Sohrab Pournazeri

Sohrab Pournazeri, born on 25 April 1983 in Kermanshah, is one of the most prominent composers and instrumentalists of the contemporary generation in Iranian music. He is the son of Master Keykhosrow Pournazeri and the brother of Tahmoures Pournazeri, and from childhood he grew up surrounded by Iran’s mystical and traditional music. Drawing on his family’s teachings and a fresh view of Iranian music, Sohrab has succeeded in beautifully joining tradition and the contemporary in his work.

Artistic career

As a composer, instrumentalist and singer, Pournazeri has worked with many international artists and ensembles, including Master Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Shujaat Husain Khan, the Beyond Borders project and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra in the United States.

In 2014 he appeared at the TEDxTehran conference and performed an improvisation on the tanbur, drawing the attention of many listeners around the world to Iranian music.

Film music

Sohrab Pournazeri has composed the music for several notable works of Iranian cinema, among them the films Hezar-o Yek Shab (“A Thousand and One Nights”) by Mostafa Kiaei; Sholevar (“Ablaze”), Rag-e Khab (“Soft Spot”) and Arayesh-e Ghaliz (“Heavy Make-up”) by Hamid Nematollah; Astigmat (“Astigmatism”) by Majidreza Mostafavi; and Bi-Puli (“Broke”). His music for these films has always been praised by critics and audiences as one of their strengths.

Awards and honours

Pournazeri has so far received numerous awards for his film music and his independent works, including:

• Winner of the Hafez Statuette for best film score, for Rag-e Khab (2018)

• Winner of the Hafez Statuette for best title song (Ahay Khabardar, “Hey, Take Heed”, sung by Homayoun Shajarian)

• Winner of the Film Critics and Writers Celebration award for the music of the films Rag-e Khab and Sholevar

• Several Golden Statuettes of the Musicema Awards in the categories of composition, fusion album and best piece as chosen by experts and by the public

Works and albums

Sohrab Pournazeri has so far released numerous albums as composer and instrumentalist, including:

• Iran-e Man (“My Iran”, 2018) – with vocals by Homayoun Shajarian

• Rag-e Khab (2016) – film soundtrack

• Khodavandan-e Asrar (“Lords of Mysteries”, 2015) – with vocals by Homayoun Shajarian

• Nishtiman (“Homeland”, 2016) and Kobane (2017) – centred on Kurdish music

• Arayesh-e Ghaliz (2014) – with vocals by Homayoun Shajarian

• Ghatreh-ha-ye Baran (“Raindrops”), Bar Sama-ye Tanbur (“To the Mystic Dance of the Tanbur”), Afsaneh Sho (“Become a Legend”) and Penhan Cho Del (“Hidden Like the Heart”)

These works span a broad range of traditional, mystical and fusion music and reflect Sohrab’s inquiring and creative approach to Iranian music.

Concerts and international performances

In recent years Pournazeri has performed in Iran, Europe, the United States and Canada as part of world tours and stage productions – including Si (“Thirty”), Sisad (Gat) (“Three Hundred (Gat)”), Dar Hava-ye Bichegunegi (“In the Air of the Ineffable”) and Taraneh-ha-ye Eshgh va Feghdan (“Songs of Love and Loss”). His collaborations with artists such as Homayoun Shajarian, Ali Ghamsari, Shahab Paranj and the Iranshahr Orchestra showcase the meeting of Iranian music with contemporary international performance.