October 14, 2016
The conductor of Iran’s National Orchestra, Farhad Fakhreddini, has resigned his position yet again over the failure of government officials to fulfill their promises to Iran’s orchestras.
It is an old and repetitive story that has inflicted both the National Orchestra and the Tehran Symphony Orchestra
“Last year, I spent one of the best periods of my career and I had the honor to accompany a group of the best musicians during several acclaimed performances,” he told the Mehr news agency about his time with the National Orchestra.
“But officials did not address requirements, and all their efforts led it in a direction that I did not approve of, so I no longer felt it appropriate for me to continue working with the orchestra,” said Fakhreddini, who founded the orchestra in 1998.
He lamented the lack of pay for the musicians of the orchestra and added, “However, they [officials] spent large amounts of money to invite foreign musicians.”
After founding the National Orchestra, Fakhreddini, now 80, attracted a many musicians, including legendary vocalist Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, to collaborate with the orchestra.
However, in July 2009, he announced his resignation after the Music Office decided, under pressure from the Ministry of Culture, to hand over management of the orchestra to the Rudaki Foundation.
Consequently, the orchestra was almost dismantled. However, Fakhreddini established an independent ensemble called the Mehrnavazan Orchestra in 2011 with many musicians who had performed with the National Orchestra.
After the election of Hassan Rohani in the 2013 presidential election, Fakhreddini was tapped to reestablish the National Orchestra.
