Reza Ghassemi (Persian: رضا قاسمی) is an Iranian novelist and musician.
Life and career
Ghassemi was born in Isfahan, Iran. In addition to writing, he plays Iranian classical music and the Persian lute, known as the setar. He has composed songs for the Iranian maestro Shahram Nazeri and performed with various Iranian vocalists, such as Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Sepideh Raissadat.
His best-known composition is the last track on the classical Iranian album Gol-e Sadbarg, released in 1984. The album also includes compositions by Jalal Zolfonoun, Shahram Nazeri and Reza Ghassemi.
Since the release of Gol-e Sadbarg, Ghassemi and his colleagues have stated that the album contributed to the popularity of the setar, referring to it as ushering in a "new era in Iranian classical music."
Ghassemi immigrated to France in 1986, where he still lives and teaches Iranian music. Farrokhzad Layegh studied the setar with Ghassemi.
Reza Ghassemi's latest album, 14 Cheerful Pieces, featuring Iranian vocalist Sepideh Raissadat, was released in France on October 25, 2010, by Buda Musique Records.
He has published three novels: Nocturnal Orchestra of Woods (1996), The Well of Babel (1999), and The Spell Chanted by Lambs (2002). Some of his works have been translated into French, and The Spell Chanted by Lambs is his first work in English. Reza Ghassemi also directed an award-winning film, In Full Bloom (2019).
Awards
- 2002 Hooshang Golshiri Literary Award, Best First Novel, The Nocturnal Harmony
- 2002 The writers and critical award
- 2002 PEKA Award
- 2010 The writers and critical award
Albums
- 14 Cheerful Pieces (rel. Oct. 2010)
- Dashti-Mahour (rel. 1992)
- Improvisation in Esfahan – Rast Panjgah
- Siavash Khani (Chahargah)
- Gol-e Sadbarg (rel. 1984)
Publications
- Reza Ghassemi, 1996 - Nocturnal Orchestra of Woods
- Reza Ghassemi, 1999 - The Well of Babel
- Reza Ghassemi, 2002 - The Spell Chanted by Lambs
See also
- List of Iranian writers
- List of Iranian musicians
References
External links
- A critic (in farsi) of his latest album (14 Cheerful Pieces) with Sepideh Raissadat
- BBCPersian.com article on his life and works
- An interview with Ghassemi in Radio ZamanehGhassemi's personal website
- IMDb
- List of Reza Ghassemi's publications
- Brief Bio and Biblio in PARSAGON: The Persian Literature Review, Nov. 1, 2013.
- Nocturnal Harmony from The Wood Orchestra: A Persian Novel, Reza Ghassemi at goodreads
