him. and this relationship, um, turned into a friendship, and-- and, you know, it goes on until

today and what-- what we're doing musically. i--i think everybody in the ensemble, whatever they do, whatever they play, i think that interaction that we had changed our perception, and it helps us to-- to create music with probably more sensitivity. >> it's--it's actually very simple. when you think, "oh, it should be out of tune," you're not in the music. but if you start to say, "this is beautiful," you're actually in the music. >> you are. >> right? that's--that's, and... i've always played out of tune, so this came very naturally to me. >> [laughing] [playing persian music] >> [speaking farsi]

i think that was the main reason that i went back to-- to be with them, to--maybe to teach. the old way is, uh, very much like indian style. you know, you have a teacher or guru, you have a master or ustad, that's what we call it, you basically spend aot of ti with, and sometimes, you know, they become like, uh, father and son. [playing kamancheh] [speaking in farsi] [playing kamancheh] [speaking in farsi] >> [speaking in farsi]

>> improvisation is probably the essence, the core of persian music, and we all learn pieces, uh, melodies to be able to improvise based on those melodies. [speaking in farsi] [humming] a musician is valued, uh, by the wathey improvise and the--the way they-- they get actually further and further from--from that point of starting. [speaking in farsi] there is a teacher figure

in everybody's life, and i hope i can be that for some people. not just teaching them ins-- you know, the instrument and some music, i--i--i like to affect their lives, uh, in a way that, uh, they don't forget me, and they don't forget what they learned from me. [playing kamancheh] my work can be divided in several fferent lines: i do my solos, i have formed a couple of, uh, ensembles, one called dastan ensemble. we formed it about 20 years ago when i was in canada. and then, uh, we formed this ensemble called masters of persian music. >> [playing music and singing] >> with two ve well-known musicians of today's iran, and one younger musician, including, uh, myself.

so it was a quartet, very successful, toured for seven years. >> [playing music and singing] >> i founded a small ensemble called ghazal, with shujaat hussein khan and swapan chaudhuri. [music] you know, i--i have been trying to do different kinds of music, so, um, because i think the music has to be, uh, fresh for myself first to--to be attractive

for others as well. [music] the brooklyn rider is a string quartet. they're brilliant musicians, they understand music in a superb way, and i have always enjoyed to play with them. and they're active, uh, as, uh, a part of the silk road ensemble as well, so we tour together, and we're trying to develop more new music to play together. [string music playing] i think the best place for me to live at the moment, and have my base is iran, because i always felt that i missed something

when i was outside all these years, and then suddenly you're 37, and--[laughs] "oh!" you know, "where am i?" you know, "i'm a musician, but i don't have anything else in my life." >> [laughing] [speaking in farsi] >> i live in a suburb called, uh, karaj, 30 kilometers

from tehran. i live there with my wife. >> [speaking in farsi] >> hmm, kind of, nice and bring life. [laughs] culture in general educates people, and, en-- enlightens people to know more, to become, uh, more familiar with their rights, and demanding that from, you know, the authorities, whomever it is in their own parts of the world, and, um, to not settle for less when they can actually settle for more. but in our society, because of the political system

and the political changes, especially in the last 30 years, uh, the role of culture has been kind of forgotten and not really well respected. i'm not very fond of playing in tehran right now, because, um, it's kind of difficult to-- you know, for getting permissions, things like that, and i don't think it's time for music. it's time for musicians to be a part of the population and be there with them. uh, living in iran, there is no choice, but, um, becoming political. it's nice to be here at this moment, especially now that we're experiencing these social changes, i hope for the good. sometimes it's hard to see that, because young people are involved in it, and they sacrifice a lot, and sometimes they sacrifice their lives. the whole society wants to change what they have,

and how this change takes place is very important. i want to live here while it happens. i want to be a part of it. [kamancheh playing] [tombak playing] can you cut the rigger and--and-- >> do you have a pre-show ritual? something that you normally do, or... >> not really. try to, um, talk less. try to think of nothing and--and just make my mind really blank. [laughs] as much as that's possible.

>> do you have a prayer? do you have...? >> prayer, yes i have it, but i--i do it on stage. it's nice to remind myself why i'm doing this, that's all. you know. i think that that lifts me spiritually. and then bring it back in, please. well, we're calling this, uh, "songs of hope," because i think primarily this is what we need in this world. uh, we need a lot of hope and a lot of luck. [chuckles] >> i dedicate tonight's performance to the people of iran: their perseverance in these extraordinary times, their vision for a better world, and their dedication to justice. [music playing]

>> what i do usually in my solo concerts is, uh, that i--i--i start from somewhere and depart from that point, and--and try to make a progress, and what comes next, i can't control. [playing kamancheh] it's not up to you to decide, you know, sometimes you want to go, uh, to a direction in your mind. before the show, you think about it, but it never happens. you know, my record on that is 100%, so... [laughs] it's very difficult. you just go as your imagination

takes you. the objective for me is to forget about everything, to get that area

that i can't think, and i--i'm not there, but somebody else is playing. as a professional musician, it is my duty to-- to play in concerts. familiarizing people with music, culture, it's going to help people to think about iran, and to--to--to maybe help iranians to achieve what they're after. [applause] >> a huge number of the young generation of iran whlove his music. and it's important for them that a guy like him is supporting the movement. >> he's a role model in that way, sort of makes me want to respond as well. >> and i understand

it's very hard for him, because he lives in iran, and he can't make an official statement, and that's okay, because through the music, and through very indirect peaceful ways, uh, we get all the support we need, and that's plenty already. [indistinct chatter] >> we have to come to our senses and really think hard that we need peace, we ne--we need love, we need music, we need culture, and, uh, we need people to-- to spread that out. ■é■íq■ñ■ñ■ñ■■

announcer: funding for the kcet "fine cut festival of films" is generously provided by the bridges larson foundation and by the national endowment for the arts, on the web at arts.gov. ♪