Mohammad-Reza Lotfi

Mohammad-Reza Lotfi (Persian: محمدرضا لطفی‎; 1 January 1947 – 2 May 2014) was an Iranian classical musician renowned for his mastery of the tar and setar. He collaborated with singers such as Mohammad-Rezā Shajarian, Hengameh Akhavanو Shahram Nazeri and Alireza Shahmohammadi. Encouraged by his older brother, he learned to play the Târ and showed his talent by winning the first prize in Iran's Young Musicians Festival in 1964. The following year, he started his studies at the Persian National Music Conservatory in Tehran under Habibollah Salehi and Master Ali Akbar Shahnazi. He was a tar player for the Fine Arts Administration Orchestra (Saba Orchestra) under the direction of Hossein Dehlavi. Some of his other eminent teachers were Abdollah Davami, from whom he learned the Radif, and Master Sa'id Hormozi, who taught him the setar.